Friends: the Reunion is now premiering on HBO Max. Could we be any more excited?
While the world spent a year special distancing from friends in real life, many turned to a familiar group of people to fill in the missing gap of friendship. Friends dominated television for a decade, as audiences tuned in to witness the group’s crazy antics of running around New York City, meddling in each other’s personal lives and sitting in a coffee shop (without a mask in sight!). The show captured what it was like to be a young adult figuring life out with a group of people who feel like your family. And after a year of feeling isolated from everyone, the show brought about a sense of comfort for a new audience.
Capitalizing on the show’s massive, nostalgic fan base, HBO Max announced a Friends reunion was in the works in 2019. Immediately fans were both thrilled and hesitant. Would their beloved show get a reboot? Would it be just a quick chat with the cast? Speculation grew online about what could possibly commemorate a show that so many keep near and dear to their heart.
As it turns out, the reunion wasn’t a reboot or a quick get together. Rather, it was nearly two hours spent with six of our favorite friends, and a host of increasingly random celebrity guests. Lady Gaga sang “Smelly Cat” with Lisa Kudrow, Malala Yousafzi and her best friend talked about their love for the show, and famous celebrities, from Cindy Crawford to Justin Bieber, modeled iconic looks from the show. The cast also answered trivia questions (that any die-hard fan would know immediately) and reread various scenes.
The reunion itself was for the fans, but there was clear joy and excitement from the cast, too. Though they supposedly have only been in the same room once since the show ended, their chemistry hasn’t dimmed at all. The most memorable parts of the reunion will be the unscripted moments where the cast shows how close of friends they are in real life. Shared jokes from set and behind-the-scenes stories, like David Schwimmer’s not-so-secret dislike for Marcel the Monkey, made the reunion all the more memorable.