The stars of 'Friends' reunite for sitcom nostalgia-fest

The stars of "Friends" never really left us -- they were simply on a break.

The cast of the beloved 1990s sitcom about six attractive, straight, white New Yorkers with ludicrously giant Manhattan apartments finally reunite on Thursday for a much-hyped and long-delayed special.

The much-awaited "Friends: The Reunion" will stream simultaneously in India with the United States and the world on Thursday, May 27, at 12:32pm (11.02am UAE time).

Details are under wraps, but fans can expect a "table read" of a classic episode, a recreation of the famous "Friends" quiz at Monica and Rachel's apartment -- and lots of hugs, tears and reminiscing.

Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer collectively negotiated one million dollars each per episode by the end of their colossally popular and zeitgeist-setting 236-episode, 10-year run.

In a sign of the show's enduring appeal, the gang are reportedly pocketing $2.5 million each for the reunion.

Banking on nostalgia, parent company WarnerMedia originally planned the "unscripted special" as a blockbuster way to launch its HBO Max streaming service last year.

But filming was delayed by the pandemic, with producers determined to bring the gang back in-person to iconic sets like the "Central Perk" cafe at the show's original studio outside Los Angeles.

 'Pivot!'

Thanks to re-runs and now streaming, the show's appeal has crossed generations, with viewers too young to remember its original run still quoting catchphrases like "We were on a break," "How you doin'?" and "Pivot!"

Like "Frasier" and "Seinfeld," "Friends" is one of "maybe four or five American sitcoms" from the "last real golden age of broadcast" with truly expansive appeal, in contrast to today's "fractured" TV marketplace, he added.

Still, while its depiction of urban life centered around coffee houses and the latest "Rachel haircut" was once seen as modern, the show's overall lack of racial diversity was slammed by some critics even during its run.

And storylines now seen as fat-shaming (young Monica) or transphobic (Chandler's father) have been called out, particularly by some younger viewers.

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But "sitcoms as a genre are traditionally reassuring," she added.

Bieber and Beckham

British comic James Corden will host the reunion, interviewing the cast in front of the giant fountain on the sprawling Warner Bros Ranch used in the show's famous opening credits.

Returning guest stars will include Tom Selleck, Reese Witherspoon, and Maggie Wheeler -- better known the world over as the perennially shocked Janice.

From outside the "Friends" universe, celebrities including Justin Bieber, David Beckham, Lady Gaga and K-pop sensation BTS will drop by.