‘Friends’ Cast Reunites For Big Group Photo Plus ‘The Big Bang Theory’
The Friends cast reunited on Sunday night in on big group photo. Rachel (Jennifer Anniston), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Monica (Courteney Cox), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), and Ross (David Schwimmer) were all in attendance. Unfortunately, Matthew Perry, who played Chandler, wasn’t able to attend. This year will mark 12 years since the beloved sitcom took its leave of the stage after 10 glorious seasons.
Also a part of the photo were cast members of the hit comedy The Big Bang Theory, including Leonard Hofstadter, Sheldon Cooper, Howard Wolowitz, and Penny, played by Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Simon Helberg, and Kaley Cuoco, respectively. This photo will go down in the books as one that perfectly unites two generations of comedy.
The reason for the two casts reuniting was an event honoring James Burrows, one of the directors of Friends and the primary director of The Big Bang Theory. The event will turn into an upcoming NBC special that’s meant to recognize the director’s achievements. Burrows is celebrating taking part in 1,000 TV episodes, quite an impressive achievement.
The two sitcoms are by far the director’s most popular achievements. Both shows draw in the viewer with both humor and acceptance, which is perhaps why they’ve made such a prominent impression on so many.
Matthew Perry could not be at the event because of a theater commitment in London. His representative, Lisa Kasteler, explained why.
“Matthew will not be attending as he is in London in rehearsals for his play, The End of Longing, which begins previews on Feb. 2 at the playhouse Theatre. NBC executives were aware of this prior to their TCA announcement yesterday. Matthew may tape something for the tribute. In other words, this is not the reunion people have been hoping for.”
Even still, it was a momentous occasion, and the cast of The Big Bang Theory was thrilled to be part of such an incredible photo.
Kaley Cuoco, who sometimes uses the pseudonym Norman Cook in honor of her dog, added the caption, “Ummmmm NIGHT MADE. Can’t breath #friends meets #bbt @bigbangtheory_cbs I died and went to heaven (sic).”
It only took a few minutes after Kaley posted the photo for the cast reunion photo to blow up with likes and comments. Within just eight hours of the photo being posted, it already had nearly 90,000 likes and more than 4,000 comments.
Friends is easily one of the most celebrated television comedies in history. Friends is the fifth most-watched television series on record, right behind MASH, Cheers, The Fugitive, and Seinfeld. The Big Bang Theory isn’t anywhere near the list, but it’s expected to be so when it has a chance to be on the air for as long as Friends.
It also won many awards for their screenwriting and cast performances. All of the actors, except Courteney Cox, were nominated for an Emmy, but Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow were the only ones to actually win. The series itself won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002 along with five other nominations. Other awards include an American Comedy Award, one Golden Globe Award, three Logie Awards, six People’s Choice Awards, and one Screen Actors Guild Award among others.
It was consistently ranked in the top 10 for television shows and had 52.5 million viewers by the end of the 10th season.
It was also voted Best Comedy cast of all time in TV Guide and the third greatest sitcom of all time, according to Vanity Fair. All in all, having the Friends cast reunite on Sunday night was an exciting moment for their millions of fans.
[Photo by Getty Images]
