Last month, fans of the megahit sitcom Friends got some very exciting news in the confirmation of a forthcoming reunion special that will see Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer all reunited. This Friends reunion was set to release alongside the launch of HBO Max in May 2020, but it is now unlikely that this schedule will hold, as production on the special has been delayed as a result of the coronavirus.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, filming of the Friends reunion special was to take place next Monday and Tuesday on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, CA. However, this filming has now been delayed until “at least May,” due to the CDC’s current recommendations against people gathering in groups of 50 or more. Indeed, this recommendations makes it very challenging for many shoots to proceed as planned, and the Friends reunion is just the latest production to be postponed.
For those that have not been following the details surrounding the Friends reunion special, it is to be a one-off, unscripted program directed by The Late Late Show with James Corden Co-Executive Producer Ben Winston. As previously mentioned, it was intended to be produced for the launch of HBO Max, a forthcoming streaming service that will give subscribers access to movies and TV from HBO and Warner Bros., including all 236 episodes of Friends.
Currently, it is indicated that HBO Max is still on track for its May launch, which seems to suggest that it will go live without the Friends reunion. While it remains to be seen how this will affect the service’s initial subscriber count, there is certain to be an impact, as some fans will undoubtedly wait for the special to become available before taking the plunge.
While these fans are waiting for the Friends reunion to release, they may be interested in watching some movies and TV with their actual friends, which can be done from a distance with Netflix Party. This Google Chrome extension allows multiple Netflix subscribers to stream content to their own computers in sync, giving friends some way to remain connected while they are being advised to stay physically separated from one another.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
