‘Friends’ Reunion Special at HBO Max Delayed Due to Coronavirus Concerns

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The planned “Friends” reunion special at HBO Max is the latest victim of the production shutdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Variety has confirmed with sources that filming of the special has been delayed. It was due to film within the next week but it has now been pushed to May at the earliest. The special is the latest in a long line of film and TV productions that have been delayed due to the ongoing pandemic.

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Warner Bros. Television and HBO Max declined to comment.

The “Friends” reunion has been in the works for months but was officially announced in February. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer are all set to return for the unscripted reunion, which is set to film on the original “Friends” soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank.

It was meant to help launch HBO Max in May, with the streamer set to be the exclusive streaming home of all 10 seasons of the beloved comedy series.

WarnerMedia reportedly paid over $400 million for the rights to the series, outbidding Netflix. Nielsen had previously reported that the show was one of the most-watched on Netflix, though Netflix does not provide any viewership data.

Ben Winston will direct the special and executive produce alongside “Friends” executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane. Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television and Fulwell 73 Productions are behind the program. Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc, Perry, and Schwimmer are also executive producing the special, with Emma Conway and James Longman on board as co-executive producers.

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