News first broke of the special in November.
HBO Max's Friends reunion is officially a go!
The sitcom's entire principal cast -- Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer -- have signed on to reunite for an untitled unscripted special for the streaming service, debuting in May 2020, it was announced on Friday.
All six actors will return to the iconic comedy’s original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank for a celebration of the beloved show. Ben Winston will direct the special and will executive produce along with Friends executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane. The unscripted cast reunion special, along with all 236 episodes of the Emmy-winning series, will be available to subscribers at the launch of HBO Max.
Following the official news, Aniston and Cox took to Instagram and posted a Friends photo, writing, "It’s happening," tagging her former co-stars.
The cast's confirmation comes three months after news first broke in November that they were discussing a possible reunion project with Friends creators Crane and Kauffman.
Kevin Reilly, Chief Content Officer of HBO Max, remained cautiously optimistic that the special would come together while speaking to reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January. "There's interest all the way around, and yet we can't seem to quite get that interest aligned to push the button on it," he said. "Today, unfortunately, it's still a maybe."
Just days later, Kauffman told ET that getting everyone together had been "complicated."
"It's complicated. It's very complicated," she said. "It's everything. It's a very complicated thing to do."
A source told ET in November that the cast had been throwing around ideas for the special.
“The cast of Friends have discussed bringing the show back in some capacity,” the source said. "But in what form is still very much up for discussion."
“The cast are all friends and have been for 25 years, so bringing it back would be easy, however, they’re cautious," the source added. "The show has a cult following and high praise, and the cast and creators don’t want to do the show and its fans a disservice. The talks are still early stages, but everyone is on board in some capacity if it makes sense."
See more in the video below.
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