Could we be any more excited?

The long-awaited, Covid-delayed Friends Reunion special teased by HBO Max a year ago is finally happening, so no, we could not be more excited.

We know that the classic sitcom’s original stars — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer — will appear in the unscripted event, and that they’re also executive-producing alongside series creators Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane. Ben Winston is set to direct the reunion. 

The reunion is set to shoot on Stage 24 at Warner Bros. Studios, where Friends wrapped its 10-season run in 2004. When the reunion was first announced, the plan was to debut it at the same time HBO Max launched, back in May 2020, but a series of scheduling changes altered the production date considerably.

David Schwimmer, who played Ross, appeared on The Graham Norton Show to talk about the upcoming special.

“We’re going to be shooting the Friends reunion next week, so I’m hopping on a plane this afternoon or the evening and yeah, I’m gonna see everyone next week for the first time in many years.”

When asked if he will play his character on the special, the actor said, “I’ll be myself. I’ll be David.” However, he also teased that “there is one section of it that — I don’t want to give away — but we all read something.”

“There’s nothing scripted. We’re not in character. We’re all ourselves, the real people,” Schwimmer explained, echoing similar comments made by castmate Lisa Kudrow on the Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast back in January.

“Guess you could call this ‘The One Where They All Got Back Together’ — we are reuniting with David, Jennifer, Courteney, Matt, Lisa, and Matthew for an HBO Max special that will be programmed alongside the entire Friends library,” HBO Max Chief Kevin Reilly said back in February 2020.

He continued, “I became aware of Friends when it was in the very early stages of development and then had the opportunity to work on the series many years later and have delighted in seeing it catch on with viewers generation after generation. It taps into an era when friends — and audiences — gathered together in real time, and we think this reunion special will capture that spirit, uniting original and new fans.”

While many members of the Friends cast have reunited, mainly off-camera, over the years, the HBO Max project marks the first Friends-branded special with all six of the stars since the show ended its run.

Set designer Greg Grande also recently teased on Instagram a shot of the classic New York apartment with its recognizable couches.

The special is designed to join all 236 episodes of the Emmy-winning 1994-2004 NBC series, which is the top show on HBO Max right now, according to Warner Media.