Friends: David Schwimmer Addresses If Ross And Rachel Were Really On A Break

Though the episode in question is over twenty years old at this point, Friends fans continue to be divided on the very idea of it Ross and Rachel were actually “on a break.” A recurring gag throughout the series, David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston‘s characters briefly broke up and while “on a break,” Schwimmer’s Ross had a fling with another woman. This generated fights and arguments both in the series and within the Friends fandom with Schwimmer noting it’s one of the things that fans and passersby will yell at him when they notice him in public.

“Obviously there’s going to be those people who feel compelled to yell ‘PIvot!’ or ‘You were on a break!’” Schwimmer said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “People are so passionately divided about whether or not they were on a break.” When asked by Fallon where he falls on the argument, Schwimmer added: “It’s not even a question, they were on a break.” To his credit, the episode itself is even titled “The One Where Ross And Rachel Take A Break.”

The “on a break” debate will no doubt be brought up in the highly anticipated Friends reunion in the works for HBO Max. Initially conceived as a launch title for the streaming service, the one-off special had to be postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Currently the plan is for the reunion special to film in August, assembling together Schwimmer and Aniston, plus their co-stars Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry and series creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman. Schwimmer reiterated that this plan is still in place but mentioned that there’s a possibility it could get delayed again.

“This reunion special, which we’d love to shoot… It’s unscripted,” Schwimmer said. “It’s basically a really fun interview, and then some other surprise bits. It’s supposed to happen maybe in August, the middle of August. But honestly, we’re going to wait and see another week or two, if we all determine it’s really safe enough to do. And if not, then we’ll wait until it’s safe.”

LeBlanc previously appeared on an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show (filmed prior to the production shutdown) and opened up about the project referring to it as “the six of us together talking about the good old days.” The actor also said “we got the band back together without the instruments.”

All 236 episodes of Friends are available now on HBO Max with the reunion set to arrive in the not-too-distant future.