Friends reunion: Plans to start filming 'in the next two weeks'

The one where they finally reunite!

In just a few weeks, production on the highly anticipated Friends reunion is reportedly getting underway after it had been halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, Deadline reported on Friday. 

The outlet spoke with executives from Fulwell 73, the production company putting together the HBO Max special, who confirmed that they’re ‘poised’ to start shooting.

Finally! In just a few weeks, production on the highly anticipated Friends reunion is reportedly getting underway after it had been halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, Deadline reported on Friday

‘We’re very excited for that,’ Fulwell 73 partner Leo Pearlman said of the reunion special. 

While he played coy about pretty much everything else about the show, Pearlman did say that they would begin production within two weeks. 

His timeline fits with what Marta Kauffman, the co-creator of the TV series which aired from 1994 until 2004, told The Wrap in June.

‘We are hoping to be able to shoot in August, if all is well and there is no early second wave and the studio is open,’ Kauffman said. 

About time! The outlet spoke with executives from Fulwell 73, the production company putting together the HBO Max special, who confirmed that they’re ‘poised’ to start shooting in the next two weeks

Originally, the HBO Max special was supposed to air in May but filming hadn’t even gotten underway when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered productions across the board.

Despite the delay, last month Friends star David Schwimmer confirmed that the reunion was ‘definitely’ still happening. 

The 53-year-old actor opened up about the plans for the HBO Max special during an interview with Today’s Hoda Kotb and Nick Mohammed.

Schwimmer seemed surprised that Hoda even asked, telling the AM host: ‘There is definitely going to be a Friends reunion. 

Delays: Originally, the HBO Max special was supposed to air in May but filming hadn’t even gotten underway when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered productions across the board

‘We have a lot of the creative aspects of the show [worked out.] It’s unscripted but there are going to be some surprise funny bits,’ he dished.

‘The real question is when,’ David said. ‘We’re still trying to figure that out because we want to do it when it’s safe for everyone.’

Lucky for fans, it seems the ‘when’ has finally been answered, though it will likely look and feel different than originally planned due to health and safety protocols that will be implemented.  

When shooting does get underway, Schwimmer will be joined by Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Leblanc and Matthew Perry as well as creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane.  

‘We have a lot of the creative aspects of the show [worked out.] It’s unscripted but there are going to be some surprise funny bits,’ David Schwimmer dished in July

‘There are going to be very strict guidelines and that includes no live audiences,’ a source previously told The Mirror.

They added that, ‘all of the cast will be tested for Covid-19, and asked to quarantine in isolation after they’ve had the tests.’

The special – which the Mirror says will ‘be a mix of interviews and sketches’ – will be back on the original series’ Stage 24 of the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank. 

They’ll be there for you: When shooting does get underway, Schwimmer will be joined by Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt Leblanc and Matthew Perry as well as creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane

It seems the show is in good hands as Fulwell 73, a U.K. based company, already has a successful track record producing in the pandemic.

The U.K.’s first show produced during the pandemic was a Fulwell 73 production, BBC One’s Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer.

They also put together the at-home version of The Late Late Show with James Corden and is planning on returning the show to studio shortly.    

Track record: It seems the show is in good hands as Fulwell 73, a U.K. based company, already has a successful track record producing in the pandemic putting together the at-home version of The Late Late Show with James Corden and shortly returning the show to studio