Well I suppose this had to happen sooner or later... I was just expecting it to be later. Much later. But
I figure a failed and unfunny spin-off (sorry Joey fans... if there are any of you) will get the gears in
motion faster. Okay, here goes: just a little over a year and half since the airing of the series finale, all six
principle cast members of the NBC hit sitcom Friends have agreed to star in four one hour specials. Wait, that's like eight regular
episodes... I rule at math.
Writers are already blasting out the scripts and we can expect them to air sometime in 2007. So we've got a bit of a wait but in the meantime we can also continue to salivate at this: the potential for another Friends spin-off. This time, Perry, Schwimmer... and yes, LeBlanc would star in a new sitcom tentatively titled It's a Guy Thing. Executives have hinted at it, but nothing is set in stone. Can't say that I blame them though. With the nose dive NBC took this season, I'd be milking the Friends teat for all it's worth too. Granted, this could all be bogus because you never know with a story like this but fingers are crossed so take it for what it's worth.
[Thanks so much to Dave for bringing this to our attention.]
UPDATE (1/23): Consider this rumor dead as most of us wisely assumed from the get go. Access Hollywood had this to say earlier today, with a direct quote from Jeff Zucker (CEO of NBC Universal's TV Group) squashing the rumors.
Also, many thanks to TV Squad's own Ryan j Budke who spent numerous hours on the phone this morning with NBC's Media Relations Department, who had this to say: "There are currently no plans to have any follow-up to Friends other than Joey, which is still a major part of our comedy line-up and we whole-heartedly support. The rumors started this weekend are just that; rumors. We wish the rest of the cast of Friends continued success in their careers, and would welcome them back at any time, but there are currently no plans for them to appear in their Friends roles."
So there ya go folks. Sorry if we got your hopes up.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-22-2006 @ 9:19PM
Parking said...
Unbelievable! This sounds like an April Fool's Day joke! The time for "Friends" has come and gone.
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1-22-2006 @ 9:49PM
Jamie said...
Indeed. why would Matthew Perry turn down a role on Studio Seven to go back to an old character? I thought Schwimmer wanted to direct independent films. The others I can sort of figure, but this just seems like a pitiful attempt by NBC to recapture old glory.
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1-22-2006 @ 10:26PM
Tammy said...
It's either a pitiful attempt by NBC to recapture old glory as Jamie said, or the "Friends" have discovered that it isn't so easy to get new work that is a fulfilling as getting a million dollars for a week's work.
NBC is going to pay $5 million for each actor -- I would think that $30 million would be better spent developing new comedies rather than reprising old ones.
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1-22-2006 @ 11:16PM
Mark Allen said...
"It's the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour!!!!"
And next season, "Here's Joey."
Pffft.
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1-22-2006 @ 11:20PM
Lorissa said...
I think its a GREAT idea & I hope the 'friends' & NBC do this cause I LOVE "Friends"!!! Its one of my favorite shows & I still watch all of the re-runs! I was so sad when it ended so I think these "specials" would be awesome! PLEASE NBC, DO THIS FOR THE LOYAL FANS!!!! "Friends" RULES!!!!
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1-22-2006 @ 11:33PM
Jake said...
I am personally excited about this... as long as they dont bring it back full time it will be much better than having a stupid reunion show when they are all 60. There are some story lines they haven't tied up yet. As for the new series... it can't be any worse than Joey.
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1-22-2006 @ 11:44PM
Dorv said...
Jamie nailed it.
Now we know why Perry turned down what most assume (hell, at least I assume) would have been a prime roll. Studio Seven looks to be another solid show, but its funny that several stars have backed away from it (Perry, Amanda Peet).
Makes me wonder...
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1-23-2006 @ 12:40AM
stormin_normin said...
SURELY YOU JEST...well NBC's on the rope (what's the highest rated show? Medium?), everything Aniston touches closes quicker than ypu can say "we were on a break", well and poor Joey. How can you take the most likeable character and make him unwatchable? The only great thing any of them did was Kudrow's HBO shortlived, brilliant "The Comeback". So it is logical that FRIENDS would make "the comeback"...but please don't let any of Joey's writers near a 500 mile radius.
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1-23-2006 @ 12:40AM
stormin_normin said...
SURELY YOU JEST...well NBC's on the rope (what's the highest rated show? Medium?), everything Aniston touches closes quicker than ypu can say "we were on a break", well and poor Joey. How can you take the most likeable character and make him unwatchable? The only great thing any of them did was Kudrow's HBO shortlived, brilliant "The Comeback". So it is logical that FRIENDS would make "the comeback"...but please don't let any of Joey's writers near a 500 mile radius.
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1-23-2006 @ 1:28AM
Grahame said...
This is being reported by the "World Entertainment News Network"....riiiight. Sounds like a highly reliable source there...
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1-23-2006 @ 1:39AM
Sam said...
A show manages to end gracefully. So we bring it back to kill it properly? Tragic.
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1-23-2006 @ 5:26AM
Thomas said...
Utter tosh, how would they get around Chandler being married and having adopted kids? Would he dump them? Would Monica dump him? If so how would the Ross being a regular go down? Similarly how would they explain his lack of relationship with Rachel? Of course the spin-off problems could be addressed in the hour-longs but whichever way you slice it they'd have to be downers to have the spin-off make any sense - and then who'd want to watch them?
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1-23-2006 @ 8:42AM
Gazzoo said...
There are so many holes in this story that I don't believe it for a second...
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1-23-2006 @ 12:00PM
Elwads said...
Who cares if they can't do movies or other tv work? They were hysterical on Friends and, if they can continue to make us laugh, I'd take as many 1-hour specials as they can churn out. These characters will never leave us! But also key, they need to use the writers who made these guys so funny!
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1-23-2006 @ 12:02PM
Jen said...
But wouldn't a series called, "It's a Guy Thing," featuring Perry but not Courtney Cox, sort of require that Chandler & Monica had gotten divorced? That is not very middle-America-Joe-Average-TV-watcher friendly---and being as that is exactly the audience Friends thrives on, I doubt it.
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1-23-2006 @ 12:08PM
Gazzoo said...
What holes you may ask...
First of all, notice that no major news outlet has picked up the story. The only ones reporting it are getting their info from the Hollywood.com story. Don't you think that NBC, once the story had leaked, would be trumpting it on "Today" and every other outlet at their disposal?
Secondly, this whole "spinoff" angle is ridiculous. If it only stars the guys, that means Ross and Rachel AND Chandler and Monica have broken up. Are they going to spend four one-hour epsiodes showing the breakups?
There are lots more problems with this that I won't get into here, but I will say that I'm disappointed in TV Squad for reporting it as "news" without a huge discalimer...
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1-23-2006 @ 1:18PM
Kirsten said...
I am so stoked!!!!!!! This totally ROCKS!!!
Since friends has been off the air there has been a void...
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1-23-2006 @ 1:21PM
Christina *CC* said...
FRIENDS!! MY ULTIMATE FAVORTIE TV SHOW! I HATED WHEN THE SHOW ENDED AND I STILL WATCH ALL THE RE-RUNS TO THIS DAY. I OWN ALL 10 SEASONS ON DVD AND EVEN WENT TO CALIFORNIA TO SEE THE SET!! YEA, IM THAT OBSESSED!!! AND I LOVE IT! SO FOR ALL OF YOU WHO DONT LIKE THIS SHOW. JUST GO AWAY. WHY SHOULD YOU CARE IF THEY COME BACK WITH SPECIALS?? OBVIOUSLY YOU DONT HAVE TO WATCH! BUT FOR ALL OF US WHO DO LOVE FRIENDS.. I THINK ITS A FANTASTIC IDEA!!!
IM OUT
*CHRISTINA*
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1-23-2006 @ 1:36PM
Mike said...
How pathetic. The show was great in its prime, but they ran it a little too long. Now they're going to bring it back because they're in the ratings cellar and none of the actors can find work.
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1-23-2006 @ 1:41PM
AirDave said...
Joey is a funny guy. But he was more comic relief on Friends. How do you make a whole series out of comic relief?
I enjoyed Friends because each one of the characters was different. On Joey, all the characters are too much alike.
Give me a good, solid, funny Friends hour-long reunion.
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