Original Friends Scripts Found In Trash Sell at Auction

Two original scripts from the television series Friends have sold at auction for a lot of money. According to Deadline, the two scripts were found in a trash can at Fountain Studios, Wembley UK back in 1998, when the episodes were filmed. The scripts for the two-part Season 4 finale of the series, "The One with Ross's Wedding", which were set and filmed in the UK and featured Ross's (David Schwimmer) ill-fated wedding to Emily — which saw him mistakenly say "Rachel" instead of "Emily" at the altar. Per the report, it isn't clear who the scripts belonged to in terms of the cast and crew.

The two scripts, which had been kept in a drawer and forgotten about until recently, were sold at auction by Hanson Ross auctioneers and drew a lot of attention from bidders. The auction house told the BBC that bidders went "crazy" for the scripts and there were 219 pre-sale bids placed from all over the world. Ultimately, the scripts sold for around $28,000 to an international buyer. With the various fees, the unnamed buyer paid more than $36,000 total.

"I just can't believe the result and the impact this find has had," head of operations at Hanson Ross Amanda Butler said. "Bidders went crazy for these scripts."

Friends debuted on NBC in 1994 and ran for ten seasons, ending in 2004. The series, which was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, followed the day-to-day lives of a group of six friends in their 20s in New York City. The series received critical acclaim throughout its run and was very popular during its initial run with the series finale becoming the fifth-most-watched series finale in television history. In the years since ending its run, Friends has continued to be very popular, especially in the age of streaming which introduced the series to a whole new audience. The series starred David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, and Matthew Perry. Perry died in 2023.

Will There Be A Friends Reboot?

While series reboots and revivals have been popular in Hollywood for a few years, there has been no such project for Friends. However, back in 2022, Kudrow said that she wasn't opposed to the idea of a reboot — just one that didn't have the original cast in it.

"I don't think there's going to be a Friends reboot. I mean, not with any of us in it," Kudrow said at the time. "I would [support a reboot with new actors]. I would love to see what the 'now' version of that would be."

The cast did, however, get together for the HBO Max (now just Max) special, Friends: The Reunion, 17 years after the series finale of Friends. The reunion was wildly popular with fans when it aired in May 2021, with a reported 29 percent of US-based streaming households watching the reunion within its first 24 hours when it aired.

What do you think about the two Friends' scripts selling for that much at auction? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!