After years—25 to be exact—of hoping, praying and rumours, our prayers have been heard and the original cast of Friends has been confirmed for a reunion with HBO Max – which is streaming on Binge in Australia.
The streaming service has announced that the epic event will (finally) premiere on May 27, announcing the news with an emotional sneak peek. The original cast—Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer—are seen walking together from behind, as a slowed-down version of the classic theme song, “I’ll Be There for You”, plays.
While it’s not a reboot of the show per se, the reunion will see the iconic cast appear alongside show creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman for an unscripted special, marking the first time all six original cast members are together for a public event since Friends’ last episode in 2004.
“Guess you could call this the one where they all got back together — we are reuniting with David, Jennifer, Courteney, Matt, Lisa, and Matthew for an HBO Max special that will be programmed alongside the entire Friends library,” said Kevin Reilly, chief content officer at HBO Max (via THR).
“I became aware of Friends when it was in the very early stages of development and then had the opportunity to work on the series many years later and have delighted in seeing it catch on with viewers generation after generation. It taps into an era when friends — and audiences — gathered together in real-time and we think this reunion special will capture that spirit, uniting original and new fans.”
Below, we’re rounding up everything we know so far about the upcoming Friends reunion.
The HBO Special Will Be Filmed On Its Original Stage.
The special will be filmed on Stage 24 on the Warner Bros. Studio Lot in Burbank, Calif, where the show was filmed. Series creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman will also be involved.
In fact, fans have already been given their first look at the new design of Monica’s apartment—so get ready to feel nostalgic.
The set designer from the original series shared the sneak peek on Instagram, sharing a glimpse at the iconic New York City apartment.
Taking to Instagram, Greg Grande told fans: “Wait for it !!! Excited to be part this project and see my work come back to life ❤️🙏 #onemoretime #friendsreunion.”
In May 2021, Courtney Cox revealed a few juicy tidbits about what Friends fans can expect. Speaking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Cox said that the reunion was an emotional one for her.
“It was so unbelievable, so emotional,” she said. “It’s an unscripted reunion and we got to be on Stage 24 for the first time all of us in, I forget how many years. 15 years? 17 years?”
She continued, “It was great. It was really fun. We had a lot of special surprises – and it was fantastic. It really was.”
And about that iconic opening credits sequences featuring the fountain? As it turns out the cast was actually sopping in the fountain for hours.
We were in that fountain for a long time,” she revealed. “Somebody thought that would just be really fun, and let me tell you what happens: it’s not fun to be dancing in a fountain for hours and hours.”
“I remember Matthew Perry saying at one point—and we didn’t know each other that well at that point—but I remember, and this is so Matthew but he was like, ‘can’t remember a time that I wasn’t in this fountain.”
The Special Will Not Be A New Episode, But A Reunion Of Its Iconic Characters.
While some may have been confused when the news was first released, the episode won’t be an episode of the sitcom but a reflection of the series with its original cast, where they go behind-the-scenes and share new insights.
HBO Max explained in a statement, “Lastly, in order to avoid any misunderstanding about what this special is, we want to make it very clear that this is not a new, original episode of the series. The cast will be appearing as themselves, not as their beloved characters.”
Where And When Can We Watch The Friends Special In Australia?
As per Australian streaming service BINGE, Friends: The Reunion will be available to stream express from the U.S. at 5.02pm AEST on May 27.
It’s safe to say, we can hardly wait for this.
Sign up to BINGE to be the first to watch Friends: The Reunion, and catch up on series like Big Little Lies and Sex And The City.
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