Deadline‘s sources have confirmed that the taping of the unscripted Friends reunion special will begin taping in Los Angeles sometime in the next week. HBO Max has not confirmed. The delay of the taping was one of the biggest Covid-19 lockdown studio casualties. Its shooting was originally slated for last year.
The highly anticipated special will feature Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc, who have portrayed the roles of Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, Ross, Chandler and Joey. The returning stars of the classic sitcom reportedly earned $3-to-$4 million each for the special.
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Ben Winston will direct and serve as an executive producer of the unscripted Friends reunion special. Also returning are the show’s original producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane. The show’s six core stars will also executive produce alongside Emma Conway and James Longman.
Friends was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. The popular series lasted over ten seasons from 1994-2004 which followed the story of six friends who lived in New York City.
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25 years have passed since its debut but the 62-time Emmy Award-nominated series stands the test of time and is still considered one of the best TV series of all time. Thanks to its life on streaming, it has also become a pop culture phenomenon and subject of bidding wars. WarnerMedia reportedly successfully won back the exclusive streaming rights for all 10 seasons of Friends for price of $425 million. As previously reported, it was Warner Media Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt, who was responsible for pushing to develop a Friends reunion special.
The special will be filmed on the iconic show’s original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank to be released on HBO Max.
