A 'Friends' Reunion Special Is Really In The Works At HBO Max

It turns out HBO Max is the one that will be there for us. The forthcoming WarnerMedia streaming service is working hard to bring the cast of Friends back together in an unscripted reunion special. This would be the first time the cast of the hit sitcom, which has found new life as one of the most lucrative streaming titles on the market, would reunite onscreen since the show wrapped up its 10-season run in 2004.

Variety reports that an unscripted Friends reunion special is really in the works at HBO Max. The forthcoming WarnerMedia streaming platform is currently in discussions with original cast members Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer to appear in this special alongside series co-creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman. While nothing is set in stone yet, the idea of the original six stars reuniting in something that's not a grainy Instagram photo is something we could not be more excited for.

But Variety notes that this will be an unscripted special that will most likely feature "the cast and creators sharing stories and memories from the set of the beloved sitcom." So don't expect updates on how Chandler and Monica are doing in their suburban house, whether Rachel finally ditched Ross to go to Paris, or whether Joey is actually canon.

The news comes after Aniston posted a grainy photo of the Friends gang reunited on Instagram, before going on The Ellen Degeneres Show to hint that "something Friends"-related is on its way. "We're just trying. We're working on something," Anison teased to Degeneres.

The cast and crew of Friends have been fielding questions about a reunion for years, with Kauffman just two months ago ruling out the idea of a reunion at a Tribeca TV Festival panel marking the 25th anniversary of the series. "We will not be doing a reunion show. We will not be doing a reboot," Kauffman said. But as HBO Max has shown us before with its surprise acquisition of the Studio Ghibli streaming rights, never say never. Or at least, never say never to the right amount of money.

HBO Max clearly is willing to spend the big bucks on Friends, which for years was Netflix's most lucrative non-original title. HBO Max beat out Netflix and NBC in a heated five-figure bidding war for the streaming rights to Friends, which will debut all 236 episodes on HBO Max upon its launch in May 2020.