It’s official. HBO Max has finally shared the trailer to Friends: The Reunion and fans of the ‘90s sitcom now have the chance to get a first look at what Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, and Joey are up to 17 years after the show concluded. Well, at least we get to see what their actors are up to.
The six actors return to the comedy’s original soundstage at Warner Bros. Studio, Stage 24, for a reunion and celebration of the show, in a special directed by Ben Winston alongside original show executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane, and others.
In the trailer, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer remember the times they shared being real-life friends on the original set, as they’re interviewed by James Corden and see special appearances from some old friends like Tom Selleck. In it, tears are shed as they discuss the first table read, Kudrow picks up a guitar, they run through an episode’s script together and share how it feels to “laugh out loud” watching the episodes back.
HBO Max also shared the news of “Friends Reunite for Friends” screening events, a Scener watch-along partnership, a digital and social red carpet and other show-themed content on the streaming service.
The cast also caught up with People Magazine for a show-themed takeover today, as they revealed secrets about the series, what they thought made the show so special for fans, and where they’d imagine their characters being today after 17 years.
“It was a character-driven funny, not timely funny,” Perry said. “They didn’t make timely jokes. They didn’t make jokes about O.J. Simpson. They made character-driven jokes about people — and people are going to come back time and time again and watch that.”
HBO Max also shared some artwork for the special, which you can view below.
Fans have since expressed concern over Perry, who sounded slurred when he answered questions in the People interview, which fans say he was gazing “into the void” in, as reported by Page Six. Fans shared similar concerns back in 2016 after Perry appeared in a TV interview. He has previously opened up about struggles with addiction. Perry’s reps did not reply to Page Six.
“Over the years we’ve all struggled with different obstacles and challenges, and I think in those times it’s been nice to reach out and touch base and have a call,” Schwimmer said during the People chat.
Friends: The Reunion debuts on May 27 on HBO Max.
