Friends Cast Close to Deal on Unscripted Reunion Special

The cast of Friends looks to be set for a reunion special on HBO Max. Deadline reports that Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry have agreed in principle to a deal with Warner Bros. for an hourlong unscripted special that will reportedly pay each of them $3 million to $4 million. The total price tag of around $20 million is on par with Netflix’s recent deals with the likes of Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock and Ellen DeGeneres for comedy specials.

The special would, assuming the deal doesn’t fall apart somehow, serve as the launch for Friends reruns on HBO Max, which the service paid $425 million for. As crazy as that price sounds, it’s considered a big coup for HBO Max, as the sitcom was one of Netflix’s most-watched shows.

The cast and crew have been repeatedly adamant that no scripted reboot or reunion would happen, leaving a docuspecial as the best option for Warner Bros. TV and HBO Max.