TOPLINE The hotly anticipated Friends reunion will air on HBO Max on May 27, the streamer announced Thursday, releasing a teaser trailer and star-studded list of guest stars for the unscripted Friends: The Reunion—or, “The One Where They Get Back Together.”
KEY FACTS
The trailer shows the backs of the six central Friends cast members—Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer—who will all be participating in the reunion special.
HBO Max described the reunion as a “real-life unscripted celebration” of the TV series, which was filmed on the show’s original soundstage at the Warner Bros. Studio backlot in California.
HBO has previously said the show will feature the original cast members reuniting on the show’s sets as themselves “to reminisce,” stressing they “want to make it very clear that this is not a new, original episode of the series.”
Friends: The Reunion will feature such guests stars as David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Elliott Gould, Kit Harington, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, Reese Witherspoon and Malala Yousafzai, HBO announced Thursday.
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KEY BACKGROUND
The Friends reunion special was first confirmed in Feb. 2020 after years of the cast denying the show would return after going off the air in 2004, with the show’s original stars revealing on Instagram: “It’s happening.” The special was delayed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, after being originally slated to film in late March 2020 and launch with HBO Max. It was unclear when the special would debut before Thursday’s announcement, and the show’s official Instagram account revealed April 10 that filming had only just been completed.
BIG NUMBER
At least $2.5 million. That’s reportedly how much each of the Friends stars are being paid for the one-off special, according to multiple sources.
FURTHER READING
Friends Reunion Episode To Film In March After Months Of Covid-19 Delays (Forbes)
‘Friends’ Reunion Special to Miss HBO Max Launch (Hollywood Reporter)
The Friends Reunion Special Is Coming in 2021 (Harpers Bazaar)
By Alison Durkee, Forbes Staff
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