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Friends: The Reunion

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Friends: The Reunion
Promotional poster
Based on
Friends
by
Directed byBen Winston
Presented byJames Corden
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Kevin S. Bright
  • Marta Kauffman
  • David Crane
  • Jennifer Aniston
  • Courteney Cox
  • Lisa Kudrow
  • Matt LeBlanc
  • Matthew Perry
  • David Schwimmer
  • Ben Winston
Running time104 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkHBO Max
ReleaseMay 27, 2021 (2021-05-27)
Related
Friends (1994–2004)

Friends: The Reunion is a 2021 reunion special of the American television sitcom Friends. The special was hosted by James Corden and executive produced by the show's cocreators, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, Kevin S. Bright, the show's main cast, and Ben Winston (who also directed the special). The special premiered on HBO Max on May 27, 2021. The special sees the main cast revisit the sets of the original show (such as the Friends' apartments, the Central Perk coffee shop, and the signature water fountain), meet with guests who appeared on the show as well as celebrity guests, do table reads and re-enactments of Friends episodes, and share behind-the-scenes footage.[1] It was Matthew Perry's final on-screen appearance prior to his death in October 2023 at the age of 54.[2][3]

Production

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Development

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In November 2019, Warner Bros. Television was developing a Friends reunion special for their new streaming service, HBO Max. The special would feature the whole cast and co-stars.[4] In February 2020, an unscripted Friends was commissioned with all original cast and co-creators returning.[5][6][7]

The special was executive produced by the show's co-creators, Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and the show's main cast, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. Ben Winston directed and executive produced through Fulwell 73. Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television (later Warner Horizon Unscripted Television) was also involved in the production of the special.[5]

Filming

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The special was filmed in Burbank, California, at Stage 24, also known as "The Friends Stage" at Warner Bros. Studios, where Friends had been filmed since its second season.[6][8] The filming of the reunion began in April 2021. Filming of the special was delayed twice, first in March 2020,[9] and second in August 2020.

The trivia game and talk show segments of the special, hosted by James Corden, were filmed in front of a live audience of "mostly union extras".[citation needed] Representatives for Perry clarified that he had an emergency dental surgery prior to filming when viewers were concerned about his appearance.[citation needed]

In an episode of Rob Lowe's podcast released in January 2021, Kudrow said she had only seen the rebuilt Central Perk set and filmed "a little something" which eventually became Lady Gaga's appearance recorded in November 2020. Director and producer Ben Winston stated the cast trivia game segment was being planned out in March 2021 while producing The Late Late Show and the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[citation needed]

Cast

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Main cast

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Original show producers

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Host

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Guest stars

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The four actors who portrayed the barbershop quartet in "The One With All the Jealousy" appeared in the trivia game segment. Show guest stars Danny DeVito, Ben Stiller, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn were mentioned and shown via archive footage. Actor Paul Rudd briefly appeared in the series finale curtain call. Appearances by director James Burrows and comedian Bob Newhart were cut from the special and used as bonus clips in the HBO Max release.

Release

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The reunion special was originally set to be released with the launch of HBO Max on May 27, 2020, along with the 236 episodes of the original series that were available at launch; this was delayed a year later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] In May 2021, a teaser trailer was released announcing that the reunion special was scheduled to be released on May 27, 2021, on HBO Max.[11] The HBO Max release includes five bonus clips that were cut from the special as extras.

The special was also released internationally simultaneously with the U.S. release on Crave in Canada, Sky One and NOW in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Italy,[12] Foxtel Now and Binge in Australia,[13] TVNZ 2 and TVNZ OnDemand in New Zealand,[14] ZEE5 in India and Pakistan,[15] OSN in the United Arab Emirates,[16] HBO Go and HBO Asia in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong,[17][18] HBO Nordic in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, HBO España in Spain and HBO Portugal in Portugal.

In China, the special was streamed on iQIYI, Youku and Tencent Video, although the scenes featuring Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and BTS have been removed.[19] LGBTQ references and references to urine in the special were also removed.[20] In Japan, the special was exclusively released on U-NEXT on May 31, 2021.[21]

In Vietnam, the special was streamed on FPT Play[22] and VieOn[23] with Vietnamese subtitles being hardsubbed. In South Africa, the special was aired on MNET(DStv) on May 30, 2021, and was released for streaming on Showmax on May 31, 2021.[24]

Reception

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Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 57 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "It may work best for die-hards, but when it cuts out the noise and focuses on the connections Friends: The Reunion is as warm and comforting as a night in the café."[25] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the special a score of 65 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]

Ratings and viewership

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According to a TV analytics provider TVision, Friends: The Reunion was watched by an estimated 29% of U.S. streaming households on May 27.[27] It also revealed that a significant part of its audience were people between the ages of 35 and 54 (50%) and female (55.4%).[27] According to the analytics company Antenna, the special also drove more subscription to HBO Max in its opening weekend in the U.S. than any of Warner Bros.' new movies in 2021.[28] In the United Kingdom, Friends: The Reunion aired on Sky One and became the channel's most watched programme in its history, with 5.3 million viewers tuning in.[29]

Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref
Hollywood Critics Association August 29, 2021 Best Streaming Sketch Series, Variety Series, Talk Show or Comedy/Variety Special Friends: The Reunion Nominated [30]
Primetime Emmy Awards September 19, 2021 Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) Ben Winston, Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman, David Crane, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Emma Conway, James Longman, Stacey Thomas-Muir, Brett Blakeney, Dave Piendak, Carly Robyn Segal, Guy Harding, Paul Monaghan, Tracie Fiss, Mike Darnell, Brooke Karzen and James Corden Nominated [31]
September 11 and 12, 2021 Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special Ben Winston Nominated
Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special Patrick Boozer, Lynn Costa, Russell Fine, Noah Mitz and Madigan Stehly Nominated
Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special Greg Grande, Daren Janes and John Shaffner Nominated
People's Choice Awards December 7, 2021 The Pop Special of 2021 Friends: The Reunion Won [32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gonzales, Erica; Mackelden, Amy (May 19, 2021). "The 'Friends' Reunion Trailer Is Here, and It's So Emotional". Harper's Bazaar. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  2. ^ Winton, Richard; Brennan, Matt (October 28, 2023). "'Friends' star Matthew Perry dead at 54, found in hot tub, sources say". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  3. ^ Blankstein, Andrew; Dasrath, Diana; Melas, Chloe; Romero, Dennis (October 29, 2023). "Matthew Perry, 'Friends' actor, dies of apparent drowning at 54". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  4. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (November 12, 2019). "'Friends' Reunion Special in the Works at HBO Max (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "The One Where They Got Back Together | WarnerMedia Pressroom". WarnerMedia. February 21, 2020. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (February 21, 2020). "'Friends' Reunion Special Officially A Go At HBO Max With Cast Returning". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  7. ^ "Friends to reunite for one-off special on HBO Max". BBC News. February 22, 2020. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  8. ^ "The Friends reunion has been filmed in Los Angeles: Here's what we know". BBC News. April 12, 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  9. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (March 18, 2020). "'Friends' Reunion Special Delayed at HBO Max". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Rubin, Elana (May 28, 2021). "'Friends': Lady Gaga Referenced 'A Star Is Born' Movie While Singing Phoebe Buffay's 'Smelly Cat' Song". cheatsheet.com. Showbiz. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  11. ^ Swift, Andy (May 13, 2021). "Friends Reunion Special Gets May Premiere Date on HBO Max — First Look". TVLine. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  12. ^ Swain, Marianka (May 24, 2021). "Everything we learnt from the Friends Reunion trailer". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  13. ^ Marshall, Alice; Lambrechts, Stephen (May 25, 2021). "Where to watch Friends: The Reunion in Australia - stream the new special this week". TechRadar. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  14. ^ "'How You Doin' New Zealand - Friends: The Reunion Is Coming To TVNZ". Scoop. May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  15. ^ "'Friends: The Reunion' to Stream on Digital Platform ZEE5 in India". News18 India. May 23, 2021. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  16. ^ "How to watch Friends: The Reunion in the UAE". Time Out Dubai. May 25, 2021. Archived from the original on May 30, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  17. ^ "HBO Go crashes as Friends reunion special goes live". The Straits Times. May 27, 2021. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  18. ^ Dass, Camillia (May 27, 2021). "Don't Have HBO Go? Here's How to Watch the Friends Reunion Special in Singapore". Tatler Singapore. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  19. ^ "Why Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and BTS Are Cut From 'Friends' Reunion in China". Vice. May 27, 2021. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  20. ^ "Friends reunion: BTS, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber censored in China". BBC News. May 28, 2021. Archived from the original on May 28, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  21. ^ "日本での配信が5月31日（月）に緊急決定！大人気シリーズ17年ぶりの同窓会『フレンズ：ザ・リユニオン』がU-NEXTにて日本初、見放題で独占配信". PRTIMES (in Japanese). May 27, 2021. Archived from the original on May 30, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  22. ^ "Friends: The Reunion". FPT Play. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  23. ^ "Friends: The Reunion". Vieon. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  24. ^ "Watch FRIENDS: THE REUNION on DStv". DStv. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  25. ^ "Friends: The Reunion". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  26. ^ "Friends: The Reunion". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  27. ^ a b Spangler, Todd (May 29, 2021). "'Friends: The Reunion' Was Almost as Big as 'Wonder Woman 1984' on HBO Max". Variety. Archived from the original on May 29, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  28. ^ Clark, Travis (June 12, 2021). "HBO Max's 'Friends' reunion drove more sign-ups than any of its other releases this year, new data suggests". Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  29. ^ "The one where Friends: The Reunion becomes Sky One's most watched show ever". Sky Group. June 10, 2021. Archived from the original on February 24, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  30. ^ "Ted Lasso, The Handmaid's Tale, and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist lead Inaugural HCA TV Awards Nominations – Hollywood Critics Association". Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  31. ^ "Friends: The Reunion". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  32. ^ Lenker, Maureen Lee (October 27, 2021). "Here are the nominees for the 2021 People's Choice Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
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