‘Friends’ plans to film reunion in quarantine
HBO Max is pivoting its production plans for the “Friends” reunion amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to David Schwimmer.
The “Intelligence” actor, who played Ross in the hit ’90s sitcom, revealed Monday, July 20, on “The Tonight Show” that tentative plans have been made to film the highly anticipated special in quarantine.
The entire “Friends” squad — including Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc — was originally scheduled to shoot in March, but the public health emergency shut down production on all film and TV projects.
“It’s supposed to happen maybe in August — the middle of August,” Schwimmer told host Jimmy Fallon. “But honestly, we’re gonna 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.”
Schwimmer added that he and his cast mates “would love to shoot” the special, which was conceived as an unscripted conversation among the onscreen pals set on the show’s original soundstage in Burbank. It was supposed to be available at the May launch of HBO Max, which boasts the complete, coveted “Friends” library.
Schwimmer also explained why he originally turned down the starmaking opportunity to play Ross and weighed in on an age-old debate: Were Ross and Rachel (Aniston) really “on a break” when the latter accused the former of cheating on her during a classic episode of “Friends”?
“It’s not even a question,” Schwimmer said before siding with his character. “They were on a break.”