Entertainment

A 'Friends' Reunion Special Might Actually Happen & Yes, This Is Real Life

by Jessica Wang
A "Friends" reunion special is in the works at HBO Max
Warner Bros. Television

Calling all Central Perk patrons: A Friends reunion special is reportedly in the works at HBO Max, according to a Nov. 12 exclusive from the Hollywood Reporter. While a deal and cast agreements are still not yet “hammered out,” an unscripted reunion special could reunite stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc on WarnerMedia’s upcoming new streaming service HBO Max, set to launch in May 2020. Series creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman would also be slated to return to the special if it happens, THR reports.

The exciting report arrived several weeks after the NBC series celebrated its 25th anniversary this September. It also came after the news that Friends would inevitably leave Netflix come 2020 and be available to stream on HBO Max. Given that the series had found a new set of viewers on Netflix since its original 10 season run between 1994 and 2004, the announcement of its departure came as saddening news for many.

Were the deal to reach fruition, THR also noted that they'd still have to find a way to coordinate everyone's busy schedule, which wouldn't necessarily be an easy task since they're all working on different projects. Bustle has reached out to HBO Max for comment on the report.

Warner Bros. Television

Fans of the sitcom have long hoped for a reboot or reunion amid an era of revivals. However, the cast and crew have largely shut down all possibilities in the past. During an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in October, Aniston gave a resounding “no” on a reboot, but teased that the Friends cast has been trying to work on something. “We would love for there to be something, but we don't know what that something is,” she told DeGeneres. “So we're just trying. We're working on something."

Last year, Cox similarly touched on a Friends reboot and said that while she’d love to act with her co-stars again, the possibility may be unlikely. “People ask us all the time, ‘Will we ever do a remake?’ That was a story about these group of people that are friends in their 30s who are finding themselves. I don’t know if there’s a way to redo it,” she told PEOPLE in October 2018. “I just don’t see it happening. Even though I would do anything to be in a room with all of those people acting and having a great time. But I don’t see it happening."