Friends reunion special at HBO Max reportedly delayed

HBO Max's heavily anticipated Friends reunion special will be delayed as production across Hollywood shuts down amid the Coronavirus pandemic. There is no estimated release date at this time, but a company spokesperson told AdWeek that `at this point, we anticipate launching HBO Max with the Friends Reunion Special.` It's seemingly all dependent on how long studios continue to delay productions.

The

special, which would reunite original cast members Jennifer Aniston (Rachel), Courtney Cox (Monica), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), David Schwimmer (Ross), Matthew Perry (Chandler), and Matt LeBlanc (Joey), was a launch title for WarnerMedia's new streaming service, HBO Max. The cast is set to `earn more than double their former per-episode fee for the reunion and be paid between $2.5 million and $3 million for the special.`

HBO Max, set to launch in May, will combine HBO's archive of celebrated programming with new shows and films, alongside Warner Bros. movies and new original series. It's set to launch at $14.99 a month - the current price of HBO Now - making it one of the higher priced services. Netflix's most popular plan is $12.99 a month, while Disney Plus is $6.99 a month and Apple TV Plus comes in at $4.99 a month.

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The one where a #Friends reunion is postponed. The HBO Max special becomes the latest production to be delayed amid the global #coronavirus pandemic. Link in bio for all the details.

A post shared by Hollywood Reporter (@hollywoodreporter) on Mar 18, 2020 at 5:30pm PDT

HBO Max will also be the exclusive streaming home for Friends. The show was available to stream on Netflix up until January 1st. WarnerMedia paid an estimated $425 million for the rights to the series. WarnerMedia hasn't said if HBO Max's launch will be affected by the coronavirus pandemic.