'Friends' Fans Are Livid Over One Addition to HBO Max Reunion

Michael Hein

05/22/2021 10:01 pm EDT

After a long wait and multiple delays, Friends: The Reunion is nearly here, but some fans are furious to find out that James Corden will be its host. The trailer was released at last this week, revealing that Corden will lead the retrospective discussions. Some are rethinking their commitment to watching this special.

Corden is the musically-inclined, often over-earnest host of The Late Late Show on CBS, and some out there simply don't care for his style. They complain that Corden is everywhere nowadays — often in productions that are virtually unavoidable for them, such as the Friends reunion. Given that Corden had nothing to do with the original series, they wonder why needs to be involved in the reunion special.

On Saturday, Corden was trending on social media for a while as Friends fans fumed about his part in the reunion. This drew input from those who dislike both Friends and Corden as well, putting an even more sour spin on the story.

A few fans defended Corden online, but they were definitely in the minority. Friends: The Reunion premieres on Thursday, May 27 on HBO Max. Scroll down for a look at the backlash the backlash to Corden's casting.

Ruined

Those who have been waiting eagerly for this reunion special felt immediately let down by Corden's involvement. They took it as a bad sign about the whole production.

Absences

Many fans could not help comparing Corden's attendance with the notable absences from the reunion special. They questioned why an ancillary star like Paul Rudd was not called in to mediate the whole thing.

GIFs

Friends reaction GIFs are in high circulation these days, and many applied their favorites to the news of Corden hosting.

Unwatchable

Some who were already rolling their eyes at the idea of a Friends reunion declared that Corden would make it downright "unwatchable." They marveled at the stacked-up bad decisions.

Agent

Many fans insulted Corden by praising his agent, reasoning that they must be incredibly hard-working to land Corden huge gigs like this where he is not necessarily wanted.

Alternatives

Some proposed alternatives to the reunion special. In particular, many pointed out Living Single, a sitcom that some believe Friends borrowed heavily from. It's streaming now on Hulu, with a free trial available here.

Double No

Finally, those who were already vocally unexcited about the reunion special are now even more uninterested than before. Friends: The Reunion premieres on Thursday, May 27 on HBO Max.

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