A Friends reunion is in development thanks to HBO Max, but it won’t be the type of reunion fans have been waiting for. Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, Friends premiered on NBC in 1994 and came to an end in 2004 after 10 seasons. Friends is considered as one of the best TV shows of all time, and is still very popular in big part thanks to Netflix, where the series has been available to stream for the past few years.
Over the course of ten seasons, viewers got to know a group of young adults living in New York City and dealing with all types of obstacles in many aspects of their lives. Monica, Phoebe, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, and Ross are pop culture icons now, and fans have been waiting for a reunion for years now. With the emergence of different streaming services and a trend to reboot or revive all types of TV shows, fans of Friends have been wondering if the series will join the wave and come back somehow.
Friends is set to leave Netflix in 2020 to move to its new home, HBO Max. The streaming wars are only getting started, and in a power move from WarnerMedia, the company decided to reveal its plans for a Friends reunion on the same day Disney+ launched. The news were well-received by fans of the series, but there’s a catch in all this, as it won’t be the type of reunion they are probably expecting.
Friends’ HBO Max Special Isn't A Real Reunion Episode
When thinking of a Friends reunion, the first thing to come to mind is a season or single episode catching up with the characters. Many viewers would certainly love to know if Rachel and Ross are still together, if Phoebe and Mike had children, and if Joey eventually settled down. But even though the project is being billed as a “Friends reunion”, it’s not a reunion of the characters but of the cast and creators, as it’s going to be unscripted. As such, this “reunion” will most likely just be the original cast (along with Crane and Kauffman) getting together to talk about the show, their experiences, reminisce some behind-the-scenes moments, and more.
It’s worth noting that the project isn’t even actually confirmed yet, with reports on the Friends reunion emphasizing that the deal is “far from done”. Announcing a project that might or might not happen and on the day all eyes were on the competition (aka Disney+) only proves that this Friends reunion is nothing more than a marketing trick from HBO Max and WarnerMedia to draw more attention and convince people to subscribe to their service. HBO Max’s biggest hook right now is Friends, and the more they can exploit that the better, even if that means disappointing fans with a supposed “reunion”.