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When is a Friends reunion not really a Friends reunion?

Updated: Keep your enthusiasm in check -there's no guarantee of a true gathering of our Central Perk pals just yet....

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Entertainment sites and social media have been buzzing with excitement over talk of a potential Friends reunion.

All six cast members are confirmed to participate in an NBC tribute to veteran comedy director James Burrows.

NBC president Bob Greenblatt told the Television Critics Association Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer would all participate in the special on February 21st.

But does it really constitute a “reunion” as such?

“I’m hoping all six will be in same room at same time,” he said, but cautioned, “I’m not sure we can logistically can pull it off.”

Since Friends ended in 2004 fans have long-awaited a reunion -so much so that it’s surely worth a pretty penny for the six to agree to a formal reunion. Expecting them to give it away for ‘free’ in a Burrows tribute may be hoping for too much.

Meanwhile other cast members from Burrows’ impressive CV (including Cheers, Taxi, Mary Tyler Moore, The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley, Frasier, Will & Grace and the pilot for The Big Bang Theory) are expected to participate. It will be must-see TV if we are lucky enough to get it in Australia -and only a true Friends reunion assures us of that.

Updated: “Matthew will not be attending as he is in London in rehearsals for his play, The End of Longing, which begins previews on Feb. 2 at the playhouse Theatre. NBC executives were aware of this prior to their TCA announcement yesterday,” Lisa Kasteler wrote in an email to reporters. “Matthew may tape something for the tribute. In other words, this is not the reunion people have been hoping for.”

6 Responses

  1. If all you want is a reunion then them sitting around in a pub having a few beers and discussing baseball would count.

    What fans usually want is the continuation of the story of the characters. In the US that is usually a TVM, in the UK for comedies you get short sketches for charity and/or royal variety performances.

    What the US usually serves up is reminiscences and behind the scenes gossip. That can be either together as a panel discussion or separately (not a reunion).

    As for the Friends they keep in touch and appear in each others projects all the time, which are reunions. Schwimmer’s appearance Episodes was hilarious.

  2. After the hype on TV this is a little disappointing. I was expecting some kind of TV movie showing where there lives were now.

    Will be interesting to see if this is showing here any time soon.

  3. A Friends reunion should happen on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt so as they can make fun of themselves as the Six White Complainers (perhaps as doing an Ad from Korea)…a bit like how Seinfeld did it on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

    1. Curb Your Enthusiasm immediately came to mind! That’s the only way I’d like to see a Friends reunion, as something built into another show. I really wouldn’t like to see a Friends: 20 Years Later or something like that, the expectations of it would be so high and would be so disappointing if it didn’t come off properly.

      1. Should’ve added, Episodes would be great for a Friends reunion, the set up is already there and David’s been in it before. It’s always fun seeing actors play a version of themselves.

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