A Friends marathon spanning over one month, where do we sign up? This week HBO decided to break the internet and just about every social media platform by announcing the arrival of their much-anticipated Friends: The Reunion special airing on HBO's streaming service HBO Max later this month. The one-time-only event will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the hit sitcom series delivering a stacked cast beyond the show's main characters.
In celebration of such a momentous event, TBS will broadcast every episode of Friends for the entirety of the month leading up to the big day. Fans can expect to capture all the Nostalgia of the hit sitcom series that defined a generation and influenced those thereafter. From Ross' sandwich to Rachel's definition of cheating, expect to hear screams of 'pivot' echoing through your neighbourhood. Episodes will air weekdays from 10 am - 4 pm ET/PT that will take you right through to June the 4th. The television spectacle of the year will take place on May 27, bringing back your favourite roommates once again.
The full cast of Friends is returning for the reunion including, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. However, return as they may, the cast will return with their real-life personas-not their beloved television characters. To clear up the confusion, HBO Max stated, "lastly, in order to avoid any misunderstanding about what this special is, we want to make it very clear that this is not a new, original episode of the series. The cast will be appearing as themselves, not as their beloved characters."
Following HBO Max's statement, it's safe to assume the special is likely to follow a similar format to that of Will Smith's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion, which aired last year. Among the full return of the cast, HBO announced a star-studded cameo lineup featuring David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Elliott Gould, Kit Harrington, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, Reese Witherspoon and Malala Yousafzai.
The exclusive cameo lineup will reminisce and explain how the hit sitcom series impacted their lives. HBO has patiently waited to bring the cast together after pandemic delays disrupted the original plan of airing the special in front of a live crowd to launch HBO Max. Matt Leblanc appeared on an episode of the Kelly Clarkson Show, expressing the reunion as "the six of us together talking about the good old days." Matt Leblanc portrayed the smooth-talking Joey Tribbiani for ten seasons.
It was also revealed co-star Courtney Cox channelled her inner 'Monica, ' hosting Jenifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow and Matt Leblanc at her Malibu beach house to make the reunion happen. Within the four walls of Cox's luxurious beach pad, the beloved cast had dinner and reflected on the show's infamous ten seasons, finally agreeing to return to the world celebrating what the show had become, an iconic series following the lives of six reckless adults trying to make their way in Manhattan.
There's no doubt, as anticipation reaches fever-pitch levels, fans will rejoice and recapture the magic of the iconic television series by reliving the ups and downs during May on TBS. Friends: The Reunion will air on May 27th on HBO Max.