The long-awaited Friends reunion will broadcast on May 27, and it will feature the original cast as well as a slew of celebrity guests including Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and K-Pop band BTS, streaming service HB0 Max said on Thursday.
“Friends: The Reunion,” featuring all six of the original cast, was originally supposed to have been filmed more than a year ago but was repeatedly delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The unscripted, one-off special was filmed earlier this year on the same sound stage in Los Angeles as the original comedy about six young 20-somethings living in New York. Sharing a teaser clip on Instagram, the show’s official account wrote, “The One Where We Get to See Our Favorites Back Together Again.”
Courtney Cox also shared the clip on her Instagram. “This kind of thing doesn’t happen every year, or even every 10, or 15 years. I feel so blessed to have had a chance to reunite with my Friends… and it was better than ever,” she wrote.
“Can we be anymore excited,” Jennifer Aniston said on social media. News of the broadcast date for the reunion quickly became the top trending item worldwide on Twitter.
Friends, which ended its 10 year-run on NBC television in 2004, was one of the most popular TV shows of the 1990s and found a new life on streaming platforms where it is one of the most watched shows worldwide.
The reunion will feature all six of the original cast members Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry. Ben Winston (known for Carpool Karaoke) directed the special with Friends executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane.
HBO Max said more than 15 celebrity guests would also take part, including former “Friends” cast members Tom Selleck (Richard), and Maggie Wheeler (Janice), and others such as British soccer star David Beckham, “Game of Thrones” actor Kit Harington, and Pakistan’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.
Watch the official teaser for the Friends reunion below.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman)
You might also like: The Ellen DeGeneres Show Is Officially Ending After 19th Season