We’re finally going to see our “Friends” together again.
After delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-awaited and much-hyped reunion of the six original cast members of NBC’s “Friends” — Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer — will arrive on HBO Max on May 27, the streaming service announced Thursday.
The actors who brought Joey, Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Phoebe and Ross to life will reunite on the iconic sitcom’s original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, California. The reunion is an unscripted “celebration” of the comedy series, according to a news release from HBO Max.
In addition to the six original cast members, a bevy of famous guests will make an appearance including: 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.
Gould, Pickles, Selleck, Hankin, Lennon, Tyler, Wheeler and Witherspoon all appeared as guest stars on the original series. Gould and Pickles played Monica and Ross’s embarrassing parents Jack and Judy; Selleck Monica’s Season 2 love interest Dr. Richard Burke; Hankin Monica and Rachel’s mean downstairs neighbor Mr. Heckles; Lennon appeared in the Season 5 finale; Tyler was coffee shop manager Gunther; Wheeler Chandler’s on-again-off-again girlfriend Janice; and Witherspoon played one of Rachel’s spoiled sisters.
The special, long promised by HBO Max, which is part of the same corporate entity as “Friends” production company Warner Bros., was delayed in 2020 like many other TV and film events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. HBO Max is also the exclusive home of all 10 seasons of “Friends,” nearly as big a hit in the streaming era as well as it was during it’s 1994-2004 run on NBC.
