TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
'Friends' reunion special latest victim of coronavirus shutdown
The planned "Friends" reunion has been delayed due to disruptions in Hollywood caused by the coronavirus.
Change Size
(From left) David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Mathew Perry, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc, cast members from 'Friends' which won Outstanding Comedy series, pose at the 54th Annual Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on September 22, 2002. (AFP/Lee Celano)
T
he planned Friends reunion has been delayed due to disruptions in Hollywood caused by the coronavirus, an industry source said on Wednesday.
The one-off special was due to have been filmed next week on the original sound stage in Burbank, California, according to the source, and broadcast in May on the upcoming HBO Max streaming service.
But movie and TV production in Hollywood has come to a halt in the past week due to restrictions brought in to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the United States. No new date has been set for filming the special.
HBO Max declined to comment.
The long-awaited unscripted show, featuring all six Friends stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, was to have been a big draw for the planned HBO Max streaming service.
Read also: 'Mulan', 'Fast and Furious' delayed as Hollywood adapts to coronavirus
The hit comedy series ended in 2004 but found a new lease of life on Netflix where it was the second most-watched show in 2018.
HBO Max last year secured the rights to all 10 seasons of Friends for its streaming service and the comedy series is no longer available on Netflix.
The source on Wednesday said that HBO MAX still intended to launch as planned in May. An exact date has still to be announced.
The Friends delay follows the suspension of filming of all Netflix, Disney and Universal Pictures live action movies, including Mission: Impossible 7 and The Matrix 4, as well as television shows ranging from Saturday Night Live to The Amazing Race.
