“It’s only a reunion,” they said. “It can’t hurt you,” they said. And yet the second I saw David Schwimmer walk towards the original set at Warner Bros, I was sobbing into my pillow. I’ts been a long day.
I couldn’t exaggerate this even if I wanted to, but the FRIENDS Reunion was the most anticipated reunion in Hollywood history. According to James Cordan (host of the reunion), the show has been streamed over 100 billion times on streaming platforms. I imagine the numbers have increased since the reunion aired.
That’s right; the unscripted Reunion Special is officially streaming on HBO Max! (You’d have to live under some pretty heavy rocks to not know this by now, but I’ll put it out there just in case.) The FRIENDS Reunion Special is currently streaming on HBO Max (US), Zee5 (India), and NOWTV (UK). I’d say you treat yourself to it as soon as you can if you haven’t already.
The cast — now in their 50s — came together for the first time since the taping of the last episode back in 2004.
The director creatively reunited the six stars (David Schwimmer, Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matt Le Blanc, Matthew Perry, and Lisa Kudrow) on the original set of FRIENDS at Warner Bros, and it was an emotional moment for the cast and fans alike. We got to see them embrace each other after so long, and can swear I felt the warmth of the hugs from all the way here.
The reunion did a lot of things right. We got a rematch of the classic ‘Who Knows Who Better’ quiz, a fashion show featuring the sitcom’s best costumes (Justin Bieber as Sputnik was cool, but Matt Le Blanc wearing all of Chandler’s clothes stole the show) AND Pheobe singing Smelly Cat.
But the highlight, without arguments, was the cast rereading their scripts and re-enacting their most infamous scenes. You’d think that after all these years, the performance would change. But nope, the cast delivered their lines with such familiarity; it was hard to distinguish their voices from the scenes that aired. Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer re-enacting Ross and Rachel’s first kiss… it got every single one of us, didn’t it?
Surprisingly, the cast confessed to a number of things: from Courtney writing her lines on the tables to David and Jennifer having crushes on each other. We also saw the creators of the show also recall the casting process of each of the characters.
Ross, according to writer Marta Kauffman, was explicitly written with David Schwimmer in mind. And Courtney was being considered for Rachel until she (Courtney) convinced the showrunners that she was more of a Monica than a Rachel. They discussed in detail what the show meant to them and took us on nostalgic trips down memory lane.
My only quarrel with the reunion is the absence of Paul Rudd. It was great to see integral characters like Gunther, Janice and Richard return. But it lacked in a way only Mike’s cameo could have fixed. And it seems many of us agree on that.
But alas, it’s okay. The rest of the show makes up for it.
I’d say this reunion is the end of an era for us, but who am I kidding? FRIENDS is eternal. And I know you’re lying if you say you haven’t contemplated sitting down and binging the sitcom all over again.
About F.R.I.E.N.D.S
F.R.I.E.N.D.S is an American television sitcom created by David Crane, and Marta Kauffman which aired on NBC. The ensemble cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry. The show ran from 1994 to 2004 for ten seasons. A reunion by HBO is currently in the works.
The highly anticipated reunion episode of TV Show Friends will air on HBO max on 27 May. The reunion will cast the main six characters, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry.
It follows six friends in New York navigating life and relationships through their 20s and 30s.
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