Friends: The Reunion Explained

Director:Ben Winston
Presenter:James Corden
Country:United States
Language:English
Runtime:104 minutes
Network:HBO Max
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

Development

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

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". Representatives for Perry clarified that he had an emergency dental surgery prior to filming when viewers were concerned about his appearance.

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.

Cast

Main cast

Original show producers

Host

Guest stars

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

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

Critical response

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the special a score of 65 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[25]

Ratings and viewership

According to a TV analytics provider TVision, Friends: The Reunion was watched by an estimated 29% of U.S. streaming households on May 27.[26] It also revealed that a significant part of its audience were people between the ages of 35 and 54 (50%) and female (55.4%).[26] 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.[27] 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.[28]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s) Result
Hollywood Critics AssociationAugust 29, 2021Best Streaming Sketch Series, Variety Series, Talk Show or Comedy/Variety SpecialFriends: The Reunion[29]
Primetime Emmy AwardsSeptember 19, 2021Outstanding 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[30]
September 11 and 12, 2021Outstanding Directing for a Variety SpecialBen Winston
Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety SpecialPatrick Boozer, Lynn Costa, Russell Fine, Noah Mitz and Madigan Stehly
Outstanding Production Design for a Variety SpecialGreg Grande, Daren Janes and John Shaffner
People's Choice AwardsDecember 7, 2021The Pop Special of 2021Friends: The Reunion[31]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Gonzales. Erica. Mackelden. Amy. May 19, 2021. The 'Friends' Reunion Trailer Is Here, and It's So Emotional. May 19, 2021. Harper's Bazaar. March 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200303080626/https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a31050315/friends-reunion-special-news-cast-spoilers-date/. live.
  2. News: Winton . Richard . Brennan . Matt . October 28, 2023 . 'Friends' star Matthew Perry dead at 54, found in hot tub, sources say . . live . October 29, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231029004752/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-10-28/freinds-star-matthew-perry-dead-at-56 . October 29, 2023.
  3. News: Blankstein . Andrew . Dasrath . Diana . Melas . Chloe . Romero . Dennis . October 29, 2023 . Matthew Perry, 'Friends' actor, dies of apparent drowning at 54 . . live . October 29, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231029111203/https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/matthew-perry-friends-actor-dies-apparent-drowning-54-rcna122643 . October 29, 2023.
  4. Web site: Goldberg . Lesley . 'Friends' Reunion Special in the Works at HBO Max (Exclusive) . . April 14, 2021 . November 12, 2019 . November 15, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191115203707/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/friends-reunion-special-works-at-hbo-max-1254331 . live .
  5. Web site: The One Where They Got Back Together WarnerMedia Pressroom . . February 29, 2020 . February 21, 2020 . February 22, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200222073745/https://pressroom.warnermediagroup.com/na/media-release/hbo-max/one-where-they-got-back-together . live .
  6. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . Petski . Denise . 'Friends' Reunion Special Officially A Go At HBO Max With Cast Returning . . February 29, 2020 . February 21, 2020 . March 25, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200325043452/https://deadline.com/2020/02/friends-reunion-special-confirmed-hbo-max-cast-returning-jennifer-aniston-courtney-cox-1202865593/ . live .
  7. Web site: Friends to reunite for one-off special on HBO Max . . April 14, 2021 . February 22, 2020 . February 21, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200221233831/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51590988 . live .
  8. Web site: The Friends reunion has been filmed in Los Angeles: Here's what we know . . April 14, 2021 . April 12, 2021 . April 12, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210412160641/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-56719418 . live .
  9. Web site: Goldberg . Lesley . 'Friends' Reunion Special Delayed at HBO Max . . April 14, 2021 . March 18, 2020 . March 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200320160106/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/friends-reunion-special-delayed-at-hbo-max-1285276 . live .
  10. Web site: Rubin . Elana . 'Friends': Lady Gaga Referenced 'A Star Is Born' Movie While Singing Phoebe Buffay's 'Smelly Cat' Song . cheatsheet.com . Showbiz . 12 June 2021 . https://archive.today/20210612170228/https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/friends-lady-gaga-referenced-a-star-is-born-movie-singing-phoebe-buffay-smelly-cat-song.html/ . 12 June 2021 . 28 May 2021 . live.
  11. Web site: Friends Reunion Special Gets May Premiere Date on HBO Max — First Look. Swift. Andy. TVLine. May 13, 2021. May 13, 2021. May 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210513170209/https://tvline.com/2021/05/13/friends-reunion-premiere-date-video-hbo-max/. live.
  12. News: Swain . Marianka . Everything we learnt from the Friends Reunion trailer . . May 25, 2021 . May 24, 2021 . May 24, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210524232919/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/friends-reunion-trailer-everything-learnt-how-watch-uk/ . live .
  13. Web site: Marshall . Alice . Lambrechts . Stephen . Where to watch Friends: The Reunion in Australia - stream the new special this week . . May 25, 2021 . May 25, 2021 . May 25, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210525090929/https://www.techradar.com/au/news/where-to-watch-friends-the-reunion-how-to-stream-long-awaited-episode-online . live .
  14. News: May 21, 2021. 'How You Doin' New Zealand - Friends: The Reunion Is Coming To TVNZ. May 25, 2021. Scoop.
  15. News: May 23, 2021. 'Friends: The Reunion' to Stream on Digital Platform ZEE5 in India. May 25, 2021. News18 India. May 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210525062840/https://www.news18.com/news/movies/friends-the-reunion-to-air-exclusively-on-digital-platform-zee5-in-india-3768353.html. live.
  16. How to watch Friends: The Reunion in the UAE. Time Out Dubai. May 25, 2021. May 29, 2021. May 30, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210530230600/https://www.timeoutdubai.com/movies/467419-friends-the-reunion-premiere-uae. live.
  17. News: May 27, 2021. HBO Go crashes as Friends reunion special goes live. May 28, 2021. The Straits Times. June 3, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210603221201/https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/hbo-go-crashes-as-friends-reunion-special-goes-live. live.
  18. Dass. Camillia. May 27, 2021. Don't Have HBO Go? Here's How to Watch the Friends Reunion Special in Singapore. May 28, 2021. Tatler Singapore. May 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210527154058/https://sg.asiatatler.com/society/how-to-watch-the-friends-reunion-in-singapore. live.
  19. Why Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and BTS Are Cut From 'Friends' Reunion in China. May 27, 2021. Vice. May 27, 2021 . May 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210527190451/https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj8kq7/bieber-lady-gaga-bts-friends-reunion-china. live.
  20. News: Friends reunion: BTS, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber censored in China. BBC News. May 28, 2021. May 29, 2021. May 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210528095047/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57277952.amp. live.
  21. Web site: 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. 2021-05-27. ja. May 29, 2021. May 30, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210530040220/https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/amp/p/000000608.000031998.html. live.
  22. Web site: Friends: The Reunion. FPT Play. May 29, 2021. June 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212442/https://fptplay.vn/hbo-go/chi-tiet-video/nhung-nguoi-ban-tai-ngo-friends-the-reunion-60a911382089bd1438364e29. live.
  23. Web site: Friends: The Reunion. Vieon. June 1, 2021. June 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215505/https://vieon.vn/friends-the-reunion.html. live.
  24. Web site: Watch FRIENDS: THE REUNION on DStv. May 31, 2021. DStv. June 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215413/https://www.dstv.co.za/whats-on/news/articles/must-watch-friends-the-reunion/. live.
  25. friends-the-reunion. tv. Friends: The Reunion. November 4, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231029033610/https://www.metacritic.com/tv/friends-the-reunion/. October 29, 2023. live.
  26. Web site: 'Friends: The Reunion' Was Almost as Big as 'Wonder Woman 1984' on HBO Max. Todd. Spangler. May 29, 2021. February 24, 2023. Variety. https://archive.today/20210529232954/https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/friends-reunion-viewing-ratings-hbo-max-1234984547/. May 29, 2021. live.
  27. Web site: HBO Max's 'Friends' reunion drove more sign-ups than any of its other releases this year, new data suggests. Travis. Clark. June 12, 2021. February 24, 2023. Business Insider. https://archive.today/20210613210422/https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-max-friends-reunion-drove-more-signups-than-wb-movies-2021-6. June 13, 2021. live.
  28. Web site: The one where Friends: The Reunion becomes Sky One's most watched show ever. Sky Group. June 10, 2021. February 24, 2023. https://archive.today/20230224005459/https://www.skygroup.sky/article/the-one-where-friends-the-reunion-becomes-sky-one-s-most-watched-show-ever. February 24, 2023. live.
  29. Web site: Ted Lasso, The Handmaid's Tale, and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist lead Inaugural HCA TV Awards Nominations – Hollywood Critics Association. July 11, 2021. en-US.
  30. Web site: Friends: The Reunion . Emmys.com . . September 13, 2021 . July 16, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210716141740/https://www.emmys.com/shows/friends-reunion . live .
  31. Here are the nominees for the 2021 People's Choice Awards. Lenker. Maureen Lee. October 27, 2021. Entertainment Weekly. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211027155802/https://ew.com/awards/peoples-choice-awards-2021-nominees-list/. October 27, 2021. December 8, 2021.

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