25 years after its debut, Friends still remains one of television’s most enduring sitcoms, and now the stars may be reuniting.
The Hollywood Reporter reported Tuesday that all six of the original Friends stars – Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc are in talks for a reunion special on HBO Max.
Since the show turned these rising stars into household names, we’re exploring their life after the hit show, which ran for 10 seasons.
Reunited: 25 years after its debut, Friends still remains one of television’s most enduring sitcoms, and now the stars may be reuniting
Fame: Cox had already parlayed her frame on the small screen to a burgeoning big screen career during the show, starring in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the first three Scream movies and 3000 Miles to Graceland during Friends’ run
COURTENEY COX
Cox had already parlayed her frame on the small screen to a burgeoning big screen career during the show, starring in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the first three Scream movies and 3000 Miles to Graceland during Friends’ run.
After Friends went off the air in 2004, she returned to the big screen in Zoom and The Tripper before returning to the small screen in Dirt.
The FX series aired for just two seasons between 2007 and 2008, after which she reunited with Lisa Kudrow on three episodes of Web Therapy in 2009 before starring on ABC’s Cougar Town.
Big screen: Cox had already parlayed her frame on the small screen to a burgeoning big screen career during the show, starring in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the first three Scream movies and 3000 Miles to Graceland during Friends’ run
She starred in Cougar Town for all of its six season run between 2009 and 2015, the first four of which were on ABC and the last two on TBS.
After Cougar Town went off the air, Cox has acted sparingly, starring in one movie, 2016’s Mothers and Daughters, with guest-starring spots in Shameless and Drunk History.
She has been keeping busy as a producer, though, executive producing Celebrity Name Game and the Facebook Watch series 9 Months With Courteney Cox.
Aniston also used her Friends fame to kickstart a movie career, starring in She’s The One and Dream For an Insomniac in 1996
JENNIFER ANISTON
Aniston also used her Friends fame to kickstart a movie career, starring in She’s The One and Dream For an Insomniac in 1996.
She followed that up with Picture Perfect ant ‘Til There Was You in 1997, The Thin Pink Line and The Object of My Affection in 1998 and a pair of cult classics in 1999, Office Space and The Iron Giant, plus providing her voice for a South Park episode.
As the show continued, she still continued working steadily in film, starring in 2001’s Rock Star, 2002’s The Good Girl, 2003’s Bruce Almighty and 2004’s Along Came Polly.
Movie career: Aniston also used her Friends fame to kickstart a movie career, starring in She’s The One and Dream For an Insomniac in 1996
After Friends went off the air, she focused solely on movies from then on out, until just recently, except for the occasional guest starring spot that often became a Friends reunion.
She also mixed it up with some genre fare as well, including the 2005 thriller Derailed along with the 2006 indie comedy Friends With Money and guest starring on Courteney Cox’s show Dirt in 2007.
She also guest-starred on Cox’s Cougar Town in 2010, between movies such as 2008’s Marley and Me, 2009’s He’s Not Just Into You, 2009’s Love Happens, 2010’s The Bounty Hunter, 2010’s The Switch and 2011’s Just Go With It and Horrible Bosses.
Reunion: After Friends went off the air, she focused solely on movies from then on out, until just recently, except for the occasional guest starring spot that often became a Friends reunion
She also starred in 2012’s Wanderlust, 2013’s We’re the Millers and Life of Crime, 2014’s Cake and Horrible Bosses 2, 2016’s Mother’s Day, Storks and Office Christmas Party, 2017’s The Yellow Bird and 2018’s Dumplin’
Earlier this year, she reunited with her Just Go With It star Adam Sandler in Netflix’s Murder Mystery, and she returned to the small screen just days ago with Apple TV Plus’ The Morning Show, alongside Reese Witherspoon.
She’ll next be seen on the big screen in The Fixer, based on the life of Denise White, a former Miss USA contestant who became a dominant figure in the world of sports management.
Lisa’s work: She also had hit movies during her Friends tenure like the 1997 cult classic Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion and the 1998 indie The Opposite of Sex
LISA KUDROW
Kudrow’s post-Friend’s career trajectory was much different than her female co-stars but she still continued to work regularly in many different mediums.
She also had hit movies during her Friends tenure like the 1997 cult classic Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion and the 1998 indie The Opposite of Sex.
She also voiced Aphrodite in the Disney animated series Hercules, plus characters on King of the Hill and Blues Clues.
Trajectory: Kudrow’s post-Friend’s career trajectory was much different than her female co-stars but she still continued to work regularly in many different mediums
After Friends went off the air, she continued starring in movies (2005’s Happy Endings) and continuing voice work (2005’s Hopeless Pictures and 2006’s American Dad).
But she also started pursuing other creative endeavors, creating and starring in HBO’s The Comeback.
She also created Web Therapy, which started as a web series before it was picked up by Showtime, where it aired for four seasons.
Friend: After Friends went off the air, she continued starring in movies (2005’s Happy Endings) and continuing voice work (2005’s Hopeless Pictures and 2006’s American Dad)
She then starred in a string of movies like 2007’s Kabluey and P.S. I Love You, 2009’s Bandslam and Paper Man, 2010’s Easy A, 2014’s Neighbors and its 2016 sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, 2017’s The Girl on the Train and Boss Baby and guest spots on Grace and Frankie and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Earlier this year, she starred in a pair of comedies, Long Shot and the indie hit Booksmart.
She also lends her voice to the series Human Discoveries and has a number of TV projects in various stages of production.
New roles: Earlier this year, she starred in a pair of comedies, Long Shot and the indie hit Booksmart
MATTHEW PERRY
Perry was also quick to jump into the movies while Friends was on the air, starring in 1997’s Fools Rush In, 1998’s Almost Heroes, 1999’s Three to Tango, 2000’s The Whole Nine Yards, 2002’s Serving Sara and 2004’s The Whole Ten Yards when the show was airing.
He played innovative teacher Ron Clark in the 2006 TV movie The Ron Clark Story, before returning to the small screen in the short-lived NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip for creator Aaron Sorkin.
He returned to the big screen in 2008’s Birds in America and 2009’s 17 Again alongside rising star Zac Efron before returning to TV.
Movie jump: Perry was also quick to jump into the movies while Friends was on the air, starring in 1997’s Fools Rush In, 1998’s Almost Heroes, 1999’s Three to Tango, 2000’s The Whole Nine Yards, 2002’s Serving Sara and 2004’s The Whole Ten Yards when the show was airing
He starred in the short-lived Mr. Sunshine (which he also created) in 2011 and Go On in 2012, both of which ran for just one season apiece.
He reunited with Cox in an episode of Cougar Town before starring in The Odd Couple (which he also created), which ran two seasons from 2015 to 2017.
He has most recently been seen in a recurring arc on The Good Fight and the mini-series The Kennedys After Camelot in 2017.
Short-lived: He starred in the short-lived Mr. Sunshine (which he also created) in 2011 and Go On in 2012, both of which ran for just one season apiece
MATT LEBLANC
LeBlanc was the only Friends cast-mate to get a TV spin-off, Joey, which ran from 2004 to 2006, but after that went off the air, he took a long acting hiatus.
He served as an executive producer on the 2010 film Jonah Hex before returning to acting in 2011 with the hit Showtime series Episodes.
Episodes, where he essentially plays a version of himself and was co-created by Friends creator David Crane, ran for five seasons from 2011 to 2017.
He currently stars on the CBS sitcom Man With a Plan, which has been airing since 2016.
Spin-off: LeBlanc was the only Friends cast-mate to get a TV spin-off, Joey, which ran from 2004 to 2006, but after that went off the air, he took a long acting hiatus
DAVID SCHWIMMER
Schwimmer continued acting after Friends went off the air, but he focused most of his efforts on a career behind the camera.
He directed two episodes of the Joey spin-off before making his feature film debut with the 2017 comedy Run, Fatboy, Run, starring Simon Pegg.
He also directed six episodes of Little Britain USA before returning to the big screen with the 2010 movie Trust and the 2014 pilot for Growing Up Fischer.
Director: Schwimmer continued acting after Friends went off the air, but he focused most of his efforts on a career behind the camera
Schwimmer also voiced Melvin in all of the Madagascar movies and starred in 2008’s Nothing But the Truth, 2012’s The Iceman and John Carter, and reunited with Lisa Kudrow on 2012 episodes of Web Therapy.
He won rave reviews for playing Robert Kardashian in the 2016 FX series American Crime Story and played Noah Broader in NBC’s Will & Grace.
He currently stars in The Laundromat alongside Meryl Streep, which debuted on Netflix in October.
Stars: Schwimmer also voiced Melvin in all of the Madagascar movies and starred in 2008’s Nothing But the Truth, 2012’s The Iceman and John Carter, and reunited with Lisa Kudrow on 2012 episodes of Web Therapy