When it comes to encapsulating the energy of people in their carefree early twenties, few sitcoms work better than Friends. The series is one of the most popular shows ever created, and its enduring popularity has been a source of delight for several generations of fans.
Last year, it was announced that a “Friends Reunion Special” program was being organized to launch the start of HBO Max. The event had to be postponed following the global lockdown, but recently completed taping. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Courteney Cox, who played Monica Geller on the show, teased an emotional and surprising episode for fans.
“[It was an ] unbelievable [experience]. It was so emotional. It’s an unscripted reunion, but we got to be on Stage 24 for the first time, all of us, in like … 17 years. [I have] the worst memory, [but during her time on Stage 24] everything came up that I [had forgotten] about. But it was great. It was really fun. We had a lot of special surprises, and it was fantastic. It really was.”
After Friends ended in 2004, rumors started almost immediately of special reunion episodes, a movie, or even a new series that catches up with the main cast of characters at a later stage in their life. But most of the cast firmly resisted the attempts to come back into the fold, expressing their desire to take on new roles and projects.
What we got instead was the ill-fated Joey spinoff featuring Matt LeBlanc’s return as the titular character without the other five friends. The show was dismissed by both fans and critics, and canceled quietly after two seasons, with LeBlanc commenting, “The pressure was huge. I can’t lift the weight that six people were lifting. Those were big shoes to fill.”
Ever since then, calls had been growing for some sort of a Friends reunion project. WarnerMedia was well aware of the demand and decided a Friends reunion special would be the perfect way to attract a huge number of eyeballs to their new streaming service, HBO Max. The main six cast members, Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer are reportedly being paid giant sums to participate in the unscripted episode where they reminisce about their time spent making Friends.
Some of the reminiscing was done by Courteney Cox alone during her time on Ellen. The actress spoke about the iconic opening song of the show, where the main cast is seen frolicking in a water fountain. According to Cox, that sequence is a lot more fun to watch than it was to film.
“[It] definitely wasn’t [my idea but] somebody thought that would just be really fun… We were in that fountain for a long time. And let me tell you what happens: It’s not fun to be dancing in a fountain for hours and hours. I remember Matthew Perry saying at one point … ‘Can’t remember a time that I wasn’t in this fountain. Literally, we were just like, ‘Oh my God, how much longer am I gonna pretend I love dancing in the water?’ It was fun, but not really.”
This news originated at The Ellen Show. You can watch the inverview below.