The Friends reunion special is officially here, and it’s happening sooner than we expected. HBO Max first confirmed in early 2020 that the original cast would be returning for the unscripted special for the streaming service. Marta Kauffman and David Crane, Friends creators, returned to lead the special.
“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,” HBO Max president Kevin Reilly announced in a statement. “I became aware of Friends when it was in the very early stages of development and then had the opportunity to work on the series many years later and have delighted in seeing it catch on with viewers generation after generation.”
He continued, “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.”
The confirmation happened after reunion rumors began circling in 2019 after the show’s 25th anniversary. Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, Perry, LeBlanc, and Schwimmer will all serve as executive producers on the special. The six all collectively confirmed the news on Instagram with the same photoshoot captioning their posts, “It’s happening.”
Now that the special is actually close, here’s what we know about the Friends reunion so far.
Release Date
The Friends reunion will occur on HBO Max on May 27, Deadline announced.
Cast
In addition to the main Friends characters, the reunion will feature a multitude of celebrities. Familiar guests and supporting actors from the 10 seasons include: Elliot Gould, Larry Hankin, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, and Reese Witherspoon.
Also coming onto the show will be other famous faces. These will include: David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Kit Harington, Mindy Kaling, and Malala Yousafzai. It’s going to be one packed show. The reunion will all be filmed at Warner Bros.’ Stage 24 in Burbank, where the show was originally filmed.
Trailer
HBO Max released a teaser promoting the special. It includes the original cast walking arm-in-arm, backs to the camera, at the Warner Bros. lot. The teaser is set to an instrumental version of the theme song “I’ll Be There For You”. It ends with the tagline, “the one where they get back together.”
