Waterproof mascara, check. A newly opened box of Kleenex, check. Now bring on the tears.
It has been a long time coming. Watching Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and Matthew Perry as they walked onto their old set at The Friends Stage, also known as the Stage 24 at Warner Bros. Studios in California, it was hard to hold back the tears (for both the cast and I)–and that was only the trailer.
Friends: The Reunion is a dream come true, 17 years in the making. For two decades, fans, journalists, and TV hosts alike have been badgering the cast and the powers that be for a reunion but to no avail, until now. So, this one-hour-and-39-minute special would mark the first time that the entire cast is on screen together since the Friends finale in 2004, which concluded 10 amazing seasons.
Like many fans, Friends was my life. I often joke that being very much of a homebody these days, they're the only friends I socialise with. So, was the reunion everything that I had imagined it to be? Read to find out more.
See more: "Friends" Reunion Special To Air On May 27 With Star-Studded Guests
1. Coming home to The Friends Stage
It opened with the cast of Friends visiting The Friends Stage for the first time in 17 years. Wide-eyed, they entered the soundstage they once called home for 10 years and marvelled at their surroundings. Together, they reminisced the good times in the apartment and Central Perk which, by the way, turned out to be side by side at the soundstage.
Throughout the special, they explored every nook and cranny. “Ah, Matty, it’s good to see you man,” Perry said to LeBlanc as they sat in their plush Barcaloungers and had their own moment. “The choreography was incredible,” Schwimmer said as he took us around the soundstage and pointed out the multi-cam setup which made the multiple award-winning sitcom's magic happen.
We see Aniston revealing her dressing room, which had its own hardwood floors (we wouldn’t have expected anything less from Rachel, would we?), we had a peek at craft services (where they kept the "sustenance" for the cast and crew) before the cast sat down to reenact a scene from one of their favourite episodes out of the 236 that they filmed.
See also: Friends Reunion: Rachel Green's Iconic 90s Outfits We Saw On This Season's Runways