Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer were originally going to shoot for the Friends reunion special on March 23-24 at the Friends’ soundstage, Stage 24 of the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, California. However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the shoot had to be put on hold.
The coronavirus pandemic has pressured the world to the confines of their home as a preventive measure to not just save oneself but the ones around them as well. Due to the pandemic, important entertainment events have either been delayed or even cancelled! Whether it be Olympics 2020 or even the MET Gala 2020, nothing has been able to break through the virus. Initially, the Friends stars were supposed to shoot for the reunion special at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California on March 23-24. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the reunion has officially been put on hold because of the COVID-19 scare.
THR also confirmed that the original cast members of Friends – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer – will not be meeting virtually as they want the reunion to be a more personal experience at the Friends’ iconic soundstage, Stage 24. HBO Max in a statement shared, “We want to share some background information about the production dates for the upcoming unscripted Friends reunion special for HBO Max. As was previously reported, production is delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that the special will not be available on the streamer on Day 1 of launch. But it is coming!”
“The cast and producers are all very excited to go into production, as this will be the first time since the show ended that the whole cast will be together, and on the original sets to reminisce. There are loads of great surprises in store and lots of rare behind-the-scenes footage they are eager to share. We will keep you informed as plans solidify and once we have a firm premiere date,” the statement continued.
“Lastly, in order to avoid any misunderstanding about what this special is, we want to make it very clear that this is not a new, original episode of the series. The cast will be appearing as themselves, not as their beloved characters. And though fans will have to wait a bit longer for the reunion, they can watch all 236 episodes of the series on day one of HBO Max launch in May!,” the statement concluded.
