'Friends' Reunion Is Finally Happening at HBO Max -- And We Can't Calm Down!
Today is a good day, and every "Central Perk" regulars should definitely rejoice as the much-awaited "Friends" reunion is finally happening!
Cue Janice Hosenstein: Oh-my-god!
Yes, you read that right! After almost 25 years, fan-favorites Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Phoebe Buffay, Chandler Bing, Joey Tribianni and Ross Geller will be reunited on-screen this coming May 2020.
On Friday, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer all confirmed the reunion episode by posting the same photo on their respective Instagram accounts with the same caption saying: "It's happening."
View this post on InstagramIt’s happening... @hbomax @jenniferaniston @lisakudrow @mleblanc @mattyperry4 @_schwim_ A post shared by Courteney Cox (@courteneycoxofficial) on Feb 21, 2020 at 2:00pm PST
While their post sent all "Friends" fans in a total frenzy, it did not confirm if it is really about the reunion or only the sitcom streaming on its new home, HBO Max.
But according to E! News, HBO Max's chief content officer Kevin Reilly confirmed the reunion in a statement.
"Guess you could call this the one where they all got back together-we are reuniting with David, Jennifer, Courteney, Matt, Lisa, and Matthew for an HBO Max special that will be programmed alongside the entire Friends library," Reilly said.
Kevin, who is also the president of TBS, TNT and truTV, said that he got the chance to work with the entire "Friends" crew during its early stage back in the 90s, and he is delighted to see how the show captured viewers from different generations.
That is why they think 2020 is the best time to give the fans what they have been clamoring for finally.
"It taps into an era when friends-and audiences-gathered together in real-time, and we think this reunion special will capture that spirit, uniting original and new fans," Reilly revealed.
According to reports, the cast signed a deal with HBO for a taped yet unscripted reunion special. It only means that instead of getting a revival or reboot of the show, fans will see the six original casts getting back together to chat about their 25-year-old show -- as a talk-show style.
Could we BE any more excited?
The reunion special, along with all the episodes from ten seasons, will be available on HBO Max's launch date in May 2020. It will be taped in "Friends" original set in Stage 24, located at Warner Bros lot in Burbank, California.
The reunion will be directed and executively produced by Ben Winston along with other producers such as Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane. The six original casts are also said to executive produce the special.
It could be recalled that the last televised "Friends" reunion happened in 2016 when the lead stars joined an NBC special to honor director James Burrow.
Rumors of a reunion sparked when the co-stars-turned-real-life friends got together off-cam, as documented by Aniston's Instagram debut post, which literally broke the internet in less than an hour.
The speculation grew when Aniston told The Ellen DeGeneres Show that they are trying to work something out for the show.
The phenomenal sit-com ran on NBC from 1994 to 2004 and got introduced through the younger generation when it debuted on streaming giant Netflix in 2015.
