Friends reunion gets a release date

The highly anticipated Friends reunion special will arrive on streaming service HBO Max on May 27, it has been confirmed.

A teaser video shared on social media showed the six original cast members — Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer — walking arm-in-arm across a studio lot.

The video was accompanied by a down-tempo version of the US sitcom's theme, 'I'll Be There for You' by The Rembrandts. Playing on the episode title format throughout the 10 series, a caption described the special as "The One Where We Get to See Our Favorites Back Together Again".

Cox, who played Monica Geller, wrote on Instagram: "This kind of thing doesn't happen every year, or even every 10, or 15 years. I feel so blessed to have had a chance to reunite with my Friends... and it was better than ever."

"Finally! Had a blast with the cast and a solid nap with LeBlanc," said Schwimmer, who played palaeontologist Ross Geller.

Aniston, best known as Rachel Green, said: "It's official! The #FriendsReunion premieres May 27th on @HBOMax - could we BE any more excited?!"

"So great to see you everyone," wrote LeBlanc, who played hapless actor Joey Tribbiani.

HBO also unveiled a star-studded line-up of guests.

They include David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Kit Harington, Tom Selleck, Reese Witherspoon, and Malala Yousafzai.

The cast will not be in character and will appear as themselves in the special, which was repeatedly delayed because of the pandemic after originally being set to arrive on the HBO Max streaming platform in May last year.

Friends ran for 10 series from 1994 and remains one of the most popular shows on TV.