It’s happening…”Friends: The Reunion” will bring costars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, and Matt LeBlanc back to the set for a tearful trip down memory lane, 17 years after the final episode of the show.
The unscripted format features all six actors chatting about the sitcom, sharing memories, and reliving moments from filming. It also includes interviews with the cast and crew, cameos by celebrity guests sharing their favorite episodes, never-before-seen bloopers, and the show’s stars re-reading some of the lines together.
“They ended the show very nicely,” said Kudrow, referring to the 2004 finale when the characters moved out of their Greenwich Village apartments for new adult lives. “I don’t want anyone’s happy ending to be unraveled.”
“It was life changing, and it forever will be. Not just for us but for the people who watch it, and that’s such a great feeling to carry forever,” added Cox.
“Friends,” which began in 1994, was the top-rated comedy in the United States for six years and aired in more than 200 nations. The finale was watched by some 52 million Americans, eight million more than watched the Oscar ceremony that year.
However, Aniston recalled being told when she was cast as spoiled Rachel Green that “Friends” was “not going to make you a star.” After the first couple of seasons, the six previously unknown actors had become household names as well as genuine friends, and Aniston has now become one of the most recognizable names in Hollywood.
“No-one was going through what we were going through, except the other five,” said Schwimmer of the sudden fame. “Our family couldn’t relate, our closest friends couldn’t relate… but the only other people who really knew what it was like were the other five.”
“Friends: The Reunion” airs on Thursday, May 27 on HBO Max. HBO, which hopes the special will drive subscriptions to its year-old streaming platform, is holding outdoor screenings of the reunion special in Los Angeles and New York City, as well as a live-streamed online event for fans.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by David Gregorio)
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