This is not a drill! Popular sitcom Friends has been greenlit for a Reunion Special and it is reported that every cast member is on board.
Friends Reunion Special: Everything we know so far
The entire cast will star in the special
On Friday, HBO Max, the network’s streaming service that rivals Netflix, confirmed that it will officially launch in May 2020, and to celebrate its arrival, it will own exclusive rights to the Friends reunion special.
More importantly, the entire cast has been tagged for the special and by all accounts, everyone is on board.
For the first time since the show ended in 2004, Rachel (played by Jennifer Aniston; Monica (Courtney Cox); Ross (David Schwimmer); and Joey (Matt LeBlanc), will return to our screens!
It is said that the show’s main cast members are credited as executive producers, alongside original Friends execs Marta Kaufmann; David Crane and Kevin Bright; and the show’s original director Ben Winston.
Chief Content Officer at HBO Max, Kevin Reilly, described the return of Friends as a moment that will “unite original and new fans.
“I became aware of ‘Friends’ when it was in the very early stages of development and then had the opportunity to work on the series many years later and have delighted in seeing it catch on with viewers generation after generation. It taps into an era when friends — and audiences — gathered together in real-time and we think this reunion special will capture that spirit, uniting original and new fans,” he noted in a statement.
Expect an unscripted conversation between the original cast members
At this time, it seems more than likely that the Friends reunion special, more than anything, will be an insert where we see the Central Park squad share their memories over an unscripted conversation.
The filming was completed at the sitcom’s original soundstage (Stage 24) in Burbank, on the Warner Bros. studio lot.
This is HBO Max’s way of hosting all 236 episodes of the sitcom in its newly developed streaming service.
How to watch Friends reunion special in South Africa
Unfortunately, HBO Max will not be launched in South Africa. The streaming service confirmed that in the first phase of its existence, HBO Max will only be available in the United States.
The network did indicate that the second phase of its rollout will target Europe and Latin America before it is made available in Africa.
Friends enthusiasts in South Africa will have to wait a bit longer than the rest of the world to tune into the reunion special. An unfortunate reality to live with but, in the business of streaming wars, it is what it is.
