The days of listening to the classic theme song, then seeing some of our favorite friends sit on the orange couch, while sipping a cup of coffee from Central Perk are long gone. If you can’t tell what show I’m talking about, it’s Friends.
If you are unfamiliar with Friends, it is the ‘90s classic television show that chronicled the life and chaos of six friends who lived in Manhattan. The six friends were; Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), sensible, relatable, and warm-hearted, Monica (Courtney Cox), mature and motherly, Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), a ditzy, yet calm musician, Joey (Matt LeBlanc), an actor full of humor and a love for food, Chandler (Matthew Perry), goofy and intelligent, and Ross (David Schwimmer), intelligent, clumsy, and quirky. Together, they conquered relationship problems, helped each other find their purpose in life, and generally have fun. Although my description of Friends makes it appear to be a lot cheesier than it actually is, it is true comedic gold, and a classic.
Anyway, we said goodbye to the beloved series 12 years ago (yes, it has been that long). Ever since that dreaded day in 2004, people everywhere have been praying that the cast of Friends would come together again to fill that little void in our hearts where the show once belonged. While some of the cast members have come together on talk shows, such as The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Ellen, to give us a little tease of what Friends used to be, there has never been a full cast reunion—and there still might never be (we will discuss this later).
With the recent news that the other beloved ‘90s show, Full House, was given a series on Netflix, cleverly dubbed Fuller House, and the early 2000’s show Gilmore Girls was given a mini-series on Netflix, fans everywhere hoped that Friends would be revived. While that is not necessarily the case, we are going to be blessed with something as close to a Friends reunion as possible.
Now for the part you are waiting for: the so-called Friends reunion will debut on NBC on February 21, 2016. But, here’s the catch. It’s not actually a reunion, well in the terms we were hoping for. NBC hosted a televised event in honor of director James Burrows—aka the guy who directed the pilot of Friends, along with a ton of other episodes in the series. At one point during the event, the cast of Friends join host Andy Cohen on stage, to sit on a somewhat orange couch and discuss everything Friends related. Are you ready for another catch? While Rachel (Aniston), Monica (Cox), Phoebe (Kudrow), Joey (LeBlanc), and Ross (Schwimmer) will be sitting on the couch blushing as Cohen asks them about all of the dirty details that happened behind the scenes, Chandler (Perry) is nowhere to be seen.
Before creating crazy speculation as to why Matthew Perry was not at the Friends reunion, he was in London, acting in a play. And the reunion doesn’t go without the Chandler charm because Perry Skypes in to deliver a special message. Another downside, if not already obvious, is that the actors aren’t in character, so don’t expect Kudrow to break out another single that resembles Smelly Cat.
Overall, even though we are devastated that this is not a true reunion, we are happy that the cast is going to be reunited (except for Perry) for one night. And if anyone can make a reunion, where everyone sits on a couch discussing memories and opinions, interesting, it is Andy Cohen.
Don’t forget to watch the James Burrow tribute special on NBC on February 21, 2016. And if you aren’t interested in viewing the whole special, at least don’t forget to tune in for the Friends reunion part.