Everything We Know About the 'Friends' HBO Max Reunion Special: 'It's Happening'

HBO Max confirmed Friday that the shows original cast would reunite for a non-scripted special

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Published on November 20, 2019 08:30 AM

It’s been 15 years since Friends went off the air, but fans of the seminal TV sitcom have been clamoring for a reunion. And finally, they are in luck.

The show’s original cast— Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc — blew up the internet on Friday when they confirmed that a reunion special is coming to HBO Max.

HBO Max also confirmed the news, writing on its Instagram Story, “The one where they got back together. The Friends cast set to reunite for exclusive HBO Max special #FriendsReunion #HBOMax.”

The entire cast will return to the comedy’s original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, California, for a celebration of the series. The unscripted cast reunion special, along with all 236 episodes of the series, will be available to subscribers at the launch of HBO Max in May 2020.

To announce the upcoming reunion, Cox, Aniston, Kudrow, Perry and Schwimmer all posted the same cast photo to their respective Instagram accounts while LeBlanc jokingly posted a MASH cast photo.

“It’s happening,” the Friends cast all wrote in their captions.

News of the reunion special has excited famous fans of the NBC sitcom as well. Charlie Puth, Sarah Hyland, and Jenna Dewan were just a few of the celebrities that commented on the cast’s Instagrams to express their excitement.

Rumors of a reunion special had been swirling for weeks. An insider previously told PEOPLE that the cast was “in talks” for a collaboration, but noted that it would not be a reboot in which the actors reprise their beloved characters.

In October, Aniston, 50, weighed in on the project during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres. “We’d love for there to be something, but we don’t know what that something is,” she said. “So we’re just trying — we’re really working on something.”

Friends aired for 10 seasons before its series finale in 2004. Since then, the actors have gone on to act and direct in other projects, though the show that made them household names has continued to hold a special place, perhaps most notably for Aniston.

“Friends was the most important and the most loved project ever for Jen,” a source close to the actress previously told PEOPLE. “When it ended, she basically cried for days.”

In fact, Aniston’s first-ever post on Instagram was a photo of the actress snuggled up to her former Friends costars. “It was the first time in years that they all managed to get together,” said the source. “They spent hours together and had the best time. It was super special to Jen.”

The Friends cast also united to finally welcome Perry, 50, to Instagram just a few weeks before the reunion special was confirmed.