HBO Max has announced that the long-awaited reunion special of the massive hit show Friends will release on its platform on May 27. All six original cast members of the show-- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer-- are coming back for the special, titled Friends: The Reunion. HBO Max on Thursday released a teaser trailer for the special that showed the core cast walking in the distance with their backs turned to the camera. An acoustic version of the show's signature theme plays in the background.
Friends: The Reunion will debut on the one-year anniversary of the launch of HBO Max and exactly one year after it was originally supposed to air, the streamer said in a statement. 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 this year.
Described as a "real-life unscripted celebration of the beloved show", the unscripted special will see Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc, Perry and Schwimmer return to the iconic comedy's original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros Studio lot in Burbank, California.
It will also feature a variety of special guests 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.
Actor Jennifer Anniston shared the teaser trailer of the special with fans on Instagram and wrote, “It’s official! The #FriendsReunion premieres
Watch the teaser here:
Ben Winston is the director and executive producer of the special, along with Friends executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane. Friends: The Reunion comes from Warner Bros Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon, Fulwell 73 Productions and Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions. Friends premiered in September 1994 and was a phenomenon during its decade-long run. It later went on to find cult status among new audiences through TV reruns and streamers. Social media is filled with responses from fans of the series, who have expressed their excitement to watch the special.