The 'Friends' reunion special is headed to HBO Max this month. Here's what you can expect.
- The main stars of "Friends" are going to appear on an unscripted reunion special for HBO Max.
- The cast gathered at Warner Bros. Studio's Stage 24 during the week of April 5, 2021 to film.
- The reunion will be available to stream on HBO Max on Thursday, May 27.
The stars of "Friends" are teaming up for a reunion special more than a decade after the beloved NBC sitcom ended.
"Friends" premiered in September 1994 and ended in May 2004 after 10 seasons. In February 2020, it was revealed that fans of the series will get to see the cast back together again for an unscripted special for HBO Max (a new streaming service).
Here's what we know about the "Friends" reunion.
The show's main stars - Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer - will participate
The actors confirmed the reunion in February 2020 by sharing a photo that was used for their 1995 Rolling Stone cover. The stars will also serve as executive producers and will receive at least $2.5 million each, according to Variety.
The special will be filmed at Warner Bros. Studio's Stage 24 in Burbank, California, which is where the original series was taped.
In March 2020, multiple outlets reported that filming of the reunion had been pushed back to May due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it would be ready for HBO Max's launch this year.
In mid-March, Cox told Jimmy Kimmel that they were supposed to film over the course of two days that month, but it got postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. She said that prior to that, they spoke to the producer and had one meeting with everyone except for Schwimmer, who was in NY at the time.
The following month, it was revealed that the cast would be raising money for coronavirus relief efforts by letting one lucky winner and five guests attend the reunion taping once it's safe to do so.
The contest is part of the All In Challenge and fans can gain entry by donating money. The prize also includes coffee with the stars on the Central Perk set and tickets for the VIP ''Friends'' experience on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.
In November 2020, Perry tweeted that the reunion is "being rescheduled for the beginning of March."
Filming began and concluded during the week of April 5, 2021, as indicated by a report from The Hollywood Reporter and the official "Friends" Instagram account.
Cox said that as part of the reunion, the cast will reminisce about their time on 'Friends'
"The exciting thing is that we're all going to get together for the first time, in a room, and actually talk about the show," Cox said while appearing on an episode of Kevin Nealon's web series titled "Hiking With Kevin."
"We're going to have the best time," she added, explaining that the main cast only met up twice since the show ended. "It's going to be great. We really haven't all done that and actually sat there and talked about and reminisced about this incredible experience that we had."
The reunion will be available to stream on HBO Max on Thursday, May 27
The release date was announced in mid-May, in a teaser that showed the six cast members walking together with their arms around each other.
The reunion will also feature a slew of additional celebrities, from former cast members to fans of the show.
This includes James Michael Tyler (Gunther), Tom Selleck (Richard Burke), Reese Witherspoon (Jill Greene) Maggie Wheeler (Janice), David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Kit Harington, Mindy Kaling, and more.
The unscripted special is part of the programming for HBO Max, a new streaming service that launched in the US in May 2020. The streaming service costs $14.99 per month and includes every episode of "Friends," plus the highly-anticipated "Gossip Girl" reboot set for release in July 2021.