Postponement of filming the most awaited episode of "Friends" due to Corona

Lamia Raafat

It seems that the year 2020 is still carrying more frustrations, after the hopes of millions of fans of the series "Friends" (Friends) around the world rose in the special episode of the famous series, it was announced a few hours ago that the filming that was expected to start on Monday and Tuesday until the end of May was announced. Next May, due to the spread of Corona virus and WHO directives to stay away from human gatherings, especially the number of which exceeds 50 people.

This postponement dashed the hopes of the owners of the "HBO Max" platform, who wanted a strong start to the platform with an episode that brings them millions of views and subscriptions, similar to the "Disney Plus" platform that started with the "Mandelori" series from the world of "Star Wars", which is a bet. Which proved successful after the series achieved good echoes and high observations, and renewed for a second season as well, but it is no longer certain that the episode of "Friends" series is on the "HP or Max" platform when it launched.

The fans of the series were not happy with the news of his return in a special episode, which was confirmed only last month, when the six heroes and writers of the series met with the operators of Warner Bros to end the agreement, and HP or Max did not obtain the rights of the special episode only, but on full rights Episodes of the previous ten seasons of the series, which will be available since next May when the platform begins operating.

The special episode will feature the series' heroes: Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Codrow, Matt LaBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, as well as his creators and creators: David Crane and Martha Kaufman, and according to private sources for the Hollywood Reporter, each actor will receive about three million dollars for this episode.

The material agreements were not the only reason behind delaying the decision of the special episode, but also the conflicting dates for the six actors. Each of them has other work depicted at the same time. Aniston is working on the "Morning Show" series produced by Apple, and Courtney Cox recently signed A comedy horror film was held, and Matt LaBlanc continues his work as a crew member of the "Man With a Plan" series, while David Schwimmer works in a European film crew, but all these obligations have now been postponed due to the outbreak of the Corona virus.

The special episode will be filmed in the same studio that witnessed the filming of the previous ten seasons, and will be directed by Ben Winston, who also works as an executive producer with Kevin Bright, Kaufman and Crane, the original producers of the series, and the six actors.