
The episode makes passing mention of these two things, interspersed with brief interviews from long-time Friends fans in Russia, Japan, South Africa, France, Ghana, India, Germany, Mexico, and Slovakia. It influenced everything from fashion to spoken language “The Rachel” was an unavoidable ’90s hairdo in many countries, while rapper RM, of Korean boyband BTS (who appear in the special), was one of many people who learned English by watching the show.
Hbo friends reunion series#
Exploring a Global Phenomenonįriends was no doubt a domestic success with the 2004 series finale bringing in 52 million viewers, but its impact across the globe is practically unparalleled. Here are five things that stand out about Friends: The Reunion, and what they have to say about the special, and the show as a whole. Nothing in the episode is particularly mind-blowing - one reveal, however, is rather sweet - but the pomp and circumstance of the whole affair feels like a deserved victory lap for a pop-culture landmark the likes of which television may never see again. It’s not unlike going through a YouTube playlist of late-night interviews and famous scenes, only now they’re accompanied by little tidbits of context that weren’t previously public.

The special is largely unstructured, veering between scripted sketches, candid chats, and interview segments in front of an audience, hosted by a thankfully sparse James Corden and staged in front of the iconic fountain from the show’s opening credits. Viewers only had a narrow window each week (or each day, during eventual re-runs) to spend time with these characters, so the experience felt all the more valuable as it was happening.
Hbo friends reunion tv#
It’s one of the episode’s many trips down memory lane, offering a journey back to a time before TV was on-demand and omnipresent.

The reunion episode begins with the six leads trickling into a soundstage one by one where the original sets have been rebuilt, from Rachel and Monica’s spacious purple apartment to Joey and Chandler’s man-cave across the hall.

For every joke that hasn’t aged well, there are ten reaction shots that feel timelessly funny, and the series remains a major fixture of the streaming era, picking up new fans who are as dedicated as the old ones. Friends: The Reunion on HBO Max brings together the combined global star power of Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courtney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, and Matt LeBlanc, who - according to the special’s opening titles - have only been together in the same room one other time since the show ended in 2004.ġ7 years on, the cast members still keep in touch and the show’s allure has hardly faded.
