Friends star Jennifer Aniston promises that the HBO Max’s reunion special will be worth the wait. The sitcom premiered on NBC in 1994, quickly becoming a hit, but it recently gained a new wave of popularity after being made available to stream on Netflix. To commemorate the show’s arrival on HBO Max, an unscripted event featuring the show’s six regulars was planned.
The reunion would take place on the the original apartment set from the show, featuring appearances by co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane. The special was initially planned for filming in mid-March, before being moved to May in an effort to coincide with the arrival of HBO Max. But, as of now, the Friends reunion special doesn’t have a premiere date. The issue is, in part, that the event was intended to include an audience. Given the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, such a gathering would be difficult to safely orchestrate. Aniston, who played Rachel Green in the series, is opting to focus on the positives of the delay.
Speaking to Deadline after news of the latest postponement broke, the actress struck an optimistic tone. “It’s going to be, to be super. You know what? This has also given us more time to make it even more exciting and more fun than it would have been,” Aniston said. She added the cast wasn’t going anywhere, finishing her comments with a bit of humor. “You’re never going to get rid of Friends, sorry. You’re stuck with us for life, guys.”
Aniston’s remarks obviously aim to make the best out of the continued delays. While it would have been easy enough to reunite the cast and creators over Zoom, as other recent specials have done, HBO Max is clearly looking to have all six Friends stars in the same room. Part of that is undoubtedly connected to how much the actors will be paid for appearing in the special, reportedly close to $20 million in total, but another aspect that decision-makers are likely considering has to do with the fact that the Friends cast has been spotted together since the sitcom ended its run in 2004. Usually in pairs of twos and threes, they’ve appeared at public events or they’ve collaborated on projects. They’re asked about the show often as well, offering their retrospective opinions and recollections in many of the interviews they conduct.
HBO Max’s unscripted event has the potential to be different since it will gather all the major players involved with the comedy for a lengthy discussion. Based on Aniston’s recent reveal, it sounds like attempts are still underway to make sure this particular reunion stands out from the rest. Friends fans, and others curious to check in with the cast, are certain to tune into the special regardless of what’s on offer. For many viewers with fond memories of Ross and Rachel’s first kiss, or the progression of Chandler and Monica’s relationship, they’d surely like to know what the characters are up to. Even though a complete reboot has been rejected by the producers of Friends as a possibility, a one-off scripted episode announcement could be among the surprises teased for the reunion special when it does eventually happen.
Source: Deadline