The cast of “Friends” is teaming up for a special on HBO Max. According to an announcement about the reunion special, the cast will return to the original “Friends” soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank for the untitled unscripted event. Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television and Fulwell 73 Productions are behind the program.
“Friends” stars Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry confirmed the news by sharing a photo on social media. The photo was simply captioned: “It’s happening.” According to sources familiar with the matter, the six stars will receive at least $2.5 million each for participating in the special.
There has been speculation about the reunion special swirling since last fall. The hit NBC show aired its series finale over 15 years ago, premiering in September 1994 and ending in May 2004 after 10 seasons. After moving to Netflix, “Friends” became one of the streaming service’s most-watched shows.
All 10 seasons of the comedy left Netflix at the end of 2019 after Warner Bros. Television obtained the streaming rights to the show. According to the announcement from WarnerMedia, the special, along with all 236 episodes of “Friends,” will be available upon HBO Max’s debut in May.
Ben Winston will direct the special and executive produce alongside “Friends” executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane. Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc, Perry, and Schwimmer are also executive producing the special. Emma Conway and James Longman are on board as co-executive producers.
