HBO Max will bring to its platform Friends’ special, scheduled to start filming in August.
The anticipated Friends special will finally come true. In yesterday’s interview with Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show, the remembered actor from the Friends sitcom, David Schwimmer, confirmed that filming of the anticipated reunion would begin in mid-August. As you recall, the shooting was scheduled to start in May, but due to the pandemic, as well as most productions, it also had to be paused.
The filming will take place in Burbank studio in Californa and the biosecurity measures of the set are yet to be confirmed, as the original idea was to have a live audience during the recordings. WarnerMedia Entertainment head, Bob Greenblatt, explained, «We think it’s valuable to have a large and raucous live audience to experience the union of these six great friends. We didn’t want to do it suddenly on a web call with six boxes and people recording from their kitchens and bedrooms.«
When asked about it by Jimmy Fallon, David Schwimmer, the actor who played Ross Geller, commented that the show will be filmed when it is safe. «There has always been a hope that a component of that reunion show will have a live audience, which makes the whole thing really tricky. We are obviously not going to risk anyone’s health by doing this.» said the actor.
It will be a documentary special with all members of the sitcom included: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. Also during the negotiations, special guests such as Gunther or Chandler’s ex, Jannice, were discussed. However, under the new recording rules in the United States, this no longer seems to be a possibility.
Each actor will receive the sum of 3 million dollars for their participation, while the streaming platform will be through HBO Max, a streaming service that WarnerMedia Entertainment seeks to promote through the new Friends meeting.
During the Jimmy Fallon show, the actor also spoke about the new show he will be a lead on, Intelligence, a British comedy series about an NSA agent at UK Government Communications Headquarters. He also mentioned the time he almost declined to take the role that launched him to fame, Ross Geller, and finally that Ross and Rachel were indeed on a break.