An Unscripted “Friends” Reunion Is Happening, But What Does That Actually Mean?

Unfortunately, it’s not a new episode.

Over the weekend, Friends stans all over the world were blessed with the earth-shattering news that the beloved cast is reuniting for an unscripted reunion special. Although, it doesn't come as a total surprise considering Jennifer Aniston had hinted at a new project involving her former co-stars in October last year.

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry all posted the same photo on Instagram to share the announcement, which comes only months after the show celebrated its 25th anniversary. 

While we'll take any sort of reunion we can get, there's been a bit of confusion as to what the format of the special will be. Should we be expecting a whole new episode, or something different? 

Answer: something different.

The Friends reunion will be an "unscripted special", which means that the cast members will be sitting around and discussing the show, rather than creating an entirely new episode. HBO Max confirmed that they'll be returning to the iconic comedy's original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank to film the special.

British producer and director Ben Winston (Carpool Karaoke: The Series) will direct and executive produce the reunion special alongside Kevin Bright, and series creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, each cast member will be paid between $US2.5 million and $US3 million for the special, which is more than double their former per-episode fees.

The reunion special, as well as all 236 episodes of Friends, will be available on the new streaming service HBO Max in the US when it launches in May this year (no exact date has been confirmed yet). 

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment told Variety that since the series left Netflix US, sales of both physical and digital versions of the show have "roughly tripled". 

Of course, there's been no word as to whether HBO Max will definitely be coming to Australia. However, earlier this month reports emerged that HBO had secured a local trademark for the streaming service. 

Aussies can stream all seasons of Friends on Stan, but we'll update you as soon as we know how you can watch the reunion special down under. 

Until then, go and practise Monica and Ross's dance routine. 

Header: NBC