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Matthew Perry Reunites With Matt LeBlanc In London: Will We Ever See All 6 ‘Friends’ In One Place?

By Victoria Miller
Published on: 00:03 PST, May 2, 2016

Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc had a mini Friends reunion. More than a decade after their Emmy-winning sitcom signed off for good, the longtime pals reunited in London when LeBlanc went to see Perry perform in the play The End of Longing. LeBlanc posted a photo of him and Perry to Instagram, which showed them backstage after the performance.

“Went to see The End [of] Longing last night and ran into this dude,” LeBlanc wrote of traveling to London to see Matthew Perry’s play. “He and the cast were great. Way to go bro.”

While the other five members of the Friends cast reunited earlier this year for the televised tribute for legendary sitcom director James Burrows, Matthew Perry missed out on the highly-publicized event due to rehearsals for the London play, which he wrote and stars in. Perry recorded a video message from London, which was played at the Burrows tribute while his five former co-stars — LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, and David Schwimmer — all gathered together on a couch in California for the taping of Must-See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows.

Host Andy Cohen introduced the cast of the hit ’90s sitcom and said the world had been waiting for a Friends reunion, but LeBlanc quickly pointed out that it wasn’t a real reunion of the Central Perk gang because fellow co-star Matthew Perry wasn’t there.

“Whoa, we’re not all together,” LeBlanc said. “There’s one missing. We wish he was here. Matty, we miss you.”

Matthew Perry never pretended that he would be able to reunite with the Friends cast despite the fact that the Burrows tribute was initially touted as a “Friends reunion.” According to Entertainment Weekly, at NBC’s Television Critics Association panel in January, Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt admitted that while he hoped he could get all six cast members together, he wasn’t sure if it could “logistically” be done. Matthew Perry’s rep later issued a statement revealing that the actor was out of the country rehearsing for the play and would likely “tape something” for the TV special.

Ahead of the Burrows gala, Matthew Perry told The Graham Norton Show that he would have to miss the TV tribute, and he explained that the gathering of his ex-castmates “is not the Friends reunion everybody was hoping for.”

Matthew Perry later told AOL Build he didn’t miss out on anything by skipping the tribute to legendary comedy director.

“Not really, because it really wasn’t a reunion,” Perry said. “It was just six people getting together for a Jim Burrows special. It wasn’t really a reunion. And I couldn’t do it because I was in London doing my play.”

Perry did say he is happy that a new generation is getting hooked on the classic ’90s sitcom.

“Because of Netflix, a lot of kids are watching and wondering why I look so old,” Matthew said.

Even if Matthew Perry had appeared with the rest of the Friends cast, a TV tribute to a director is not exactly the kind of reunion fans have been hoping for. But for those waiting for an actual Friends special or a TV movie, it’s unlikely that it will ever happen. In an interview with ABC News, Matthew Perry dismissed the chance of a real reunion of the Friends cast, saying he would be hesitant to try to recapture the magic that the iconic show had.

“It would be terrible to do something and have it not be good,” Perry said. “It was so terrific. If we did a movie and it sucked, then it would, you know, blemish it.”

Matthew Perry currently stars on the CBS sitcom The Odd Couple. Perry will appear in The End of Longing through May 14.

Take a look at the video below to see Matthew Perry talking about the classic NBC sitcom that made him a star.

[Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images]

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