Courteney Cox Opens up About Filming 'Emotional' 'Friends' Reunion

After nearly two decades, HBO Max's upcoming Friends reunion is bringing the original cast back together for a special that actress Courteney Cox described as "so emotional." Appearing on Thursday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Cox opened up about what it was like returning to Stage 24 alongside her former co-stars for the first time since the beloved sitcom came to an end in 2004.

Speaking with DeGeneres virtually from London, Cox, who starred on Friends as Monica Geller, described the reunion as "unbelievable" and "so emotional." She went on to note that, "it's an unscripted reunion, but we got to be on Stage 24 for the first time, all of us in, like, I forgot how many years. Fifteen years? Seventeen years," according to Entertainment Tonight. Friends first premiered in 1994 and chronicled the lives of six 20-something New Yorkers as they navigated through their personal and professional lives. It aired for a total of 10 seasons before ending in 2004, with the highly-anticipated reunion set to mark the first time the entire cast has reunited on the screen since the show ended.

After facing numerous delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, the reunion finally wrapped filming in April. Cox told DeGeneres that returning to set brought back plenty of memories, including the not-so-fun memory of filming the show's now-iconic opening credits, which finds the cast jumping into a fountain.

"Oh god, I have the worst memory. Everything came up that I forgot about," Cox said, going on to explain that she and her co-stars "were in that fountain for a long time. I don't know somebody thought that would be really fun, and let me tell you what happens, it's not fun to be dancing in a fountain for hours and hours. I remember Matthew Perry saying at one point, and we didn't know each other that well at that point, but I remember – and this was so Matthew – but he was like, 'Can't remember a time that I wasn't in this fountain.'"

Along with Cox, the Friends reunion special will also feature Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), Matt LeBlanc (Joey), Perry (Chandler), and David Schwimmer (Ross). Series co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane are also involved, and Ben Winston is directing. The reunion, according to previous comments from Schwimmer, is "basically a really fun interview and then some other surprise bits." While it is unclear when the special will premiere, fans have gotten a few behind-the-scenes looks. As fans await the special, they can catch up on all episodes of Friends on HBO Max.