Friends Fans In The UK Have Had A Distressing Realisation About The Upcoming Reunion Episode

If HBO Max isn't coming to the UK, could that mean the Friends reunion isn't, either?
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Friends fans have had a rather disappointing realisation about the upcoming one-off reunion special, more specifically those that live in the UK.

On Friday night, all six members of the main Friends cast confirmed simultaneously that they’d be appearing in a new one-off “celebration” looking back at the classic sitcom, 16 years after it was last on our screens.

The special is set to debut on the new streaming platform HBO Max in May, alongside all 10 series of Friends.

However, while British fans of the Emmy-winning series were initially thrilled to hear that the cast were reuniting for the first time since the show ended, others quickly pointed out that because HBO Max isn’t launching in the UK, there’s every chance we won’t actually be able to watch the show here.

Oh. 

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The cast of Friends at the height of the show's success
NBC via Getty Images

Understandably, many fans were disappointed by this, many of whom have been voicing their upset on social media…

However, some have also pointed out that Sky Atlantic regularly show HBO content in the UK – including Game Of Thrones, Girls and Westworld – suggesting it could end up being the UK home of the Friends reunion, even though they don’t show the series itself.

HuffPost UK has contacted HBO Max for more information.

The unscripted special will see the show’s cast returning to the soundstage on which Friends was filmed, reflecting on the sitcom’s global impact and best moments.

It will be directed by Ben Winston, best known for his work alongside James Corden on The Late, Late Show.

Friends is currently airing on Comedy Central in the UK, as well as streaming on Netflix, following its debut on the streaming platform in 2018, gaining the classic sitcom a new generation of fans.

This led to many younger viewers watching Friends for the first time, many of whom quickly began pointing out more problematic aspects of the show, namely a distinct lack of diversity and homophobic jokes about the character Charles Bing.

11 Minor Friends Characters We Wish We'd Seen More Of
Jack and Judy Geller (Elliott Gould and Christina Pickles)(01 of11)
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Whether they're being wildly sexually inappropriate, insensitive to their daughter or putting everybody in their place, the arrival of Monica and Ross's parents always guarantees an eventful episode.

While Jack and Judy are the recurring characters with the most guest appearances (20, if you're interested), we'd still like to have seen them a little more often.
(credit:Warner Bros via friends.wikia.com)
Susan Bunch (Jessica Hecht)(02 of11)
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Sadly, Susan was never seen past the sixth series of Friends, which is a real shame as we loved her long-standing frosty relationship with Ross.

We particularly enjoyed her blasé putdowns, which she managed to deliver with an iciness we aspire to.
(credit:Warner Bros)
Bonnie (Christine Taylor)(03 of11)
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A woman who will shave her head in the middle of a beach holiday just because someone planted the mere suggestion in her mind. Amazing.

We know Rachel wouldn't have been thrilled by the prospect, but we definitely wouldn't have minded Bonnie sticking around for more than two episodes.
(credit:Warner Bros)
Eddie Menuek (Adam Goldberg)(04 of11)
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As Chandler's brief time living with Eddie grew to a close, he became an even more odd creation, but it would have been great if the writers had cranked things up another notch with his strangeness, or at the very least showed us what happened when he was shown the door.

Where did he go? Who does he live with now? How is his cherished pet, the goldfish cracker? These are the questions we need answers to.
(credit:Warner Bros)
Amy Greene (Christina Applegate)(05 of11)
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It's always great when one of the characters' family members arrive, because they remind you of how they used to be – and that's never more true than when Rachel's sister Amy arrives on the scene.

Amy is even more spoilt, and cares less about other people's feelings, than Season One Rachel, though with slightly less iconic hair. (No offence to Christina Applegate, of course).
(credit:Warner Bros via friends.wikia.com)
Frank Buffay Jr and Alice Knight Buffay (Giovanni Ribisi and Debra Jo Rupp)(06 of11)
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Joey was the character who went on to end up with his own spin-off, but we think it definitely should have been Frank and Alice.

Who honestly wouldn't want to watch a show about a man who marries his home-economics teacher, then raises triplets – that his sister gives birth to – with her? It would have been an Emmys shoo-in.
(credit:Warner Bros via friends.wikia.com)
Amanda Buffamonteezi (Jennifer Coolidge)(07 of11)
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Phoebe and Monica made the unwise decision to "cut out" Amanda, but frankly we'd have happily seen her stay until the finale, for the dancing alone. (credit:Warner Bros)
Mr Heckles (Larry Hankin)(08 of11)
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The great thing about Mr Heckles, especially watching earlier series back, is that it reminds you just how young the characters were – and what a nightmare that group of twenty-somethings would have been if you lived near them... (credit:Warner Bros)
Erica (Anna Faris)(09 of11)
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...conversely, by the time Erica arrives in the tenth season, her youthful naivety proves just how far the six principal characters have come.

We can't help but feel the fabulous and funny Anna Faris was criminally underused, and it would have been nice to see her stay around exploring New York for a while longer, rather than her few fleeting appearances.
(credit:Warner Bros via friends.wikia.com)
Gunther (James Michael Tyler)(10 of11)
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True, Gunther did feature in quite a lot of episodes, but how much do we know about the man behind the fluorescent hair?What does he do at night? Where does he live? What are his hopes? His dreams? His fears?Actually, it's probably best not to know... (credit:Warner Bros)
Marcel (Katie the Monkey)(11 of11)
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Just because. (credit:Warner Bros via friends.wikia.com)