Everything You Need To Know About The ‘Friends’ Reunion On HBO Max

The hit TV show Friends is making its way back on air with a reunion, which will be on the streaming service HBO Max starting May 27.

The characters Monica, Rachel, Ross, Phoebe, Chandler and Joey are all going to be in the episode special, Friends: The Reunion, and will also be known as The One Where They Get Back Together.

A teaser was released on Wednesday, where the cast is seen getting emotional and laughing at all the memories they made throughout their journey in filming the show for 10 seasons.

 

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Though not much has been revealed about the special episode, co-star David Schwimmer explained that the cast will not be in character.

“There’s nothing scripted, we’re not in character,” explained Schwimmer during an interview on The Graham Norton Show. “We’re all ourselves, the real people.”

The show Friends ran for 10 seasons – the main characters remain close throughout the entire show, some of them getting involved romantically.

Jennifer Aniston played Rachel Green, a character known for her desire to pursue a career in the fashion industry. At the beginning of the show, she works as a waitress in the coffee shop Central Perk – a place where the group often hangs out. She has an on-and-off relationship with Ross Geller, played by David Schwimmer and the two have a daughter named Emma together.

Ross Geller is a proud paleontologist and the show starts off with him getting out of a marriage because his wife Carol – whom he has a child with as well – discovers she is a lesbian. Geller is also known for his catchphrase “We were on a break!” which he says throughout the show after he and Rachel break up.

Monica Geller is the younger sister of Ross Geller and is played by Courteney Cox.  Monica is known for her competitiveness and cleanliness and her all-time passion is cooking; she works as a waitress, chef and caterer throughout the show. Geller soon becomes romantically involved with Chandler Bing, played by Matthew Perry and the two adopt twins towards the end of the show due to their inability to conceive children of their own.

Chandler Bing works corporate jobs throughout the show, though it is not always clear what it is he does specifically. Throughout the show, he rooms with Joey Tribbiani but ends up moving in with Monica once their relationship becomes serious. Before becoming Monica’s boyfriend and later on husband, Chandler was in a somewhat unstable relationship with Janice Hosenstein, played by Maggie Wheeler, whose laugh is known to be extremely annoying.

Joey Tribbiani is played by Matt LeBlanc and is portrayed as the most childish of the group. The character is known as a man who loves food and as a man who would rather be with several women instead of committing to one. He works as an actor in the soap opera Days of Our Lives, where he played the character Dr. Drake Remoray. LeBlanc had his own spin-off show, Joey, which lasted two seasons.

Phoebe Buffay, played by Lisa Kudrow, is the quirkiest of the group and works as a masseuse. She often talks about her difficult childhood; her mother committed suicide and as a result, Phoebe ended up living in the streets. She has a strained relationship with her identical twin sister, Ursula. Phoebe does not eat meat and has a side-job as a singer and guitar player in the coffee-house. Buffay is known for her song “Smelly Cat.” Towards the end of the show, she marries Mike, who was played by Paul Rudd.

Several guest stars made appearances throughout the series and many others, including Justin Beiber, Cara Delevingne, David Beckham, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Lady Gaga, Elliot Gould, Kit Harington, Mindy Kaling, Larry Hankin, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, James Michael Tyler, Tom Selleck, Reese Witherspoon, Malala Yousafzai and Maggie Wheeler will join the reunion.

The director of the reunion, Ben Winston, explained that BTS’s time in the episode will be brief.

“I want to manage your expectations on this,” he tweeted. “They are great of course, but they are one of the interviews, talking briefly about why they like Friends.”