Friends: The Reunion

This is an article” Friends: The Reunion” by Marc Primo

Release date: 27 May 2021 (via HBO Max)

Director: Ben Wiston

Language: English

Production company: Fulwell 73

Producers: Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman, David Crane, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Ben Winston

SPOILER ALERT – We can all understand the hype that was built surrounding the recent Friends cast reunion via HBO. While still giving generations of audiences great laughs from its ten-year span via Netflix, many considered the show one of the last successful TV comedies right before the era of extreme viewer sensitivity and ‘cancel culture’. It’s not that difficult to assume that everyone missed these six Generation X characters together and after 17 years, Ross Gellar; Rachel Green; Monica Gellar; Joey Tribbiani; Phoebe Buffay; and Chandler Bing finally return to the original sets to share memories, more laughs, and sentimental moments with both old and new friends.

Fans were quick to give in to the nostalgia. From being brought back to the original soundstage and locations where many memorable scenes were shot in familiar sets including the Central Perk coffee shop, the two apartments, and that hallway where a secret spot was revealed to be the cast’s venue for their first and last huddle, the Friends reunion was all set to give fans a smorgasbord of segments that delighted and even surprised even the show’s most avid followers.

Of course, not everything worked as well as we had hoped considering the current health crisis and the difficulty in putting the six cast members in a room together with just a few days to shoot. However, no one can really say they are disappointed in what turned out to be a closer and rather eye-opening look into the longevity of on and off-cam relationships that formed during the show and strongly continues to this day.

Let’s take a walkthrough of what transpired during the Friends reunion and see what worked and what somehow missed the mark.

The time machine effect

The moment that each cast member entered the soundstage one by one, and into the original sets, viewers could immediately sense the genuine range of emotions displayed by each actor. Seeing Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc play with their La-Z-Boys in Chandler and Joey’s old apartment, Jennifer Aniston recalling ‘The One With The Ball’ episode, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow telling each other that hugging it out is the best part of the reunion, and Courteney Cox checking to see if hidden scripts are still inside the fruit basket on the dining table or behind the sink are all a blast for fans.

We know how much work has been put into the highly-anticipated reunion after seeing the original sets as it was also revealed that right after the two-part finale in 2004, the soundstage was immediately dismantled the next day for another upcoming show--but not before the cast and crew could share one last night to party and celebrate 10 years of great television.

Being brought back to the sets as we remembered them was overwhelming for the cast members who shared how they did not expect to be placed in the same environment where they spent most of the prime of their lives. From then on, all that most of us can really do is cry happy tears.

Meeting the friends behind Friends

It was reassuring to finally find out the origins of the show through short interviews with show creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman, along with executive producer and director Kevin S. Bright. Fans soon discovered that Chandler was named after a real friend in college and how many of the subjects tackled in the show were culled from the personal New York experiences of both Marta and David during their twenty-something years.

The show creators also told stories about how challenging it was to cast the right people for the six roles. Schwimmer almost did not accept Ross’s role as the actor was then adamant to pursue a career in theater, while both Aniston and Perry were already cast in separate television shows before Friends was set to air.

Fans also giggled at the thought of how Kudrow’s Ursula had previously appeared as a waitress in NBC’s Mad About You before being cast as Phoebe, how LeBlanc showed up on his final audition for the role of Joey with a bloodied nose after a night of ‘method acting’, and how Cox was first envisioned to play Rachel but fought hard to land the role of Monica instead.

Hearing how this group formed straight from the creators and showrunners’ experiences themselves clearly explained what they were actually going for back in 1994. For true blue fans who aspire to be writers or producers someday, there’s no denying this segment is the most important one to take note of during the reunion.

More secrets and surprises between Friends

Regardless of how sad it is to hear the cast members agree once and for all that the HBO Friends reunion will be the last time they will ever talk about it together in front of an audience, fans have somehow received that long-awaited closure they deserve for their loyalty.

Many still gushed at that Schwimmer-Aniston revelation that they were crushing hard on each other from season one – a mutual adoration they instead channeled as their characters Ross and Rachel. Fans were also happy to see former semi-regulars including Tom Selleck (Dr. Richard Burke), Maggie Wheeler (Janice), James Michael Tyler (Gunther), and even Larry Hankin (Mr. Heckles) who all made short appearances during the show.

However, questions flooded the online comment boards about why producers brought in Justin Bieber, Cara Delevigne, and super Korean boy band BTS among others as guests when they could have made more room for other prominent Friends guest stars like Paul Rudd, Giovanni Ribisi, or Cole Sprouse.

Also, we can all see how James Corden played a huge part in the show not only as the host, but also as the head of the production company Fulwell 73 which presented the special. There’s more to take in from Corden’s interview aside from the Ross-Rachel revelation, though most aren’t as explosive (including the catwalk fashion show which also included Cindy Crawford). Bombshells about LeBlanc’s on-set shoulder injury, Kudrow having the best laugh, Schwimmer’s not so fond memories of Ross’s monkey Marcel, and how writers adjusted to the Cox-Perry tandem based on the live audience’s reactions were super fun. But another welcome surprise is how Lady Gaga shared the Central Perk couch in one segment for a rendition of Phoebe's hit, “Smelly Cat”, where the pop sensation later thanked Kudrow for paving the way for women who are sort of ‘different’.

Fortunately, seeing Reese Witherspoon, Elliott Gould, and Christina Pickles share their memories with the cast make up for all of the other questionable choices.

From the living room quiz which tickled our brains for stored Friends facts to revisiting key scenes in new table reads that were interspersed with the actual clips, we were all brought back to that great era of television when the internet did not lord over our social lives, and how being young, single, and lost in the city that never sleeps were way more exciting.

Overall, the Friends reunion was enough to stir and reignite fans’ love and interest in the show. Many probably logged in to Netflix and rewatched all 10 seasons right after the reunion credits (I know I did). And, while it’s final that no other future installment may come (at least with the original cast or just the same, a reboot might just fall short), the cast was right about how Crane, Kauffman, and Bright gave everyone their happy endings, leaving no need for any form of ellipsis.