After years of fans requesting them to come together on screen again for a reunion, the iconic six lead cast members of "FRIENDS" finally did. Thursday was "D-Day" when millions of FRIENDS fans from around the world stopped everything else to watch their favourites - David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, and Matt Le Blanc finally come together for this much-awaited reunion.
SPOILER ALERT: The special episode was ninety minutes, and started with the cast members walking inside "Stage 24" of the Warner Brothers studio in Burbank, California, after 17 long years. Schwimmer, who played the nerdy paleontologist Ross Geller on the show was the first one to step foot on the legendary set of "FRIENDS", followed by Lisa Kudrow who we know as the "flaky" Phoebe Buffay and then the others joined.
The cast members, now in their fifties hugged and kissed each other – and discussed the time when they could all fit into the small doors of the apartment sets at the same time.
While earlier speculations had suggested that Hollywood's talk show sweetheart Ellen De Generes – who declined the role of Phoebe Buffay on "FRIENDS" years ago would be interviewing the cast members, it was another popular chat show host, James Cordon, who sat the six "FRIENDS" down for some cheeky conversation.
During the interview portions, several secrets were spilled – making the reunion more exciting. The cast members revealed to Cordon that they all keep in touch and would never miss each other's calls.
The part of the interview where Schwimmer and Aniston revealed that they were "crushing hard" on one another during the filming garnered the most thunderous claps from the live audience present. The actors played each other's on-and-off again love interests in the show, disclosing that they channeled all of their real emotions towards one another at the time – to build the chemistry between their characters.
In between the interview portions, the cast shot different segments where they re-did table readings of their iconic moments from the show – like playing the quiz that cost Monica and Rachel their apartment. These parts took fans down memory lane, along with familiar chuckles.
Revealing the stories of how the characters were cast – the creators of the series, Martha Kauffman, David Crane, and Kevin Bright also spilled newer anecdotes for "FRIENDS" fans to carry with them for a long time to come. In a tear-jerking sentence, Kauffman explained that they decided to end the show because "it was about friends, who grew up and made families of their own", and then their lives would not have remained the same.
Segments from fans from around the world, including India, Africa, France, Spain, South Korea, and the UK, sharing tales of their connection to the series were also included in the episodes. People wanted to remind the creators and cast of the show that what they did has made an impact on the lives of millions of people – who still come back home after a long hard day to watch "FRIENDS" on their television.
Other supporting cast members from the show, such as the actors who played Ross and Monica's parents, Chandler's girlfriend Janice, the owner of the Central Perk coffee shop Gunther – also made brief appearances in the reunion – making the episode one rollercoaster of emotions, according to fans.
A glittering line up of more celebrities, including Justin Bieber, BTS, David Beckham, Kit Harrington, and Reese Witherspoon was also part of the show, with video bites, interview cameos, and ramp walks featuring some of the most remembered looks from the show.
The actors did reveal how they pictured their characters had aged, and that Ross and Rachel got married and gave their daughter Emma a bunch more brothers and sisters. Monica would still be competitive, participating in bake sales – Cox said, while nudging Perry and revealing that her husband Chandler would still be making her laugh every day. Phoebe, Lisa Kudrow said, would have moved to Connecticut with her husband Mike – played by the dreamy Paul Rudd and would have helped kids who were just "different", like her character.
Matt Le Blanc, who won over thousands of girls with his flirty and best-friend-in-the-world character Joey Tribbiani, said that his character would have settled with a sandwich shop on Venice beach.
While this wasn't exactly what fans had hoped for - an episode showing how the characters had aged and were living their lives. But this was more real - they were themselves and spoke about how the stories of their characters developed in their heads.
The actors, who depicted the lives of attractive young singles living in New York are now older. While fans have blasted Cox, who essayed the role of clean freak Monica Geller for "ruining" her face with botox, they've also expressed concerns about Perry slurring his words. Hence, their reluctance to shoot a full season. The show's creators didn't want to take a risk after ending the series on a high note.
Fans, however, have shattered social networking platforms with overwhelming responses to the much-anticipated reunion of "FRIENDS". And as Cox said – this is indeed the last time the cast will sit down together to answer questions about the series – because it wouldn't possible for them to do this again after another 15 years.