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Friends is returning to television, though it might not be in the way that you’d expect. 17-years after the final episode aired, HBO Max has gotten the entire cast together for a reunion special. Amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been a major delay with filming, but it seems like the special has finally completed filming as of April 10, 2021, so fans can expect to see the special soon.

Though HBO Max has been super tight-lipped about the content of the Friends reunion, some of the actors are already spilling the beans. Courteney Cox, who starred as Monica on the beloved ’90s sitcom, just got candid about that iconic fountain and how horrible it truly was.

Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matt Le Blanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay for 'Friends'
Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matt Le Blanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay in ‘Friends’ | NBCU Photo Bank

What is the ‘Friends’ reunion special about?

Actors Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc all returned to the original Friends set at Warner Bros. Studio’s Stage 24 in Burbank, California to film the reunion special.

“The cast and producers are all very excited to go into production, as this will be the first time since the show ended that the whole cast will be together and on the original sets to reminisce,” HBO Max said in a statement via The Hollywood Reporter.

The special is set to be an hour-long event where the cast will reminisce and showcase rare behind-the-scenes footage. However, HBO is adamant that this will not be an additional episode.

“In order to avoid any misunderstanding about what this special is, we want to make it very clear that this is not a new, original episode of the series,” HBO Max said. “The cast will be appearing as themselves, not as their beloved characters.”

What is the ‘Friends’ reunion special’s release date?

The cast just finished filming with series creators David Crane, Marta Kauffman, and Kevin Bright who directed the special. However, there is no word yet on the release date.

Still, we’re going to assume that HBO Max will be dropping a release date fairly soon, and if we had to guess, we’re going to assume that it will debut sometime in the summer.

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Courteney Cox got candid about how horrible the iconic ‘Friends’ fountain was

Already, we’re getting some details about what we can expect from the Friends reunion special. Cox just got real about what it was really like to splash around in that infamous fountain that is in the opening credits of the show.

“We were in that fountain for a long time,” Cox said during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show via E! “Somebody thought that would just be really fun, and let me tell you what happens—it’s not fun to be dancing in a fountain for hours and hours.”

Cox added, that it was super awkward because at that point, the cast didn’t really know each other all that well. However, she said the HBO Max reunion special was amazing.

“It was unbelievable and so emotional,” she said. “It’s an unscripted reunion but we got to be on Stage 24 for the first time all of us, in like, 15 or 17 years?” she said via  Hello!. “I have the worst memory [so] everything came up that I forgot about. It was great; we had a lot of special surprises and it was fantastic.”