The Friends reunion should be fun — but it’s not a full-on revival

There is some enormous news that came out early today, the sort of stuff that has nostalgic TV fans stoked. After all, there’s a Friends reunion special coming in the near future!

Today, HBO Max confirmed that Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, and Matt LeBlanc are all going to return for a big special that will be available at the streaming service’s launch. That’s to go along with the streaming service acquiring all episodes of the classic NBC sitcom. It’s one of their big-ticket items at launch, but we know that due to the nature of the internet, there is some misinformation out there.

Take, for example, those who think that this special means that there’s going to be some new exploits for the likes of Ross, Rachel, and some other characters. This is an unscripted event, and it’s not some follow-up movie featuring some of your favorites in the context of a larger story. All of the aforementioned actors are going to be executive-producing the special, so we’re sure that it will be something that is personal to them. It’s not another episode, but it’s something that should still be fun. It’s even being filmed on the same soundstage as the original show.

(Basically, what we’re trying to do here is quite simple — not get anyone too excited that there is somehow a new episode or two of Friends coming in the future.)

In a new statement confirming the special’s existence, here is what Kevin Reilly, chief content officer at HBO Max in addition to being president of TBS, TNT, and truTV, had to say:

“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 … 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.”

When is HBO Max launching?

As of right now, the only time period that has been confirmed is May … but we’ll have some more news as it comes out.

Are you planning to watch the Friends reunion special?

Be sure to share in the comments, and stick around for some other news. (Photo: Warner Bros. TV.)