The magic between the six Friends as they returned to the apartment was undeniably cheering. But no one needed to see James Corden – or Justin Bieber dressed as a potato
There was never any real danger that Friends: the Reunion would let in too much light upon the magic that was first created in 1994 and held, on average, 25 million viewers a week in its thrall for the next decade. The special was intended to mark the launch of the US streaming service HBO Max (and as sand kicked in the face of their rival Netflix, from whom it has poached the entire 236-episode run). Although Covid delayed things, it was still never going to be anything other than a nostalgic celebration of times past-but-still-in-lucrative-syndication.
The reunion marks the first time the six actors – probably for those 10 years the most famous in the world – have all been together publicly since the show ended. They arrived one by one on the recreated set. David Schwimmer first, calm and thoughtful, noting original features and the spot “Jen and I had our first kiss”, followed by Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston (dissolving into happy tears), ebullient Matt LeBlanc (“What are you guys doing here!”), Courteney Cox (happily tearful too) and finally a nervy Matthew Perry (“Could you BE any later!” cries LeBlanc).
