Friends Friends: The Reunion is now streaming on HBO Max, and fans of the beloved sitcom are feeling all kinds of emotions as they see the famous six-piece reunite on that iconic orange couch.
There are so many great segments in the reunion special. In fact, so much so that we ranked our favorite moments (and a few not-so-favorite moments), but one of the most surprising things about this feature-length show was the amount of new information that was packed into the air time.
Indeed, we already knew that the show's initial pitch was "a situation comedy focusing on a time in life when friends are family." Similarly, the cast's musings about where each character is now and what they're doing didn't exactly bring many surprises - although I did like Matt LeBlanc's claim that Joey runs a sandwich store by the beach (even he, being an actor in LA was not going to work out).
But there were also a few unexpected revelations and a few subplots that hardcore fans who can recite the before and after of each episode will be shocked to learn. So, to recap some of the biggest buzzwords of Friends: reunions
As David Schwimmer revealed, working with Marcel, the capuchin monkey in the first series of Friends, was not a pleasant experience for the actor, "It was time for Marcel to disappear." was perhaps the best quote of the entire show.
Schwimmer had just done theater work prior to "Friends," so working with Sal was probably not what he envisioned for his first major role on network television.
While Ross was devastated by the difficult decision to adopt a primate companion to the zoo, Schwimmer was clearly very relieved. He was told that he would never work with children or animals.
Have you ever wondered how actors remember so many lines? One of the first things revealed at the "Friends" reunion was that Courteney Cox had hidden pages of scripts all over her apartment set in case she couldn't remember a gag.
The first thing Matt LeBlanc did when he first stepped into the reconstructed apartment was to quickly check under the fruit bowl to see if "Courteney was still writing lines under the table." It was a hilarious moment and one of many insights into the daily lives of the cast during the filming of the show.
When she was cast on "Friends" as runaway bride Rachel Green, Jennifer Aniston was actually already set to appear on another show, CBS' "Mudding Through." If that show had taken off, Aniston would have had to drop "Friends" because of her contract.
NBC executives did not want to cast anyone else in the role, so they planned a cunning move so that Aniston would not have to leave Central Park 6. The summer after "Mudding Through" first aired, the network scheduled a blockbuster movie to air around the same time in order to drive down the show's ratings and ultimately lead to its cancellation.
The plan worked; "Madding Through" lasted only nine episodes, and the producers of the ill-fated sitcom told Aniston that "Friends" would never make her a star. Yikes. [David Schwimmer revealed that he had genuine romantic feelings for Jennifer Aniston while filming the show. And she had similar feelings for him.
Ross and Rachel were (and arguably still are) the ultimate will them/won't them TV couple, so "Friends" fans were up in arms when they learned that the actors who played this iconic pair actually had a crush on each other all along.
Unfortunately, due to bad timing, Schwimmer and Aniston never got together in real life, but Matt LeBlanc jokingly hinted that they may have shared at least some form of romantic encounter during the show's heyday.
In any case, it's too late to rebuild that ship.
Remember in the season 3 episode "The One With the Jam" when Joey's arm was secured in a sling after he bounced and fell on the bed.
If you've ever wondered why the writers created that scenario and then did nothing about it, it was to cover up the real injury Matt LeBlanc sustained on the set during the filming of the fan-favorite episode "The One Where No One's Ready".
LeBlanc had to dive into an armchair and during the stunt he tripped and dislocated his shoulder in front of the studio audience. Although this screeching image was shown in "Friends' Reunion," LeBlanc did a great job of filming the next episode despite the injury. It is believed that a stuntman was requested for later seasons.
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