'Friends' Reunion Special Delayed Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The highly-anticipated “Friends” reunion special at HBO Max has become the latest TV show to get affected by the pandemic.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that the makers have decided to delay the unscripted special after seeing how things are changing due to the coronavirus. Sources told the media outlet that the team and the main cast were all set to start the shooting next week in Burbank but decided to take a step back after the strict guidelines that were issued in the wake of the pandemic.

An insider also noted that the production will now start somewhere around May, if the situation gets better. As of late, no particular fliming date has been announced.

The news comes just a couple of days after the makers of “Saturday Night Live” announced that they will be shutting down production for the next three weeks due to COVID-19. the show was all set to return on March 28 with John Krasinski as the host. But it seems the viewers would have to wait much longer to see their favorite TV show back on the small screen again.

The spokesperson of the studio confirmed the news of the production halt and explained that the studio is continuously keeping an eye on the situation and will be making decisions on a week-to-week basis.

Other TV shows like FX’s “Fargo,” Amazon’s “Lord Of The Rings,” “Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Witcher,” “Pose,” “Loki,” “WandaVision,” and “The Flash” have also halted their production due to the life-threatening disease.

As far as the reunion special is concerned, it was recently reported that the studio has bigger plans for the iconic TV sitcom . According to The Sun, a source has revealed that the makers are planning to make it a 12-part series since all the cast members have been made to sign a “non-disclosure” agreement to keep things exciting for the fans.

All the original cast members – Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, and Matt LeBlanc – will return for the “unscripted” special. The original series started in the year 1995 and ran for ten seasons. Those ten seasons had a total of 236 episodes.

The last episode aired on May 6, 2004 and attracted an eye-popping 52.5 million viewers. It is still one of the most-viewed series finales of all time.