The entire world went gaga after HBO Max announced that the Friends sitcom was going to come back for a reunion special episode! The teaser got everybody emotional because it literally took us all down memory lane and made us re-live all those memories we had grown up with and been a part of. The show, which starred Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Mathew Perry, is one of the most loved sit-coms ever and fans (us, included) couldn’t contain their excitement when they came to know that the reunion finally had a release date — 27th May, 2021. Today, the episode premiered here in India on Zee5. From them revealing some super sweet and fun BTS secrets to Lady Gaga performing Smelly cat with Phoebe, there’s a lot that’s going to be happening and we are here to give you all the live updates!
The entire episode is of 1 hour 39 minutes.
- The special starts with the last scene of the finale episode where the 6 friends say a final good-bye to their iconic apartment and go down to the cafe to grab a cup of coffee. And cut to 17 years later, David Schwimmer (Ross) walks into the original set, and lets out a nostalgic ‘wow’ as he sees the iconic rooms of the show – Chandler and Joey’s Apartment, Monica and Rachel’s apartment and the cafe – just as it was 17 years ago. Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe) then enters, followed by Jennifer (Rachel), and Matt Le Blanc (Joey). And then comes in Courteney, crying already, with Matt wiping her tears (awhh)! And last but not the least, Matthew Perry comes in, with Jennifer going, ‘Could you BE any later?’
- The cast join James Corden in the same set the shot the opening title track ‘I’ll Be There For You’, complete with the iconic F.R.I.E.N.D.S couch and a live audience super excited to see them all together!
- The cast then meet the creators of the show — Martha Kaufmann, David Crane, Kevin Bright — who go on to speak about how the show came into being, all that inspired them and how they cast for the show (with some super fun and surprising trivia!) One thing that stands out definitely is Bright’s one sentence pitch for the show, saying ‘It’s about a time in your life where your friends are your family’! And that perfectly describes the show doesn’t it?
- Talking about their favourite episodes, Courteney says that the quiz episode is her favourite. And guess what? They recreate it with some fun F.R.I.E.N.D.S trivia questions and it’s the best! We even have guest stars like Mr.Heckles from downstairs make an appearance along with Richard (Tom Selleck) and Thomas Lennon (the guy who was Joey’s hand twin), The Gellers (Elliot Gould & Christina Pickles), and Oh My God! How can we forget, Maggie Wheeler (Janice), James Michael Tyler (Gunther), among others also make an appearance!
- They even recreate the table reading session for the episode where Monica gets stung by a jellyfish and Chandler pees on her! Oh, and the even re-read the lines from the episode where everyone gets to know about Chandler and Monica where Phoebe goes “My eyes, my eyes!”. And oh, the first time Ross and Rachel kiss. Ah, just so iconic seeing them re-read those lines after all those years!
- Speaking of guest stars, we have Reese Witherspoon who talks about how how she was so excited to guest star on the show as Rachel’s spoilt younger sister! Then there is David Beckham who talks about the character he mostly relates to, Kit Harrington sharing why he thinks he is a Geller, Malala Yousufza and her best friend who talk about how the show brought them closer! Then there is Mindy Kaling and the K-Pop band BTS, who talk about how they watched F.R.I.E.N.D.S on DVDs!
- The part that really was sweet was common people from around the world speak about how FR.I.E.N.D.S was a show that shaped them, their interactions with people and influenced them so much.
- They also talk about not so fun stuff too — like the time one of them got injured, or how there was this one co-star Ross hated to work with.
- And then there is the Smelly Cat rendition Ft. Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe and a huge Smelly Cat fan, Lady Gaga! What a performance this was!
- There’s also a rather interesting revelation about Ross and Rachel’s relationship!
- Speaking of the iconic costumes, there is a WHOLE FRIKKIN’ FASHION SHOW with the iconic costumes and the models are LEGENDARY!!!
- And lastly, the cast speak about what they think their characters will be upto now, after all these years, making it such a lovely and happy note to end it on!
This certainly was THE most bitter-sweet 1 hour and 39 minutes for me and for every F.R.I.E.N.D.S fan out there because it took us on a roller-coaster ride of emotions, leaving us laughing and crying and smiling at the end of it all.
Here’s to catching the 6 friends on our Instagram, getting together for more dinners as they assured! Tell me, what was your most favourite part of the episode?