Friends’ Reunion is streaming on HBO Max. Get your popcorn ready!
How could anyone ever forget the iconic show Friends that first aired in 1994? After years of anticipation from fans, the stars of the show finally come together for a reunion, which premiered Thursday on HBO Max.
Jennifer Anniston, David Schwimmer, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry sat down with James Corden to take a trip down memory lane. This is the second time the entire cast came together since the season finale.
“Everything came together. We became best friends through just the chemistry, the whole thing. It was life-changing,” said Courtney Cox.
The Reunion, includes special guest star appearances from Lady Gaga, Cindy Crawford, Justin Bieber, Mindy Kailing and Tom Selleck, and Maggie Wheeler, who played the recurring characters, Richard and Janice.
To celebrate the highly anticipated reunion, executive producers David Crane, Marta Kauffman, and Kevin S. Bright shared some incredible behind-the-scenes moments from the show.
Jennifer Anniston and David Schwimmer had feelings for each other off-camera
Rachel and Ross might not have been faking their affection for each other on the screen after all. Talking to James Corden about any romances between the cast, Schwimmer revealed, “The first season, I had a major crush on Jen. At some point, we were crushing hard on each other.”
Anniston confirmed the feelings were “reciprocated.”
Schwimmer clarified, though, “It was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship and we never crossed that boundary.”
“Honestly, I remember saying one time to David, ‘It’s going to be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is going to be on national television.’ Sure enough, the first time we kissed was in that coffee shop. So we just channeled all of adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel.” said Anniston. Schwimmer asked the rest of the castmates how they could not have known the two were crushing. Perry and Cox responded, “We knew.”
Matt LeBlanc injured his arm while filming a scene
In the season three episode “The One Where No One’s Ready,” LeBlanc recalls the injury he sustained filming the scene where characters Joey and Chandler argue over a chair.
“We shot it three times and it went perfectly, Lord knows why we had to shoot it a fourth time,” said Kauffman.
LeBlanc recalled the accident saying, “I went to jump over the coffee table and somehow tripped. And my legs went up in the air and my shoulder came out of the socket.”
Paramedics had come to the set to take LeBlanc to the hospital, ending filming for the rest of the day, mentioned Crane. As a result, LeBlanc’s injury was written into the show.
The audience influenced the relationship between Chandler and Monica
In the season four finale, Monica and Chandler slept together while in London for Ross and Emily’s wedding, which was filmed in front of a live studio audience.
“The audience went insane,” said Bright.
“The original plan was, they would sleep together in London, it was a brief thing and we’d have some fun with it after as if they’re both like ‘Oh my God, what did we do,'” said Crane.
“The way the audience reacted, we realized there’s more to this and we need to pay attention,” Kauffman stated.
Despite the writers not realizing “how far it would go,” the two characters Monica and Chandler, got married in season 7.
Lisa Kudrow sings Smelly Cat
While Kudrow, who played Phoebe, began playing her guitar while singing her character’s famous song “Smelly Cat,” out walked Lady Gaga.
Gaga began singing the infamous song with Kurdrow while a group of backup singers joined. Kurdrown jokes, “I still think it’s better when it’s just me.”
Lady Gaga thanked Kurdrow for being “the different one” on the show.
Creators had to beg David Schwimmer to be on the show
Crane stated that the writers wrote the character Ross with actor David Schwimmer in mind. He expressed that David moved back to Chicago to do theater because he quit television due to an awful experience with filming another show.
Crane stated the creators had to “beg” Schwimmer to do the show. “We assured him that whatever his past experience was, this was going to be different, we promised, and he came on board.”
Courtney Cox almost played Rachel
Crane recalled that the creators had a “hard time” figuring out who would play Monica. He expressed that they saw Cox as playing Rachel initially.
“We met with Courteney Cox and she explained to us why she didn’t think she was a Rachel and that she, herself, was more of a Monica, and she was right,” Kauffman stated.
“Courteney brought this incredible joy to the character,” said Kauffman.
Friends: The Reunion, is currently streaming on HBO Max.