After a lot of pivoting, breaks, and whatnot, it’s finally back on track, the highly anticipated Friends Reunion Special that fans feared had been cancelled for good. After its announcement earlier this year along with the promise that it will happen soon, the reunion has been delayed many times, sometimes due to the scheduling clashes of all six Friends but mostly due to the pandemic. Now, Matthew Perry has not only confirmed the reunion special but also shared its release date.&
Friends has been one of those shows which have proven to be a timeless beauty. Generations upon generations continue to re-discover it and keep falling in love with its 236 episodes of friendship, love, and loyalty that have been nominated for over 60 Emmy Awards with 4 wins. While it was the story of six friends, Monica, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler, and Joey, their journey is so relatable (as well as undeniably entertaining at the same time} that it holds significance for even those who weren’t born during the time the show began and ended!
So, when we say that the Friends reunion special has been much-awaited, it means that countless people have been fervently praying for the six friends to come together one last time for the sake of the collective sanity of their fans. And thus, being the bearer of happy news, Matthew Perry, 51, who played the beloved character of Chandler Bing in the sitcom has announced that the reunion special is finally in talks again and if everything goes well, we can expect its early 2021 debut on HBO Max.&
“Friends reunion being rescheduled for the beginning of March. Looks like we have a busy year coming up. And that’s the way I like it!”
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Fox News has further confirmed that taping of the Friends special episode is being planned to start at the beginning of 2021.& The special was announced for the first time back in February and expected to be made available to viewers with the launch of Warner Bros streaming platform, HBO Max in May, as per a press release launched at the time.&
“Series stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer will return to the iconic comedy’s original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank for a celebration of the beloved show. The unscripted cast reunion special, along with all 236 episodes of the Emmy-winning series, will be available to subscribers at the launch of HBO Max.”
But while HBO Max made its debut, shooting the Friends special in front of a live audience became an impossibility in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Co-creator of the series, Marta Kauffman assured that the shooting will pick up in August but the production was delayed again and filming was pushed back to the fall. At the time, Jennifer Aniston had expressed her disappointment at being unable to shoot the special but assured that the delay will only ensure that “it’s going 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. So I choose to see it as the glass is half-full that it got postponed. Look, we’re not going anywhere. You’re never going to get rid of Friends, sorry. You’re stuck with us for life guys.”
Now that Matthew Perry has cemented the news of the reunion and hopefully no further delays will derail the special episode, we can actually sit down and marvel at the fact that it will be the first time that the entire cast, including co-creators Marta Fran Kauffman and David Krane, will be back together on screen since Friends wrapped up its 10th and final season in 2004.&