Jennifer Aniston, the actor who shot to stardom while playing Rachel Green on Friends, has shot down any possibility that the NBC sitcom should be rebooted. Friends is one of the most popular series ever made, and one of the series most revisited by fans across the globe. It would surely be a TV event to see them again on the small screen. However, Aniston has no intention of returning to the world that made her famous without Matthew Perry, her co-star in the show who passed away in 2023.
Aniston was interviewed by Harper’s Bazaar, and during the conversation, she addressed the possibility of a Friends reboot. “It would be literally, physically impossible,” the actor said about possibly reprising her character. While there may be several reasons, Aniston shared that Perry’s loss is enough to keep her away from even thinking about it. As she put it, “It’s heartbreaking that he had so many demons. But boy, for someone who had that much inner turmoil, he sure got to laugh a lot, and that was everything to him.” Aniston also reflected on the show’s impact, saying the chemistry would be impossible to recapture:
“There’s something about the chemistry of the cast that made for a lightning-in-a-bottle moment, and that just happened to get caught on camera.
“I looked forward to it every day. I couldn’t wait to get to work. I couldn’t wait to see those people. I couldn’t wait to read the scripts – we’d shoot the show every Friday night, and right after we wrapped, we’d find the new script for Monday morning in our dressing room. I was just as excited to find out what was going to happen as I’m sure the audience was.”
Aniston added that the friendship between the cast transcended the camera, saying it’s like the six of them “married each other” and will remain united for life: “I know that if I needed anything, I’d go direct to the chain we have together, and they’d be there for me in two seconds flat. It was like we married each other – they’re my family. Sometimes you love to hate your family, but it’s a lifetime commitment, for sure.”
A ‘Friends’ Reboot Makes Little Sense – And Not Only Because of Perry’s Absence
As intriguing as a Friends reboot might sound, times have changed. The last episode aired more than 20 years ago, and while the relatively recent reunion was very nostalgic, it just wasn’t the same. In fact, although the special was titled Friends: The Reunion, it didn’t feature a reunion of the characters. It was more of a celebration of the sitcom’s legacy.
Matthew Perry’s absence should be enough to deter executives from pursuing a reboot. It would be an incomplete puzzle in terms of the show’s strong comedic dynamics. Again, times have changed, and there’s no going back — except when we revisit the original episodes, of course.
- Release Date
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1994 – 2004
- Network
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NBC
- Showrunner
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Marta Kauffman
- Directors
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Kevin S. Bright, Gary Halvorson, Michael Lembeck, James Burrows, Gail Mancuso, Peter Bonerz, David Schwimmer, Robby Benson, Shelley Jensen, Terry Hughes, Dana De Vally Piazza, Alan Myerson, Pamela Fryman, Steve Zuckerman, Thomas Schlamme, Roger Christiansen, Sheldon Epps, Arlene Sanford, David Steinberg, Joe Regalbuto, Mary Kay Place, Paul Lazarus, Sam Simon, Todd Holland
- Writers
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Jeff Astrof, Mike Sikowitz, Brian Boyle, Patty Lin, Bill Lawrence, R. Lee Fleming Jr.
