'FRIENDS' cast to reunite for unscripted special at HBO Max: 'The one where they all got back together'
After 15 years and nine months HBO Max is bringing the main cast of 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S.' together for an unscripted reunion special which will be directed by Ben Winston and produced by Fulwell 73 of 'The Late Late Show with James Corden'.
This special will see Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer return to the show's original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, California. This unscripted special will be introduced along with 236 episodes of the show which will be available to stream on HBO Max.
Kevin Reilly, chief content officer of HBO Max, said, "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."
He also added, "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. 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.”
Along with Winston, the show will be executive produced by Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane. Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc, Perry, and Schwimmer will also executive produce the special according to a statement from HBO.
The streaming service, HBO Max, is expected to launch in Spring 2020 and the service will include 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S', 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'The West Wing' among other HBO shows and originals. The streaming service shelled out a total of $425M for the rights to the popular television sitcom of the 90s which was earlier available on Netflix and was also one of their more successful shows for reruns.
The stars of the show, of whom Aniston and Perry joined Instagram recently, shared a post to announce the reunion special as well.