First, no one told life was gonna be this way. Now, things have gone from bad to worse as there is actual verbal proof that neither aFriendsreboot or reunion will happen. Ever.
As reported byDeadline,Friendsco-creators and executive producersMarta KaufmannandDavid Craneparticipated in a 25th-anniversary panel for the series at the Tribeca TV Festival in New York City. As is often the case when discussing the legacy of shows likeFriends, questions around possibly subjecting the cast to a reboot reunion came up. Kaufmann gave her definitive opinion on the matter:
“We will not be doing a reunion show, we will not be doing a reboot. The show was about that time in life when friends are your family.”
As for whether or notFriendscould possibly return in the form of a reboot, Kaufmann answered, “It’s not going to beat what we did.” Crane is seemingly in support of Kaufmann’s position on this matter, as he then chimed in with, “We did the show we wanted to do. We got it right, and we put a bow on it.”
It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years sinceFriendsdebuted on NBC on September 1994. The series ran for a decade and remains one of the most-watched and highest-rated TV shows of its time while propelling its series leads —Courteney Cox,Jennifer Aniston,Lisa Kudrow,David Schwimmer,Matthew Perry, andMatt LeBlanc— to superstardom. These days, it feels like you’re never more than 10 feet away from aFriendssuperfan thanks to the cultural ubiquity of the series.
Despite recent reboots of classic ’90s series becoming the dominant trend (see: The CW’sCharmedandRoswellreboots or Fox’s meta-Beverly Hills 90210revamp for proof), it’s tough to imagine what a return to theFriendsworld would look like. We still all go gaga whenever two or moreFriendsalums flock together, so making them come back together for a reunion show seems like it would be for show rather than a necessary event. To wit, Cox is prone to sharing photos with longtime friends and former co-starsKudrow and Anistonon her Instagram; it’s like they know we want to see them reunite (and boy, we sure do).
As for a reboot? Keep your stinkin' reboots. There’s no way you could ever recreate the magic of the original series.
