Friends Star Jennifer Aniston Scares Fans at Central Perk

Decades after it initially debuted, Friends remains a pretty popular part of our pop-culture consciousness. The long-running sitcom defined the 1990s and early 2000s for many and made genuine phenomenons out of its six stars. Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel Green on the series, recently paid tribute to its ongoing fandom in an endearing way, while filling in as a guest host on Ellen. In a video, which you can check out above, Aniston surprises fans who are posing in the Friends set as part of the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, with some hilarious results.

“So you probably know, Ellen’s show is filmed on the Warner Bros. lot,” Aniston explains in the video. “And I spent about ten years here on a show called Friends. And the set is actually still here. It’s part of the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. So I thought, while I’m here, I’ll go take a visit.”

2020 has brought an interesting milestone for Friends fans, as the series was officially removed off of Netflix at the beginning of the year. While the sitcom will be available to stream later this year – on the upcoming HBO Max streaming service – many fans were not happy about the news.

“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,’” said Robert Greenblatt, chairman, WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-To-Consumer. “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.”

The move to HBO Max has also brought speculation about a Friends reunion special, although those talks have reportedly gotten more complicated.

“There is interest all around and yet we can’t get the interests all alighted to push the button in it,” HBO Max Chief Creative Officer Kevin Reilly said earlier this year. “Today is just a maybe.”

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