Fans have waited over 15 years to see the entire main cast of Friends reunite, and were thrilled to hear of their plan to do just that for an upcoming special on soon-to-launch streaming service HBO Max. Now, the cast of Friends is being forced to pivot those reunion plans, thanks to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The Friends reunion, which was slated to be filmed this week, has been pushed until “at least” May, according to sources for Variety. The unscripted program was set to be filmed on the original Friends soundstage on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., and feature the original cast of Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Courteney Cox (Monica Geller), David Schwimmer (Ross Geller), Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), and Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing).
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Southern California has been hit hard with the coronavirus, and many television and film productions have shut down temporarily in order for people to practice social distancing. Daytime talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which also films on the Warner Bros. lot, plans to go dark until (at least) March 31. For many programmes, there is no official timeline for to start back up again.
Before you get all Ross-and-Rachel-initial-breakup devastated, however, much like Ross and Rachel’s tumultuous relationship, things may still work out...though only time will tell. Per Variety, the reunion special is still on track to launch with HBO Max at an unspecified date in May of 2020. But for those who don’t want to wait to stream Friends, you can still watch the first ten seasons of the show on Netflix. Until then, we’re all on a Friends break — the cast of the sitcom included.