The Friends reunion is officially on
The One Where They Got Back Together will be on HBO Max in May.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
The Friends reunion couldn't be any more on.
Friends is back after 15 years and nine months, upcoming streaming service HBO Max announced Friday. The full cast of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry will be reuniting for an unscripted special in May 2020.
"Guess you could call this the one where they all got back together -- we are reuniting with David, Jennifer, Courteney, Matt, Lisa, and Matthew for an HBO Max special that will be programmed alongside the entire Friends library," Kevin Reilly, chief content officer for HBO Max, said in a statement.
It will be filmed on the original soundstage used to shoot Friends, Stage 24 of the Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, California, as reported earlier Friday by CNET sister site TV Guide. Here's how to watch the Friends reunion special.
"It's happening," Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, Perry and Schwimmer all posted on Instagram Friday afternoon alongside a picture of the six stars.
The Instagram posts went huge, with more than 10 million people liking Aniston's picture, and celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, Awkafina, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Hyland, Celeste Barber, David Spade and Ashley Benson all responding.
While LeBlanc didn't post the picture to Instagram, he did post the same caption under a different photo -- one of the cast of M.A.S.H.
"Oh no," Aniston responded. "No no no NO LeBlanc! Could this BE more NOT what we said to post?"
"Uh no Matt," Cox said. "Wrong reunion."
"Ha!" Kudrow posted. "They do look like us..."
The special will be directed by Ben Winston, who will executive produce alongside Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc, Perry, Schwimmer and others.
All 236 episodes of the original Friends series will also be on HBO Max at the streaming service's launch.
HBO Max is launching in May at a price of $15 a month. It'll also include content like Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Sex and the City, The Big Bang Theory, The Sopranos, Veep, the Gossip Girl sequel and Sesame Street, and movies including Wonder Woman and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Also coming to HBO Max are shows from The CW network like Pretty Little Liars, Batwoman and Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene, as The CW winds down its streaming deal with Netflix.
Originally published Feb. 21. Update, Feb. 24: Adds social media reaction.
