By now you've probably heard that the Friends cast is definitely up to something.
While we don't have a lot of details yet on exactly what they're up to, we do know that
they're planning some sort of reunion special.
Cue Janice:
"Oh.
My.
God."
Rumors about a reboot have been swirling for years, but as far as the stars and creators
were concerned, it just wasn't an option.
Speaking to Howard Stern on October 7, 2019, Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel Green
on the hit show, dashed the dreams of Friends fans hoping for a revival, saying:
"I really think there is an idea that if there is a reboot of the show, it won't be even
close to as good as what it was, so why do it?"
However, just a few weeks later, during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Aniston
got the masses whipped into a frenzy with a little tease of something in the works.
She reiterated that a Friends reboot wouldn't be happening but she did tell Ellen:
"Listen, we would love for there to be something, but we don't know what that something is.
So, we're just trying.
We're working on something."
When DeGeneres prodded for more details, asking if maybe that something was a movie, Aniston
replied, quote, "No, we don't know.
I don't want to lead people on."
While a reboot or a movie may be off the table, sources confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter
on November 12, 2019 that a Friends special is in the works.
The Friends reunion special is still in its early stages, and we don't know how long it
will take to get things pulled together.
We do know, however, that the Friends reunion special is set to air on HBO Max, which launches
in May 2020, so that's the absolute earliest we can expect to see it debut.
If and when the Friends reunion special airs, you'll have to pony up $15 per month to watch
it on the new streaming service.
HBO Max and Warner Bros. TV declined to comment when contacted by The Hollywood Reporter.
The Friends reunion special, if it gets the green light, would feature all six original
cast members: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry,
and David Schwimmer.
Sources note that their willingness to move forward is a huge accomplishment in itself,
as it goes against all those years of shutting down talks of a reboot.
If the special goes through, original series creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman will
also be on board.
While we know that the core cast will be at the heart of the special, we don't know yet
if other beloved characters will make an appearance.
Will we, for example, see James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther on the show?
What about Paul Rudd, whose character, Mike, married Phoebe towards the end of the series?
Only time will tell, but really, would any Friends reunion be complete without hearing
Janice utter her nasally "oh my god"?
No, no it would not.
The Friends reunion is currently planned as an unscripted special, meaning it would likely
be a hosted show with the actors interacting and answering questions as themselves, not
their characters.
In other words, there's not really a plot as much as a conversation.
Guardian notes that although fans don't seem to remember it, a similar unscripted Friends
reunion actually already took place in 2016, with five of the six castmates appearing on
NBC's An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows.
The publication, however, described it as "vapid" and "chummy," saying that audiences
went away not, quote, "feeling like they had witnessed anything special at all."
Will the latest and greatest Friends reunion special avoid that?
At the very least, hopefully the actors can answer some of the burning questions we've
had in the years since Friends ended.
Are Ross and Rachel still together?
Did Joey ever settle down?
Did Phoebe and Mike ever have kids?
And how are Monica and Chandler coping in the suburbs without their pals?
"You have to leave… and I have to live with a boy!"
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