Washington: HBO Max announced on Thursday that the long-awaited unscripted special titled ‘Friends: The Reunion’ is set to air on the streaming service on May 27. In addition, the streaming service debuted the first teaser trailer for the special.
The One Where We Get to See Our Favorites Back Together Again. The #FriendsReunion is coming on May 27 only on @HBOMax. pic.twitter.com/HDIFOEXcxu
— FRIENDS (@FriendsTV) May 13, 2021
According to Variety, ‘Friends: The Reunion’ will now debut on the one-year anniversary of the launch of HBO Max and exactly one year after it was originally supposed to air.
However, the special was delayed multiple times due to the production shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was originally set to film in February 2020 but was only able to begin filming in April.
It will feature Friends’ stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer as they 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. Sources close to the project told Variety last year that each of the six stars would receive at least USD 2.5 million for participating in the special.
It will also feature guest stars including David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Elliott Gould, Kit Harington, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, Reese Witherspoon and Malala Yousafzai.
Ben Winston has directed the special and executive produced it along with ‘Friends’ executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane.
The special hails from Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon, Fulwell 73 Productions and Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions. Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc, Perry, and Schwimmer also executive produce. Emma Conway, James Longman and Stacey Thomas-Muir co-executive produce.
As per Variety in 2020, all 10 seasons of ‘Friends’ left Netflix and joined HBO Max in a deal that is rumoured to have cost Warner Media over USD 400 million for the rights to the original series.