Friends star Matthew Perry reported that HBO Max’s highly-anticipated reunion special is being rescheduled to tape in March 2021, longer than a year after the reunion was first declared. HBO Max reveals to EW that plans are as yet being finalized, yet ahead of schedule one year from now is in fact being focused for shooting.
“Friends reunion being rescheduled for the beginning of March,” Perry wrote in a tweet Thursday. “Looks like we have a busy year coming up. And that’s the way I like it!”
The unscripted reunion special will bring the NBC sitcom’s six main cast individuals — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Perry, and David Schwimmer — back together on screen for the first time. Initially wanted to debut on HBO Max on the streaming service’s May launch date, the extraordinary has confronted numerous deferrals because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In August, shooting for the special was deferred indefinitely in the midst of a surge in Covid cases across the country.
“The truth is, we’ll do it when we all determine it’s safe to do so,” Schwimmer told EW in July. “There’s no question we want to do it and it’s going to happen. It’s just really a question of when will be the safest time to do it.”
The cast intends to rejoin on the first Friends soundstage on the Warner Bros. studio lot, alongside co-makers Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and think back about taking a shot at the series — which should prompt a fascinating discussion, if Kudrow is to be accepted.
“I haven’t seen some of the later episodes, to be honest,” the actress told EW in May. “And then I don’t rewatch them. So it’s really fun to talk about things. Someone remembers it one way and someone remembers something else about it altogether….Jennifer remembers everything and LeBlanc remembers everything. And I remember nothing.”
No release date for the reunion special has yet been declared. Meanwhile, Friends’ full run is accessible to stream on HBO Max.