Impromptu Friends Reunion Takes Place at Emmys Ahead of HBO Max’s Reunion Special

With the Friends Reunion Special indefinitely delayed as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the producers of the 72nd Emmy Awards decided to leap into. As Jimmy Kimmel hosted the virtual event, one which featured a massive 100-nominee Zoom call, Jennifer Aniston decided to take it up a notch and appear on-screen with two of her Friends costars — Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow. Joking that they still live together, the three carried on with some playful banter between the group and Kimmel until Jason Bateman showed up at Aniston’s place and crashed the party.

“Of course I’m here, we live together,” Cox joked. Aniston continued the scheme, reminding Kimmel they’ve been roommates since 1994. You can watch the impromptu reunion below.

HBO Max managed to land the streaming rights to the hit sitcom, deciding to follow it up with a reunion special produced solely for the new streaming service. Originally set to be released in May, the coronavirus-related delays subsequently delayed it to August. Once August arrived, the streamer delayed the project again and no new date has been set.

“HBO Max will bring together the diverse riches of WarnerMedia to create programming and user experiences not seen before in a streaming platform. HBO’s world-class programming leads the way, the quality of which will be the guiding principle for our new array of Max Originals, our exciting acquisitions, and the very best of the Warner Bros. libraries, starting with the phenomenon that is ‘Friends,’” former WarnerMedia executive Rob Greenblatt said in a statement announcing the Friends deal. “Under the leadership of two of the strongest creative visionaries — Casey Bloys (HBO) and Kevin Reilly (original content and acquisitions) — and two of the most experienced digital experts — Tony Goncalves and Andy Forssell — I have no doubt they and their dedicated teams will deliver the world’s best storytelling to audiences of all ages wherever and whenever they want it.”

Friends star David Schwimmer said earlier this summer the entire cast plans on waiting until it’s safe for both them and a television crew to reunite in the same room.

“This reunion special, which we’d love to shoot… It’s unscripted,” Schwimmer explained. “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.”