The long-awaited Friends reunion special will not be airing on the launch day of the HBO Max streaming service as planned.

With so many productions shut down due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the decision has been made to postpone the Friends reunion special. It was confirmed in February that the cast of Friends - Matthew Perry, Courtney Cox, Matt Le Blanc, Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer - would all be coming back on set for a special one-off show which would see the six stars reminisce on the 10 seasons of the hit sitcom. Initially planned to coincide with the launch of HBO Max, the Friends reunion has now been pushed back to a later date that has yet to be confirmed. https://www.instagram.com/p/B82ExDppJ3R/

A spokesperson for HBO Max said: "We want to share some background information about the production dates for the upcoming unscripted Friendsreunion special for HBO Max. As was previously reported, production is delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that the special will not be available on the streamer on Day 1 of launch. But it is coming!"

The Friends reunion was supposed to be filmed at the end of March but production was shut down a week before the scheduled date. More details about the special episode have been made available, with confirmation coming that the cast will be not be appearing as their beloved characters. "The cast and producers are all very excited to go into production, as this will be the first time since the show ended that the whole cast will be together, and on the original sets to reminisce," the spokesperson continued. "There are loads of great surprises in store and lots of rare behind-the-scenes footage they are eager to share. We will keep you informed as plans solidify and once we have a firm premiere date. "Lastly, in order to avoid any misunderstanding about what this special is, we want to make it very clear that this is not a new, original episode of the series. The cast will be appearing as themselves, not as their beloved characters. "And though fans will have to wait a bit longer for the reunion, they can watch all 236 episodes of the series on day one of HBO Max launch in May!"

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