In November 2019, news broke that a Friends reunion was in the works, just in time for the celebration of the beloved series' 25th anniversary. There hasn't been much info on it and fans weren't really sure if it was going to push through, but we have some good news for you: The Friends reunion special is officially happening, and it will come out in May 2020 on HBO Max. Aside from the release date, we've pieced together all the info we could find on the upcoming special.
Here's everything we know so far about the upcoming Friends reunion special:
1. The six friends will reprise their roles.
We get it if you're worried about one cast member potentially passing on this project, or being too busy to confirm, but as of writing, all six folks in the squad are in: Jennifer Aniston will play Rachel Green, Courteney Cox will play Monica Geller, Lisa Kudrow will play Phoebe Buffay, Matt LeBlanc will play Joey Tribbiani, Matthew Perry will play Chandler Bing, and David Schwimmer will play Ross Geller.
2. It's going to be unscripted.
There's really no telling what "unscripted" officially means, but if we're basing it on past reports, the special won't be a reboot or remake of Friends, so you won't be getting a definitive answer as to what happened years after the last episode, or where the gang is in the year 2020, and you won't get a new cast of actors. According to NPR, it will most likely be a reality TV special, or a documentary.
3. They'll use the same set as all the Friends episodes.
The comedy's original soundstage is Stage 24, which is located at the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, California. This is where all 236 episodes of Friends were filmed, and the special will be shot here as well.
4. It's for the show's 25th anniversary.
In November 2019, Aniston started her Instagram page and her first post was a recent photo of the Friends cast, which caused quite the reaction from fans. It even broke the platform, but it was up and running again in a few minutes. The post came right after the show celebrated the 25th anniversary of the first episode's airing. In an interview with Deadline, Aniston hinted that she would love for there "to be something" to celebrate the occasion, which got fans even more excited. Seems like Aniston and the fans got their wish!
5. It will only be available on HBO Max.
HBO Max is an upcoming American subscription video-on-demand streaming service from WarnerMedia Entertainment. Aside from the Friends special, it will also be home to other original HBO content (like Westworld and Euphoria) once it's up.
6. It will hit the platform in May 2020.
If you're itching to get your hands on that special episode, you'll have to wait a few more months as HBO Max will officially launch some time in May this year.
7. The episode might be called "The One Where They All Got Back Together."
The official release from WarnerMedia's website is titled as such, and even Kevin Reilly, chief content officer of HBO Max, joked that it might just be the title of the upcoming special. All Friends episodes are titled the same way (starting in The One With or The One Where) and it only seems right to name the special following the same format.
8. Some of the actors will serve as executive producers.
Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc, Perry, and Schwimmer will executive produce the special along with Friends executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane. Ben Winston is set to direct.
9. The stars are reportedly making $2.5 million per person for the special.
According to a report on Variety, the stars are walking away with U.S.$2.5 million in their pockets for working on the Friends special. That's a total of U.S.$15 million for the whole gang!
* This story originally appeared on Spot.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Preview.ph editors.
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