After delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Friends reunion is ready to roll cameras next week. Returning for the anticipated presentation is Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry, who will reunite on a Warner Bros. soundstage for the HBO Max event.
Originally, filming for the reunion was scheduled for February 2020, but Covid-19 was like, Nah, I don't think so. Sources close to the reunion have said that each star would make $2.5 million for their participation. Can you imagine getting paid that kind of money to chat with your friends for just a few hours? Celebrities, you can't take them anywhere.
The reunion special is another major get for HBO Max, whose subscriber numbers are on the rise after the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, Godzilla vs. Kong, and soon, Mortal Kombat. While the reunion could have been filmed via the internet, Warner Bros. execs wanted to wait until the actors could be in the same room with one another. Back in March, Bob Greenblatt – then WarmerMedia Entertainment chairman said that there was "value to having a big, raucous live audience to experience these six great friends coming back together and we didn’t want to just suddenly do it on a web call with, you know, six squares and people shooting from their kitchens and bedrooms.” It's true, there's nothing quite like filming in front of an audience. Especially a crowd as loud and proud as a bunch of Friends fans.
With cameras set to film next week, it's only a matter of time before the reunion reaches HBO Max, and oh what a time it will be. Oh, and by the way, if you're hankering for some Friends before the big to-do, all 10 seasons of the sitcom are streaming on HBO Max right now.