Talk of a potential Friends reunion special on upcoming streaming platform HBO Max has been happening for some time now, however, nothing was being confirmed.The Hollywood Reporter claimed an unscripted reunion special with the original cast was in the works back in November and it appears they were right.
According to Deadline, the reunion special is back on at HBO Max. Though nobody really knew it was called off to begin with. Matthew Perry got fans in a tizzy on Tuesday (February 4), as well, when he tweeted the cryptic message "big news coming." Before Deadline's report and Perry's tweet, the last anybody had heard of the possible Friends reunion was when Robert Greenblatt, chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment and direct-to-consumer services, told THR in late December: "We're starting it as a special. It's possible there could be something ongoing, but it would be in steps. We're far from that." First they needed to see if they can work out deals that satisfy the entire cast.
Well, work a deal with the entire cast they did. Perry along with the rest of his cast mates, including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, are reportedly going to be paid somewhere between $3 and $4 million. This comes as no surprise as each cast member was making $1 million per episode towards the end of Friends' original run.
The special, which is expected to be a documentary-style retrospective look at the '90s sitcom, will help launch Friends reruns on HBO Max. The newbie streaming platform paid $425 million to acquire the rights to the beloved show, which has been streamed on Netflix for the past few years. Co- creators and executive producers Marta Kauffman and David Crane are expected to have some involvement in the special, as well.
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