Friends Reunion episode will premiere on May 27 on ZEE5. (Photo: ZEE5/Twitter)The main cast of popular American TV show Friends gets together one last time for an unscripted special episode titled Friends: The Reunion. It will really be the end of an era for the actors as well as those people who have come to love the ten-season series.
The special episode, which started streaming on ZEE5 from May 27 at 12:32 pm, features a bevy of celebrities apart from the main stars Matt Le Blanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston. Some of the guests include popular celebrities such as David Beckham, BTS, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Reese Witherspoon, Malala Yousafzai, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Mindy Kaling and Kit Harington among others.
Friends actors Maggie Wheeler and Tom Selleck also mark their presence in the reunion episode. Interestingly, Reese Witherspoon too had briefly appeared on Friends as Rachel Green’s (played by Jennifer Aniston) spoilt sister.
Talking about the release of Friends: The Reunion in India, Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer of ZEE5, said in a statement, “We received an overwhelming response from the audience after recently announcing that FRIENDS: THE REUNION special will stream exclusively on ZEE5 in India. We are proud to share that we will bring this event to India along with the world on May 27 at 12.32 pm! We expect high demand from users and would urge them to avail FRIENDS: THE REUNION Special unlimited viewing offer at least 12 hours in advance before the launch for a seamless experience. We are all geared up to make this a resounding success in India along with the rest of the world.”
Tamil film producer and theatre owner Archana Kalpathi posted on Twitter, "Just finished watching the Friends reunion. So many memories and I still watch it when I feel low or miss my friends. #FriendsReunion #AllTimeFavShow."
Sophie Choudry tweeted, "The #FriendsReunion has been watched & it’s overwhelming. I have laughed and cried my heart out..sometimes both at the same time! And Ross & Rachel reading out THAT scene..?!! Uff, my heart!! Still the most awesome cast from the most epic show."
Amit Goenka - President, Digital Businesses & Platforms, ZEE, said in a statement, “We at ZEE are extremely delighted to note the roaring response that ‘Friends: The Reunion’ received on ZEE5, by amassing 1mn+ views and counting from across the Country. We feel extremely proud to have played a part in understanding and serving the cult-loyal audience of the show, by seamlessly streaming it across millions of screens. Consumer delight and seamless user experience have been an integral aspect of our approach across platforms and this step reinstates our commitment towards our viewers and partners. As the Country’s youngest OTT platform, ZEE5 will continue to win hearts, not just in India, but across the globe. We remain committed to delivering compelling content that caters to the consumers’ unique tastes and preferences and enhances the value for our partners. We will continue to augment our offerings with a bespoke catalogue of premium and original content for audiences in India and across the globe.”
Kishwer Merchant shared this video revealing how she celebrated the Friends reunion day with husband Suyyash Rai.
The male actors had previously shared that they signed a 'no dating pact'. David Schwimmer said, "We didn’t want to jeopardize any of the great relationships and friendships we were forming and had established. It was kind of an unspoken (rule)." Read more here
Twitter user @RafTds11 called actor Paul Rudd, "technically the 7th friend."
"While the creators didn't choose to acknowledge the problematic areas of the show in the reunion, the nearly two-hour long special will still give much joy to the die-hard fans of the show. There are a few jaw-dropping revelations (which must be out on the internet at this point), and there is a genuine sweetness about the way Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt Le Blanc and David Schwimmer interact with each other," write indianexpress.com's Anvita Singh in her review of Friends Reunion.
Also read | Friends Reunion review: Long, bittersweet and a teensy bit revelatory
Actor Chris Ryle Wright tweeted, "I'm dropping everything and watching the Friends Reunion now before I see another spoiler."
Singer, songwriter, presenter Brian Mcfadden posted on Twitter, "#FriendsReunion I can’t believe I had to feel broken that it’s all over again! Could I BE anymore loving it?"
Steven Zeitchik tweeted, "There is good stuff and there is filler in the Friends reunion, but props to the cast for sitting for a trivia game in which they, endearingly, forget key episode moments. Nice reminder it’s an obsession to us but a job to them." He also tweeted, "The Friends reunion is nice because it reminds us they’re real people with real foibles but also maybe breaks the spell a little?"
@divineysl shared on Twitter, "No one could’ve played Rachel Green other than Jennifer Aniston #FriendsReunion."
Actor Jade Morris shared via Twitter, "Definitely feeling emotional watching the #FriendsReunion it had such an impact on a few generations and also they just felt like your friends too #Friends."
Gauri Khan celebrated Friends: The Reunion with a box full of cupcakes which were customised with 'Friends' effects. She shared the photo on her Instagram story.
The actors who played Ross and Rachel accepted that they crushed hard on each other during Friends’ shoot. “The first season I had a major crush on Jen – we were both crushing hard on one another, but it was like two ships passing ‘cause one of us was always in a relationship and we never crossed that boundary,” Schwimmer said. Aniston said the actor’s feelings were “reciprocated”, and said the pair would “spoon and fall asleep on the couch” together during breaks in rehearsal.
The famous Boy band BTS made a special appearance on Friends: The Reunion episode.
A fan @khayaliipulav, shared this clip from the Friends: The Reunion episode and wrote, "Joey wiping Monica's tears, We aren't ready for this #FriendsReunion."
David Schwimmer, in what was a hilarious outburst, revealed he actually hated Marcel the monkey. As fans would remember, the actor's character Ross couldn't be more in love with the animal.
In a sweet and surprising move, the actor who played Mr Heckles made an appearance on Friends: The Reunion in character.
In the ongoing Friends Reunion special episode, the actors relived some of the most iconic scenes of the show by doing a table read, which will certainly bring back memories for die-hard fans.
Today is the day that many have been waiting for the last 17 years. The sitcom, which kicked off in September 1994, is easily one of the most popular English sitcoms in the world. The story of six friends — Ross, Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe — who lived together in apartments that faced each other in New York, has never really gone out of circulation. Today, the six have come back for a reboot, and it’s an overload of nostalgia. We explain the hype and anticipation around it. READ MORE
We might not be at Central Perk but this evokes serious nostalgia.
Friends cast returns to the iconic set one last time and fans cannot keep calm. See the first few seconds of Friends the Reunion as James Corden welcomes them to the fountain scene.
"Some friendships are for life, even if you're reuniting after 17 years. #FriendsReunionOnZEE5 is LIVE! Exploding head In the comments below, tell us the moments that you want to see the cast re-enact, " reads the latest tweet on ZEE5 official Twitter page.
"#Amul Topical: Reunion special of sitcom series ‘Friends’!," tweeted Amul's official Twitter page with the new ad.
Variety reports that the cast is being paid 2.5 million dollars (?18.2 cr) each for the episode. Other reports peg it even higher, between 3-4 million dollars.
Are you excited to see the apartment again where all the fun happens?
A clip from Friends The Reunion's LIVE digital red carpet has Friends star Courteney Cox saying that she is getting emotional as this is 'the last time' they're going to do this reunion. "Can you imagine if I cry over this," said the actor.
The reunion episode will see guest appearances by David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Elliott Gould, Kit Harington, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, Reese Witherspoon and Malala Yousafzai.
With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, the hit show Friends revolves around six friends. Before Friends: The Reunion episode, see how the cast of Friends has changed over the years.
Netflix India shared the ultimate Friends recap for all the seasons.
After 15 reviews, Friends: The Reunion special episode holds a rating of 67 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The first reviews of Friends: The Reunion are here. The special, also called The One Where They Get Back Together, has so far evoked a positive, though not a gushing reception. READ MORE
Friends fan knows Phoebe Buffay's most iconic song "Smelly Cat," and that is why the tune is being resurrected during the upcoming Friends reunion special. In a new interview with Variety, the Friends Reunion's director, Ben Winston, confirmed and said of how the collaboration came together, "I said to Lisa, 'Would you be prepared to sing it?' And she was like, 'Yeah, that would be fun.' We went through a few names, and we both agreed that Gaga, if we could get her, would be the ultimate one because she associates with and feels close to Phoebe in so many ways, as Gaga says on the show."
Did you know there was a cringe-inducing desi copy of Friends starring Cyrus Broacha, Maria Goretti and Nikhil Chinapa? The show was titled Hello Friends and it aired on Zee TV in 1999 and lifted almost everything from Friends. READ MORE
On the eve of the Friends Reunion launch, ZEE5's official Twitter posted, "Follow these easy steps to watch the #FriendsReunionOnZEE5 at 12:32 PM tomorrow (Wednesday) and enjoy this iconic moment along with the rest of the world. Music Credits: Tiokyon."
Friends Reunion is set to air on ZEE5 from 12:32 PM onwards.
In an interview with Variety, Friends: The Reunion director Ben Winston said, “I felt like the take reads were really special. We shot them with four cameras around them on a track. It’s a complicated way to shoot because you can’t have the cameras get in each other’s shots. It was quite a science. It was almost like the opening scene of ‘Reservoir Dogs’ where we shoot around the backs of those mafia bosses. I really wanted it to feel like they were the only ones in the room. If you did that on a long table or a square table it wouldn’t have been as beautiful. It was all about them at that moment.”
David Schwimmer told Reuters, “No-one was going through what we were going through, except the other five. Our family couldn’t relate, our closest friends couldn’t relate... but the only other people who really knew what it was like were the other five.”
Talking to Reuters about a reboot of Friends, Lisa Kudrow said, “They ended the show very nicely. I don’t want anyone’s happy ending to be unraveled.”
IndieWire's Ben Travers noted, "Friends: The Reunion is a special made to be as broad as possible, and it too often ignores or steps on the intimate connections fans already have with their favorite fictional friends."
CNN's Brian Lowry wrote in his review, "A valentine to fans, the nearly two-hour special is inevitably hard-pressed to justify the hype, working best when it lets the cast casually reminisce, while getting carried away with cameos, some of which, well, couldn't be more random."
The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg opined, "Director Ben Winston — fresh off the triumph of this spring’s partially quarantined Grammys — has approached the reunion as a series of games, performances and structured bits, a relentlessly busy 104 minutes that yield an impressive array of funny and emotional moments likely to generally, if not fully, satisfy many or even most dedicated fans."
"Whenever the action moves away from Stage 24, things start to fall apart. The celebrity testimonials add little, except to the reunion's runtime. (In case you were wondering, David Beckham is a Monica.) Corden's interview is banal, though he manages to unearth one (obviously thoroughly vetted in advance) revelation about two of the stars. Surprise guests are treated to awkward, hello-goodbye appearances which are made all the more uncomfortable by Corden's over-animated cheerleading," reads the review by Entertainment Weekly.
Deadline's Dominic Patten wrote in his review, "If you are one of the millions of Friends fans out there, then the Friends: The Reunion special debuting Thursday on HBO Max is exactly the fix you have been craving since the NBC sitcom went off the air in 2004. However, if you don’t have a standing order at Central Perk, you’ll probably want to skip the much-hyped, almost 2 1/2-hour-long shindig that is way more filler than killer, to put it kindly."
Besides the characters and dialogues of Friends, one thing which has withstood the test of time is Rachel Green’s wardrobe. READ MORE.
In a conversation with The Late Late Show host James Corden, Hank Azaria said, "I auditioned for Joey, and didn't get it, and I was like, 'No, no, I have to go back, I have to try again.' So I bullied my way back in for a second time and they were very kind and watched my audition, and then threw me out. Spoiler alert, I didn't get the role of Joey."
In an interview with Access, Matthew Perry shared, "There was a rule that we had, it was really important to the six of us that we kept a friendship, that we were friends. And if we were hooking up or there was any strangeness going on, that might mess with things. So we kept a friendship and we did become really good friends. And we are really good friends to this day. And we kept that going. And that was really important."
Actor R Madhavan shared the trailer of Friends and wrote on his Instagram story, "I believe Friends has become a world religion." The reunion will stream on May 27 on ZEE5.
Khichdi producer JD Majethia’s desi twist to F.R.I.E.N.D.S Reunion poster recently set social media abuzz. Check it out here.
In an interview with ETimes, Madhuri Dixit said, "Friends is my all-time favourite show. They are just ordinary people living their everyday lives and they make you laugh and cry at the same time. I really like the camaraderie of all the actors and the comfort they share with each other. This is what makes the show really good."
Did you know that Lisa Kudrow was pregnant in real-life while filming Phoebe’s pregnancy story in Friends? READ MORE.
While fans are eagerly waiting for the Friends reunion episode, Matthew Perry aka Chandler Bing seems to have landed himself in soup after he decided to advertise a Friends-themed merchandise. READ MORE.
Post the announcement of the Friends reunion episode, a 3.5 times increase in mentions of “Friends Reunion” on Tinder has been noted in April 2021. READ MORE.
The last episode of Friends aired in May 2004 but in the 17 years since then, the show’s fandom has grown manifold. Check out a list of the top 10 episodes from Friends that are a treat to watch here.
The trailer of Friends: The Reunion was released on May 19. In the trailer, the lead cast of Friends, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, were seen revisiting episodes of the hit sitcom. READ MORE
The much-awaited reunion of the American sitcom Friends is just a few days away and fans from all across the world, who have waited for a reboot/sequel/movie or basically just anything more to do with the show for the last 17 years, can’t contain their excitement as they wait for the main cast members – Jennifer Anniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, to get together and recreate moments that have been a part of the pop culture for almost three decades now. And while the cast members give us a trip down memory lane with many tears and laughter, it would be nice if they also acknowledge the problematic bits of the show that have scarred its reputation. READ MORE
In an old interview, The Rembrandts spoke about making the track in the early 90s and how the now-famous claps were not a part of the original track, but they loved them anyway. Danny Wilde and Phil Solem, the men behind The Rembrandts, shared that they recorded the song over three days with Michael Skloff, the Friends theme song composer and Allee Willis “who was responsible for the music and the vibe of the show.” READ MORE
In India, Friends: The Reunion will stream on ZEE5. The special episode will stream from 12:32 pm on May 27.
Manish Kalra, chief business officer, ZEE5 India said in a statement that ZEE5 wanted to stream Friends: The Reunion at the same time as different parts of the world. “We received an overwhelming response from the audience after recently announcing that Friends: The Reunion special will stream exclusively on ZEE5 in India. We are proud to share that we will bring this event to India along with the world on May 27 at 12.32 pm! We expect high demand from users and would urge them to avail Friends: The Reunion Special unlimited viewing offer at least 12 hours in advance before the launch for a seamless experience. We are all geared up to make this a resounding success in India along with the rest of the world,” he shared.