Friends reunion special delayed at HBO Max due to concerns over the spreading coronavirus
The long-awaited Friends reunion special has become the latest victim of the coronavirus, with production being delayed.
Filming was scheduled to begin next week, but now production has been pushed to May at the earliest, according to Variety.
HBO Max and Warner Bros. Television declined to comment, but the delay is just the latest production to be sidelined by the outbreak of this deadly virus.
Delayed: The long-awaited Friends reunion special has become the latest victim of the coronavirus, with production being delayed
While there had been rumors and speculation about a Friends reunion for years, The Hollywood Reporter revealed in November that a reunion special is happening at HBO Max.
Each of the show’s main stars – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer – were in talks to return, with series creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman.
The deals were finalized and the reunion special was officially announced in late February, confirming the cast will reunite for an, ‘untitled unscripted special.’
Reunion special: While there had been rumors and speculation about a Friends reunion for years, The Hollywood Reporter revealed in November that a reunion special is happening at HBO Max
The special is slated to be filmed on Stage 24 of the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, where the original series was filmed.
The special was supposed to help kick off the HBO Max streaming service when it launches in mid-May.
The streaming service will also carry all 236 episodes of Friends through the original sitcom’s iconic 10-season run.
Original series: The special is slated to be filmed on Stage 24 of the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, where the original series was filmed
WarnerMedia reportedly shelled out a whopping $425 million over five years to air the original series, outbidding Netflix.
Netflix had previously shelled out between $80 million and $100 million for the Friends streaming rights just in 2019 alone.
Nielsen had previously reported that Friends was among the most-watched shows on Netflix, though they don’t release any official viewership data.
Streaming hit: WarnerMedia reportedly shelled out a whopping $425 million over five years to air the original series, outbidding Netflix
The Friends special is just the latest in a long line of film and TV productions to be either canceled or delayed due to the spread of COVID-19.
On the TV side, shows like Amazon’s Lord of the Rings, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Netflix’s Stranger Things were shut down, just to name a few.
Movies such as The Matrix 4, Fantastic Beasts 3 and all of the Avatar sequels have been sidelined as well.
Delayed: The Friends special is just the latest in a long line of film and TV productions to be either canceled or delayed due to the spread of COVID-19