
<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> The hotly anticipated <em>Friends</em> reunion will air on HBO Max on May 27, the streamer announced Thursday, releasing a teaser trailer and star-studded list of guest stars for the unscripted <em>Friends: The Reunion</em>—or, “The One Where They Get Back Together.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MedRN92V6lE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trailer</a>&nbsp;shows the backs of the six central&nbsp;<em>Friends</em>&nbsp;cast members—Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer—who will all be participating in the reunion special.</p>



<p>HBO Max described the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2020/11/13/friends-reunion-episode-to-film-in-march-after-months-of-covid-19-delays/?sh=6a535d3f6593">reunion</a>&nbsp;as a “real-life unscripted celebration” of the TV series, which was filmed on the show’s original soundstage at the Warner Bros. Studio backlot in California.</p>



<p>HBO has previously&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/friends-reunion-special-miss-hbo-max-launch-1289773/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;the show will feature the original cast members reuniting on the show’s sets as themselves “to reminisce,” stressing they “want to make it very clear that this is not a new, original episode of the series.”</p>



<p><em>Friends: The Reunion</em>&nbsp;will feature such guests stars as David Beckham,&nbsp;Justin Bieber,&nbsp;BTS,&nbsp;James Corden,&nbsp;Cindy Crawford,&nbsp;Cara Delevingne,&nbsp;Lady Gaga,&nbsp;Elliott Gould,&nbsp;Kit Harington,&nbsp;Larry Hankin,&nbsp;Mindy Kaling,&nbsp;Thomas Lennon,&nbsp;Christina Pickles,&nbsp;Tom Selleck,&nbsp;James Michael Tyler,&nbsp;Maggie Wheeler,&nbsp;Reese Witherspoon&nbsp;and&nbsp;Malala Yousafzai, HBO announced Thursday.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>The&nbsp;<em>Friends</em>&nbsp;reunion special was first confirmed in Feb. 2020 after years of the cast denying the show would return after going off the air in 2004, with the show’s original stars revealing on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B82FMKcBKHL/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a>: “It’s happening.” The special was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/friends-reunion-special-miss-hbo-max-launch-1289773/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">delayed</a>&nbsp;for a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2020/11/13/friends-reunion-episode-to-film-in-march-after-months-of-covid-19-delays/?sh=6a535d3f6593">year</a>&nbsp;due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, after being originally slated to film in late March 2020 and launch with HBO Max. It was unclear when the special would debut before Thursday’s announcement, and the show’s official Instagram account&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNgYJgoHWZm/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed</a>&nbsp;April 10 that filming had only just been completed.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>At least $2.5 million. That’s reportedly how much each of the Friends stars are being paid for the one-off special, according to <a href="https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/friends-cast-reunion-hbo-max-1203510743/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multiple</a> <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/friends-reunion-special-officially-a-go-at-hbo-max-1280432/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sources</a>.</p>



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https://twitter.com/DavidSchwimmer/status/1392889872239710210?s=20
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https://youtu.be/MedRN92V6lE
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2020/11/13/friends-reunion-episode-to-film-in-march-after-months-of-covid-19-delays/?sh=6a535d3f6593">Friends Reunion Episode To Film In March After Months Of Covid-19 Delays</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/friends-reunion-special-miss-hbo-max-launch-1289773/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">‘Friends’ Reunion Special to Miss HBO Max Launch</a>&nbsp;(Hollywood Reporter)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a31050315/friends-reunion-special-news-cast-spoilers-date/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The <em>Friends</em> Reunion Special Is Coming in 2021</a> (Harpers Bazaar)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Alison Durkee, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Friends Television Stills Television

‘Friends’ Reunion To Air On HBO Max May 27 — See Who Will Be Joining The Original Cast


<p>The 2020 Emmy Awards aired Sunday night, celebrating what has, to many, been a bright spot during a gloomy year: television. While the big winners offered few surprises—&nbsp;<em>Succession&nbsp;</em>and&nbsp;<em>Watchmen</em>&nbsp;were favorites entering the night—the broadcast delivered: The heartwarming father-son shots of the<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kemberliespivey/2020/09/20/schitts-creek-star-eugene-levy-wins-his-first-emmy-in-37-years-along-with-his-son-daniel-levy/#286702222a70">&nbsp;Levys winning award after award</a>&nbsp;for their roles in the comedy&nbsp;<em>Schitt&#8217;s Creek</em>, the thrill of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kemberliespivey/2020/09/20/zendaya-becomes-youngest-emmy-winner-for-lead-actress-in-drama/#6307314b742d">Zendaya’s bombshell win</a>&nbsp;for&nbsp;<em>Euphoria</em>&nbsp;and all of it packaged in the first live award show put on during the pandemic that managed to run smoothly.&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/09/20/emmy-awards-2020-the-winners-list-updating-live/#7537639449b5"><strong><em>Emmy Awards 2020: The Winners List</em></strong></a></p>



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading"><strong>Surprise:&nbsp;<em>Schitt’s Creek’s</em>&nbsp;sweep</strong></h3>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🎵 took a long time to come 🎵 <a href="https://t.co/SN7ZKsCH82">pic.twitter.com/SN7ZKsCH82</a></p>&mdash; Schitt&#39;s Creek (@SchittsCreek) <a href="https://twitter.com/SchittsCreek/status/1308233064405966854?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 22, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>While everyone expected&nbsp;<em>Schitt’s</em>&nbsp;<em>Creek</em>&nbsp;to take home a number of trophies, the Canadian series’ sweep of the seven top comedy awards was unprecedented in the Emmy’s 72-year history. The show took home all four comedy acting awards, Best Writing and Directing of a Comedy, and Best Comedy Series. The show also produced father-son wins for Eugene and Daniel Levy, who won for both writing, directing and acting. The unspoken winner behind it all?&nbsp; Pop TV: The cable network walked away with more Emmys than Netflix&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/netflix" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NFLX</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/netflix">+3.7%</a>.</p>



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading"><strong>Snub: Every other comedy</strong></h3>



<p>Sure,&nbsp;<em>Schitt’s Creek&nbsp;</em>was expected to take home comedy’s big wins, but a seven-for-seven streak was not—and it meant a number of shows and actors got completely locked out of the winners’ circle, including&nbsp;<em>Ramy’</em>s Ramy Youssef,&nbsp;<em>Dead to Me’</em>s Linda Cardellini and&nbsp;<em>The Good Place’</em>s D’Arcy Carden.&nbsp;<em>What We Do in the Shadows,&nbsp;</em>an underdog favorite for Best Comedy Series, also walked away empty handed.</p>



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading"><strong>Surprise: The 2020 Emmy Awards Broadcast</strong></h3>



<p>The 2020 Emmy Awards were a gamble. As the first awards show to go completely live during the coronavirus pandemic, they relied on flexibility, an unflappable host and reliable wifi. Insiders and outsiders raised their eyebrows in skepticism when the Television Academy announced its plan. But the night seemingly went off without a hitch. Despite the fact that the Emmys dispatched more than 100 cameras to nominees all over the country, there were no technical glitches to speak of, and host Jimmy Kimmel handled the delicate task of hosting the show during a global pandemic, raging wildfires and political division with grace, aided by quarantine-favorite DJ D-Nice.</p>



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading"><strong>Snub: Netflix</strong></h3>



<p>Netflix may have had more nominations than any other network or streaming service with a record 160 nods, but still walked away from Sunday’s show nearly empty handed. The only awards the streamer won during the Primetime Emmy ceremony were for Best Supporting Actress, Drama (Julia Garner of&nbsp;<em>Ozark</em>) and Best Directing, Limited Series (<em>Unorthodox)</em>. Including the creative arts Emmys, Netflix won a total of 21 awards.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonifitzgerald/2020/09/20/in-prestige-tv-vs-streaming-emmy-showdown-prestige-wins-by-a-mile/#1af74f1b2508">HBO took home</a>&nbsp;30 awards out of its 107 nominations, including 12 at the primetime ceremony with&nbsp;<em>Succession&nbsp;</em>and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kemberliespivey/2020/09/20/yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-wins-his-first-emmy-dedicating-statuette-to-all-of-the-black-women-in-my-life/#14671e1e6f2e"><em>Watchmen</em></a>&nbsp;scoring big wins in the Drama and Limited Series categories. Meanwhile Disney+,&nbsp; Amazon Prime&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/amazon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AMZN</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/amazon">+0.2%</a>&nbsp;and Apple&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/apple" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AAPL</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/apple">+3%</a>&nbsp;TV+ are still far behind the big two; those streaming services took home eight, three and one awards, respectively, with Apple TV+ the only one to win a prize on Sunday night.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading"><strong>Surprise: Diversity&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>The Emmy Awards—like Hollywood itself—are notorious for their lack of diversity, but the issue took center stage on Sunday. Throughout the broadcast, the Emmys brought attention to the issue of the need for diversity in television with&nbsp;<em>Insecure’</em>s Issa Rae,&nbsp;<em>Ugly Betty’s</em>&nbsp;America Ferrara and&nbsp;<em>The Chi’</em>s Lena Waithe sharing their experiences as women of color in the industry. This year’s acting nominees, which were announced at the height of the protests for racial equality this summer, were notably diverse. A record 39 people of color were nominated out of the 102 acting nominations. It is rare that those nominations translate to wins; this year a total of seven acting awards went to Black performers, a new record. On Sunday’s ceremony Black actors took home four of 16 awards, with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kemberliespivey/2020/09/20/regina-king-wins-her-fourth-emmy-for-lead-actress-in-a-limited-series-or-movie/#502711a967b1">Regina King taking home her fourth Emmy</a>—she now ties with Alfre Woodard for the most Emmy wins for a Black performer—and Zendaya became the second Black woman to ever take home the award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama. But there is work to be done. The winners, behind and in front of the camera, are still overwhelmingly white, and Latinx and disabled people were completely shut out of the nominations. “I love being a Black woman, I loved being a Black girl,&#8221; King said in the press room following her win.&#8221;I love being American, and it&#8217;s important that people see all of those things together.”</p>



<h3 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading"><strong>Snub: Jennifer Aniston</strong></h3>



<p>Going into the night, Jennifer Aniston was the favorite for Best Actress in a Drama Series. America’s sweetheart returned to television in a starring role for the first time since&nbsp;<em>Friends</em>&nbsp;wrapped in 2004. She never won an Emmy for her breakout role as Rachel, and her dramatic turn in Apple TV+’s&nbsp;<em>Morning Show&nbsp;</em>seemed like a natural winner. While critics unanimously praised Zendaya’s performance as a struggling teenage drug addict in HBO’s&nbsp;<em>Euphoria,</em>&nbsp;her win for Best Lead Actress in a Drama seemed to shock her as much as it did the viewers. The youngest woman to ever win the award at age 24, she spoke to her generation as she accepted the award.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>“I just want to say to all our peers out there doing the work in the streets: I see you, I admire you, I thank you.”</p><cite>-Zendaya</cite></blockquote>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Still don’t really have any words&#8230;.feeling so much love right now, thank you. <a href="https://t.co/ZKpn46lLiW">pic.twitter.com/ZKpn46lLiW</a></p>&mdash; Zendaya (@Zendaya) <a href="https://twitter.com/Zendaya/status/1308106132590792704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p><em>By Madeline Berg, Forbes Staff</em></p>


Emmy Host Jimmy Kimmel laughs with stage Manager Gary Natoli during rehearsals Friday for the 72nd Annual Emmy Awards taking place at Staples Center this Sunday.

Tag: Jennifer Aniston

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‘Friends’ Reunion To Air On HBO Max May 27 — See Who Will Be Joining The Original Cast

Emmy Awards 2020: Zendaya And ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Shine, While Netflix Gets Snubbed