The one with the reunion: a day fans of the show “Friends” will never forget. The six “Friends” (Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe) reunited for a long-awaited and much-hyped feature-length special, released to HBOMax on May 27, 2021. 

   The special starts with the last scene of the series, showing everybody leaving the famed New York City apartment. Then it cuts to a ‘17 years later’ caption as the characters walk onto the original set and act just as they did when they were filming two decades ago. Many viewers thought the special was going to be a continuation of the fictionalized show and that the actors were going to reprise their original characters. This, however, was not the case.

   After the actors broke character and chatted casually for a while, host James Corden began reminiscing about memories of filming with the cast. Corden also mentioned some of the statistics of the show, including how immensely popular it was and continues to be all these years later. Despite being off the air for almost 20 years, the show has been streamed 100 billion times. 

   Some of the famous scenes from the show were recreated in the special, much to the delight of fans.  Fans were also able to ask live questions about the series. One woman asked if there was anything the actors didn’t like about filming. David Schwimmer, who played Ross on the show, surprised the audience by admitting he didn’t like the monkey who acted as his pet white-headed capuchin, Marcel, on the show. He said he’s an animal person, but the monkey was a little too much to handle. 

   The actors also shared that the directors would often take ideas from the audience. For example (spoiler alert!), when Chandler and Monica finally get together in London, it was only supposed to happen once. The audience’s reaction was so enthusiastic that the directors decided to extend it into a relationship. 

This special was such a relief for fans around the world. Personally, I loved this reunion. It was the closure I needed. As a latecomer to the show, I had never seen the cast reminiscing about the time they had together. When they said they’ll be there for you, they meant it. Rating 10/10.