'It's happening!': Friends cast officially confirm reunion show with simultaneous Instagram posts of flashback shot... after inking deal to earn '$2.5million EACH' for unscripted special
- The cast of Friends officially confirmed a reunion show on Friday
- The stars shared simultaneous Instagram posts revealing the big news
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, and Lisa Kudrow all shared the same flashback cast picture as part of the announcement
- Except for Matt LeBlanc, who announced the big news with a snap of the M*A*S*H cast
The cast of Friends officially confirmed a reunion show is on the way with simultaneous Instagram posts on Friday, 16 years after the final episode aired in 2004.
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow all shared the same flashback cast picture with the same caption, which simply stated 'it's happening'. They tagged their co-stars, and HBO Max.
The picture is from a photo shoot by Mark Seliger that ran in Rolling Stone in the Nineties.
Matt LeBlanc went left field in true Joey Tribbiani style and shared a snap of the M*A*S*H cast with the same 'it's happening' caption.
Details of the reunion remain top secret, but it is understood to be to be an 'unscripted' special.
Happy news! Jennifer Aniston announced the Friends reunion show on Instagram along with the remainder of her co-stars; image by Mark Seliger
Friends forever! Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc all captioned their announcement posts with 'It's happening'
The series aired from 1994 until 2004 and has been winning younger fans thanks to Netflix. Now the re-runs will be available on HBO Max after the streaming service secured the rights.
HBO Max also confirmed the news on social media. 'The one where they got back together,' it was stated with the note, 'The Friends cast set to reunite for exclusive HBO Max special.'
'Guess you could call this the one where they all got back together — we are reuniting with David, Jennifer, Courteney, Matt, Lisa, and Matthew for an HBO Max special that will be programmed alongside the entire Friends library,' said Kevin Reilly, chief content officer at HBO Max and president of TBS, TNT, and truTV, in a statement shared on Friday.
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'I became aware of Friends when it was in the very early stages of development and then had the opportunity to work on the series many years later and have delighted in seeing it catch on with viewers generation after generation.
'It taps into an era when friends – and audiences – gathered together in real time and we think this reunion special will capture that spirit, uniting original and new fans.'
Ben Winston will direct the special and executive produce alongside Friends executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, Variety confirmed.
Hilarious: Matt LeBlanc went left field in true Joey Tribbiani style and shared a snap of the M*A*S*H cast with the same 'it's happening' caption
It's really official! HBO Max also sent out a note on social media where they stated the friends cast will 'reunite'
Back for more: The series aired from 1994 until 2004 and has been winning younger fans thanks to Netflix. For months there has been speculation the cast would work with HBO Max on a reunion special
Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc, Perry, and Schwimmer are also executive producing the special. Emma Conway and James Longman are on board as co-executive producers.
For months there has been speculation the cast would work with HBO Max, which will launch in May, on a reunion special.
And last week Perry all but confirmed the rumors when he tweeted out: 'Big news coming...'
Then Schwimmer was put on the spot about whether the famed characters - Monica, Phoebe, Rachel, Ross, Joey and Chandler - will be back onscreen together in one form or another.
Friends for life: Aniston marked the occasion when all six Friends castmembers officially became Instagram friends in October 2019 with this photo
Roomies! Aniston posted this photo back in January with her co-stars, captioned, 'Hi from the girls across the hall'
'First of all, I'm so glad I finally get to answer this question,' Schwimmer, 53, joked when asked during an an interview with Matt Baker and Alex jones on BBC's The One Show.
'I really wish I could confirm or deny, There's nothing official to report,' Schwimmer, 53, added.
Jones pressed even farther on the potential of a reunion show by asking: 'But maybe?'
In keeping with his, and his Friends character Ross's penchant for a good one-liner, the actor shot back: 'Maybe Matthew Perry is pregnant,' in reference to the 'big news coming' tweet.
True friends: Cox posted a selfie with her on-screen husband, Matthew Perry
'The Last Supper': Cox shared a photo of their final meal together before taping their last episode
The spark: Perry sent Friends fanatics into a frenzy with this tweet on February 5
The Wall Street Journal eported that all six of the original castmembers were close to signing a deal for a one-hour special for HBO Max that would be hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.
The special would reportedly feature insightful interviews with the cast, rather than a scripted episode.
There was also word that each of them could earn between $2.25 million and $2.5 million for the show, something Variety also claimed on Friday after the deal was confirmed.
The special will mark the first time the cast will appear together on-screen in about 16 years, although the group have regularly stayed in contact in their personal lives.
Friends first debuted on NBC back in September 1994, and went on to reach the pinnacle of success during its 10 season run that ended in May 2004.
During its run it ranked in the top ten in the television ratings race in all 10 seasons, ultimately hitting number one in its eighth season.
The series finale was watched by 52.5 million viewers in the US, making it the fifth most-watched series finale in television history, and the most-watched television episode of the 2000s decade.
Big bucks: There's word each of the six original castmembers of Friends could earn between $2.25 million and $2.5 million for a reunion show
Friends Legacy: How the Stars Made History by Negotiating their Contracts As a Group
There are still many who feel that Friends is arguably one of the best and/or most successful sitcoms of all time, but it was the cast banding together at the negotiation table that truly made history.
In 2002, the six main cast members - Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc - were able to negotiate $1 million per episode for each actor, the first time in TV history that had ever happened.
Each star made $1 million per episode for both the ninth and tenth seasons, and they managed to accomplish that by sticking together.
History: There are still many who feel that Friends is arguably one of the best and/or most successful sitcoms of all time, but it was the cast banding together at the negotiation table that truly made history
Starting in the third season, the cast started negotiating their contracts together, which meant that two of the six actors had to take a pay cut.
At the time, Aniston's Rachel Green and Schwimmer's Ross Geller were the show's primary couple, which meant they were earning more.
According to a Business Insider piece from 2016, Schwimmer was getting movie offers and his agents thought he should re-negotiate his Friends contract, but it was Schwimmer's idea to negotiate as a group.
Group ties: Starting in the third season, the cast started negotiating their contracts together, which meant that two of the six actors had to take a pay cut
While their strategy may have cost Aniston and Schwimmer in the short-term, it helped them create a sense of stability and job security, which lead to bigger paydays.
The cast each made, according to various reports, $22,500 per episode in the first season, with some stars making that same rate in the second season, and Aniston and Schwimmer making $40,000 an episode.
Through their collective bargaining tactics, they were able to get $75,000 an episode for Season 4, $85,000 an episode for Season 5 and $100,000 for Season 6.
Payday: While their strategy may have cost Aniston and Schwimmer in the short-term, it helped them create a sense of stability and job security, which lead to bigger paydays
They earned a massive raise in Season 7 and 8, earning $750,000 an episode each season.
Season 8 also marked a resurgence for the show from a ratings standpoint, averaging 24.5 million viewers an episode, the highest since the second season.
While the stars were hinting at moving on, NBC wanted to secure at least one more season of Friends, since none of the other shows it had produced since Friends debuted since then proved to be a worthy successor.
Raise: They earned a massive raise in Season 7 and 8, earning $750,000 an episode each season
The stars' salary negotiations were also timed to where the writing staff had just four more episodes left that season to write, and needed to know if they needed to write an ending or not.
With all of those stars aligning, the Friends cast secured the historic salary of $1 million an episode, for all six stars, for the last two seasons.
While the show's characters and stories through its 10-season run put Friends among the best sitcoms ever, it was the stars' solidarity that ensured their historic salaries.
Solidarity: While the show's characters and stories through its 10-season run put Friends among the best sitcoms ever, it was the stars' solidarity that ensured their historic salaries
Even with the show off the air, their negotiation tactics are still paying off, with USA Today reporting in 2015 that each star pulls in $20 million a year in syndication payments, which they negotiated in Season 6.
Now the Friends stars are reuniting, with The Hollywood Reporter revealing all six stars are in negotiations to return for a reunion special on HBO Max, which will be the new streaming home of the original series in 2020.
No deals are set in stone yet, but if these Friends stick together, they may be able to make history again.
Reunited: Now the Friends stars are reuniting, with The Hollywood Reporter revealing all six stars are in negotiations to return for a reunion special on HBO Max, which will be the new streaming home of the original series in 2020
Life After Friends: How the Friends Stars Moved On From the Sitcom
25 years after its debut, Friends still remains one of television's most enduring sitcoms, and now the stars may be reuniting.
The Hollywood Reporter reported Tuesday that all six of the original Friends stars - Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc are in talks for a reunion special on HBO Max.
Since the show turned these rising stars into household names, we're exploring their life after the hit show, which ran for 10 seasons.
Reunited: 25 years after its debut, Friends still remains one of television's most enduring sitcoms, and now the stars may be reuniting
Fame: Cox had already parlayed her frame on the small screen to a burgeoning big screen career during the show, starring in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the first three Scream movies and 3000 Miles to Graceland during Friends' run
COURTENEY COX
Cox had already parlayed her frame on the small screen to a burgeoning big screen career during the show, starring in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the first three Scream movies and 3000 Miles to Graceland during Friends' run.
After Friends went off the air in 2004, she returned to the big screen in Zoom and The Tripper before returning to the small screen in Dirt.
The FX series aired for just two seasons between 2007 and 2008, after which she reunited with Lisa Kudrow on three episodes of Web Therapy in 2009 before starring on ABC's Cougar Town.
Big screen: Cox had already parlayed her frame on the small screen to a burgeoning big screen career during the show, starring in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the first three Scream movies and 3000 Miles to Graceland during Friends' run
She starred in Cougar Town for all of its six season run between 2009 and 2015, the first four of which were on ABC and the last two on TBS.
After Cougar Town went off the air, Cox has acted sparingly, starring in one movie, 2016's Mothers and Daughters, with guest-starring spots in Shameless and Drunk History.
She has been keeping busy as a producer, though, executive producing Celebrity Name Game and the Facebook Watch series 9 Months With Courteney Cox.
Aniston also used her Friends fame to kickstart a movie career, starring in She's The One and Dream For an Insomniac in 1996
JENNIFER ANISTON
Aniston also used her Friends fame to kickstart a movie career, starring in She's The One and Dream For an Insomniac in 1996.
She followed that up with Picture Perfect ant 'Til There Was You in 1997, The Thin Pink Line and The Object of My Affection in 1998 and a pair of cult classics in 1999, Office Space and The Iron Giant, plus providing her voice for a South Park episode.
As the show continued, she still continued working steadily in film, starring in 2001's Rock Star, 2002's The Good Girl, 2003's Bruce Almighty and 2004's Along Came Polly.
Movie career: Aniston also used her Friends fame to kickstart a movie career, starring in She's The One and Dream For an Insomniac in 1996
After Friends went off the air, she focused solely on movies from then on out, until just recently, except for the occasional guest starring spot that often became a Friends reunion.
She also mixed it up with some genre fare as well, including the 2005 thriller Derailed along with the 2006 indie comedy Friends With Money and guest starring on Courteney Cox's show Dirt in 2007.
She also guest-starred on Cox's Cougar Town in 2010, between movies such as 2008's Marley and Me, 2009's He's Not Just Into You, 2009's Love Happens, 2010's The Bounty Hunter, 2010's The Switch and 2011's Just Go With It and Horrible Bosses.
Reunion: After Friends went off the air, she focused solely on movies from then on out, until just recently, except for the occasional guest starring spot that often became a Friends reunion
She also starred in 2012's Wanderlust, 2013's We're the Millers and Life of Crime, 2014's Cake and Horrible Bosses 2, 2016's Mother's Day, Storks and Office Christmas Party, 2017's The Yellow Bird and 2018's Dumplin'
Earlier this year, she reunited with her Just Go With It star Adam Sandler in Netflix's Murder Mystery, and she returned to the small screen just days ago with Apple TV Plus' The Morning Show, alongside Reese Witherspoon.
She'll next be seen on the big screen in The Fixer, based on the life of Denise White, a former Miss USA contestant who became a dominant figure in the world of sports management.
Lisa's work: She also had hit movies during her Friends tenure like the 1997 cult classic Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion and the 1998 indie The Opposite of Sex
LISA KUDROW
Kudrow's post-Friend's career trajectory was much different than her female co-stars but she still continued to work regularly in many different mediums.
She also had hit movies during her Friends tenure like the 1997 cult classic Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion and the 1998 indie The Opposite of Sex.
She also voiced Aphrodite in the Disney animated series Hercules, plus characters on King of the Hill and Blues Clues.
Trajectory: Kudrow's post-Friend's career trajectory was much different than her female co-stars but she still continued to work regularly in many different mediums
After Friends went off the air, she continued starring in movies (2005's Happy Endings) and continuing voice work (2005's Hopeless Pictures and 2006's American Dad).
But she also started pursuing other creative endeavors, creating and starring in HBO's The Comeback.
She also created Web Therapy, which started as a web series before it was picked up by Showtime, where it aired for four seasons.
Friend: After Friends went off the air, she continued starring in movies (2005's Happy Endings) and continuing voice work (2005's Hopeless Pictures and 2006's American Dad)
She then starred in a string of movies like 2007's Kabluey and P.S. I Love You, 2009's Bandslam and Paper Man, 2010's Easy A, 2014's Neighbors and its 2016 sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, 2017's The Girl on the Train and Boss Baby and guest spots on Grace and Frankie and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Earlier this year, she starred in a pair of comedies, Long Shot and the indie hit Booksmart.
She also lends her voice to the series Human Discoveries and has a number of TV projects in various stages of production.
New roles: Earlier this year, she starred in a pair of comedies, Long Shot and the indie hit Booksmart
MATTHEW PERRY
Perry was also quick to jump into the movies while Friends was on the air, starring in 1997's Fools Rush In, 1998's Almost Heroes, 1999's Three to Tango, 2000's The Whole Nine Yards, 2002's Serving Sara and 2004's The Whole Ten Yards when the show was airing.
He played innovative teacher Ron Clark in the 2006 TV movie The Ron Clark Story, before returning to the small screen in the short-lived NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip for creator Aaron Sorkin.
He returned to the big screen in 2008's Birds in America and 2009's 17 Again alongside rising star Zac Efron before returning to TV.
Movie jump: Perry was also quick to jump into the movies while Friends was on the air, starring in 1997's Fools Rush In, 1998's Almost Heroes, 1999's Three to Tango, 2000's The Whole Nine Yards, 2002's Serving Sara and 2004's The Whole Ten Yards when the show was airing
He starred in the short-lived Mr. Sunshine (which he also created) in 2011 and Go On in 2012, both of which ran for just one season apiece.
He reunited with Cox in an episode of Cougar Town before starring in The Odd Couple (which he also created), which ran two seasons from 2015 to 2017.
He has most recently been seen in a recurring arc on The Good Fight and the mini-series The Kennedys After Camelot in 2017.
Short-lived: He starred in the short-lived Mr. Sunshine (which he also created) in 2011 and Go On in 2012, both of which ran for just one season apiece
MATT LEBLANC
LeBlanc was the only Friends cast-mate to get a TV spin-off, Joey, which ran from 2004 to 2006, but after that went off the air, he took a long acting hiatus.
He served as an executive producer on the 2010 film Jonah Hex before returning to acting in 2011 with the hit Showtime series Episodes.
Episodes, where he essentially plays a version of himself and was co-created by Friends creator David Crane, ran for five seasons from 2011 to 2017.
He currently stars on the CBS sitcom Man With a Plan, which has been airing since 2016.
Spin-off: LeBlanc was the only Friends cast-mate to get a TV spin-off, Joey, which ran from 2004 to 2006, but after that went off the air, he took a long acting hiatus
DAVID SCHWIMMER
Schwimmer continued acting after Friends went off the air, but he focused most of his efforts on a career behind the camera.
He directed two episodes of the Joey spin-off before making his feature film debut with the 2017 comedy Run, Fatboy, Run, starring Simon Pegg.
He also directed six episodes of Little Britain USA before returning to the big screen with the 2010 movie Trust and the 2014 pilot for Growing Up Fischer.
Director: Schwimmer continued acting after Friends went off the air, but he focused most of his efforts on a career behind the camera
Schwimmer also voiced Melvin in all of the Madagascar movies and starred in 2008's Nothing But the Truth, 2012's The Iceman and John Carter, and reunited with Lisa Kudrow on 2012 episodes of Web Therapy.
He won rave reviews for playing Robert Kardashian in the 2016 FX series American Crime Story and played Noah Broader in NBC's Will & Grace.
He currently stars in The Laundromat alongside Meryl Streep, which debuted on Netflix in October.
Stars: Schwimmer also voiced Melvin in all of the Madagascar movies and starred in 2008's Nothing But the Truth, 2012's The Iceman and John Carter, and reunited with Lisa Kudrow on 2012 episodes of Web Therapy
