Friends reunion will be ‘postponed until next year’ amid coronavirus outbreak

Bad news for Friends fans – the reunion won’t be hitting our screens anytime soon, according to a new report.

The hotly-anticipated Friends reunion is expected to be postponed until next year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The famous cast were expected to film the HBO Max Special on March 23rd and 24th but bosses were forced to cancel shooting as the deadly pandemic continued to spread around the world.

Producers were hopeful that filming could take place in May, which would mean it could still premiere on its original scheduled date later in the same month.

But according to The Sun, the reunion we've all been waiting for isn’t likely to happen now until 2021 as the outbreak remains a concern and the cast – Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer – have packed schedules for the rest of the year.

Jennifer Aniston first sparked talks of a TV reunion with this Instagram photo. Picture: Instagram

An insider revealed: “It looks like the reunion might have to be scheduled for next year now.

“It was difficult enough getting everyone on board for filming in March and it will be incredibly hard to get them all together at the same time again.

“If the coronavirus restrictions continue until May and June, which is looking very likely at this point, there will be no choice but to postpone until next year because it's proving impossible to find dates when they're all free this year.

“Everyone knows how excited the fans are but realistically it won’t be filmed or airing until 2021 now.”

Fans had been calling for a Friends reunion for years.

The show was scheduled to be production at the now-iconic soundstage on the Warner Brothers studio lot in Los Angeles where the famous series originally taped.

Fans were elated when the whole cast announced on February 21 they would join the unscripted schedule.

The show is set to be a part of the big launch for HBO’s new streaming service.

Friends creators Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane are also poised to join the group-of-six when the show is back up and running.

Since the deadly coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic, production has been shut down or delayed for most of Hollywood including various movies, TV shows, concerts, festivals and more.

The Sun contacted representatives for HBO Max and the production company for comment.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.