“Friends: The Reunion” will debut on the WarnerMedia streaming service on May 27. (HBO Max is owned by WarnerMedia, which is also the parent company of CNN.)
Now, before you get excited about the possibility of seeing what happened to Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, Monica and Phoebe after the 2004 final episode, keep in mind that this is a reunion, but it’s not a reunion episode.
The stars of the NBC sitcom, which ran for 10 seasons, will return to the show’s original soundstage on the Warner Bros. lot “for a real-life unscripted celebration of the beloved show,” according to HBO Max.
There will also be many special guests including Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Tom Selleck, Reese Witherspoon and Malala Yousafzai, some of whom appeared on the show while others are fans.
Even though it’s a year later than originally planned, the debut of the reunion is still a big moment for HBO Max.
As streaming services battle it out for consumers’ time and money, content remains a big driver to bringing in subscribers.
So having a series like “Friends” and exclusive events like this reunion are enormously important to HBO Max’s subscriber growth and bottom line. WarnerMedia reported in April that HBO and HBO Max has 44.2 million subscribers and 63.9 million worldwide subscribers.