'Friends: The Reunion': The 5 Biggest Revelations
Friends: The Reunion has finally arrived!
Friends debuted in 1994 and saw mass success, with the show producing 10 seasons over the course of a decade.
The sitcom, which followed six friends living in the heart of New York, made stars out of Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Courteney Cox (Monica Geller), David Schwimmer (Ross Geller), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing) and Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani).
It wrapped back in 2004 and 17 years on, the cast of the show has at last given fans what they want, a reunion.
The one-off unscripted episode saw the cast dive into the show's history books as they revisited their characters' old apartments, rediscovered the set, welcomed celebrity guests and swapped behind-the-scenes stories and memories from filming.
From romances to plot secrets, here are the five biggest revelations from the reunion.
Monica and Chandler exist because of fans
Show producer Kevin Bright told how the original plan was for Monica and Chandler to have a one-night stand.
However, that all changed when they heard the audience reaction to the scene where the characters are in bed together during their trip to London.
Bright was in the room and said the audience "went insane," which made it obvious to the writers that there was more to explore.
Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer had a major crush on each other
#Roschel was almost very real. Speaking about off-screen romances, Schwimmer admitted he had a "major crush" on Aniston, which she said was reciprocated.
"At some point we were both crushing hard on each other, but it was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship," he explained. "And we never crossed that boundary."
Aniston also told how she said to him that it would be "such a bummer" if the pair's first kiss was on-screen. However, she confirmed their first lip lock was indeed as Ross and Rachel at the Central Perk.
"Sure enough, the first time we kissed was in that coffee shop. But we just channeled all of our adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel," she explained.
Matthew Perry feared the live studio audience
Perry revealed the cast would act out episodes in front of a live studio audience so the writers could change storylines or scrap any jokes that didn't go down well.
He explained that it was the fear of the audience not laughing when he delivered a joke that got to him.
"To me, it felt like I was going to die if they didn't laugh," he said. "It's not healthy, for sure, but I would sometimes say a line and they wouldn't laugh and I would sweat and just go into convulsions if I didn't get the laugh I was supposed to get. I would freak out."
Matt LeBlanc got badly injured on set
LeBlanc told how he ended up dislocating his shoulder after his leg got caught when he tried to jump over a coffee table for a stunt in season three.
The scene, which took place in "The One Where No One's Ready," resulted in an injury being written into the show for Joey.
Recalling the incident, the actor said the cast would normally do a huddle before they began shooting. However, the cast were running late on that shoot and missed it.
"That's the one time we didn't do it," LeBlanc stressed.
The incident resulted in the superstitious actor prompting the cast not to miss another huddle because he "didn't want anything else falling off."
Rachel was the hardest part to cast
Show creator Marta Kauffman said Rachel was the hardest part to cast of the main six.
She told how Rachel's somewhat selfish nature could've put the audience off if the wrong actress was chosen.
"In the wrong hands, you don't like Rachel," Kauffman said.
It was also revealed that Cox was initially in the running for Rachel but she persuaded the creators she was definitely more of a Monica.
Friends: The Reunion is available to stream now on HBO Max.
