Lisa Kudrow Already Shot Some Of The Friends Reunion

Friends fans finally have some brand new information about the long-awaited HBO Max reunion special. During an appearance on Rob Lowe's podcast, Literally! With Rob Lowe, Lisa Kudrow revealed that while she won't be on set with her co-stars — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer — until "early spring," she already started filming the Friends reunion on her own.

"There's different facets to it, and we already shot packages of things," the actor told Lowe on the Jan. 14 episode of his podcast. "I pre-shot something already so we're definitely doing it, because I already shot a little something." Though she didn't reveal what she filmed, Kudrow did explain that the special will not be a traditional "reboot" with everyone reprising their iconic roles. "It's not like a scripted thing, we're not portraying our characters," she said.

"It's us getting together, which just doesn't happen a lot and has never happened in front of other people since 2004 when we stopped. I think it'll be great." When Lowe joked that the special will just consist of the cast "having nachos" and chatting at Aniston's house, Kudrow responded with a laugh. "Yes, that's what it is," she promised. (Considering the many delays Friends fans have endured recently, they probably wouldn't mind if the cast did just film a hangout session.)

The Friends reunion was first announced in February 2020 and was originally planned to stream on HBO Max when it launched in May. However, due to concerns over the coronavirus, filming was postponed until all six cast members could reunite in front of a live studio audience. "It's going to be super," Aniston told Deadline in August after production had been postponed a second time. "This has also given us more time to make it even more exciting and more fun than it would have been. So I choose to see it as the glass is half-full that it got postponed."

"[The question] was, ‘How do we do this with live audiences?’ This is not a safe time. Period. That’s the bottom line. It’s not a safe time to do it," she continued before promising that they would find a way to make the reunion happen eventually. "Look, we’re not going anywhere. You’re never going to get rid of Friends, sorry. You're suck with us for life guys."

In November, Matthew Perry announced on Twitter that the special was scheduled to begin filming in early 2021. "Friends reunion being scheduled for the beginning of March," the actor wrote on social media. "Looks like we have a busy year coming up. And that's the way I like it!" Around the same time, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that HBO Max was eyeing a spring premiere, meaning it would likely arrive on the streaming platform a year after it was originally scheduled.

As upsetting as the delays have been for fans, the cast is looking forward to reuniting on stage and in person for the first time in a decade. "I guess what I'm honestly most looking forward to is just being in the room with those other five actors," David Schwimmer told E! News in July. "But being on the actual sounds stage on the actual set for the first time in 10 years, the set that we shot on for 10 years, that to me is going to be a really meaningful experience."