Is a Friends Reunion Imminent? Fans Are Losing It Over These Cryptic Instagrams

From Oprah Magazine

• With the 25th anniversary just days away, fans are buzzing about the possibility of a Friends revival.

• Jennifer Aniston got folks excited about the idea earlier this summer when she told Ellen Degeneres that it wasn't a no-go—and thought her co-stars would be interested.

• Co-creator Marta Kauffman shot down the possibility earlier this month. "We will not be doing a reunion show. We will not be doing a reboot," she said. Friends executive producer Kevin Bright also told The New York Times, “We set out to make a show about people in their 20s ... And I hate to break the news to you, they’re not 20 anymore. They’re 50.”

• But on Thursday, four of the show’s original stars posted Instagram photos at the same time with the same caption, prompting speculation that something might be in the works.

This Sunday, September 22 marks the 25th anniversary of Friends, the mega-sitcom that introduced the world to Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, Joey, Ross, and Chandler on NBC. To mark the occasion, Ralph Lauren announced a Friends-inspired capsule collection, #Friends25 began trending on Twitter, and now, a series of carefully-timed Instagram posts have folks wondering if the look back might precipitate a look ahead.

The cast and creative team have held out for 15 years.

Since the series finale aired in 2004, fans have long clamored for a reboot. The stars have been asked about it during many interviews, often teasing a desire for more without revealing any concrete plans. As recently as earlier this month, Friends executive producer Kevin Bright told the New York Times that the premise of the series was no longer viable given the time lapse. “We set out to make a show about people in their 20s,” he said. “And I hate to break the news to you, they’re not 20 anymore. They’re 50.”

And during a June appearance on The Ellen Show, Jennifer Aniston revived hope, telling DeGeneres she would be open to revisiting the series in some capacity. “The girls would do it. And the boys would do it, I’m sure. Listen. Anything could happen,” she added with her signature laugh. But Bright threw water on that idea in the Times piece, calling Aniston’s comments “casual talk show stuff.”

Putting what felt like a nail in the coffin was Todd Stevens, a producer on the show, who called the show “lightning in a bottle,” adding, “I don’t think you can revisit that 25 years later and expect that those ions will still be so charged.”

Cryptic Instagram posts have revived fan speculation.

But then, like clockwork, just after noon ET on Thursday, four Instagram posts appeared. Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer (in his second-ever post) shared the same photo at the same time, all with the same caption: “Celebrating a Thursday night 25 years ago…”

“#COMEONALREADYJEN,” Kudrow added to her post, remaking on Aniston’s noted absence from social media. “#seriouslyjen? #youtoomatthew,” Cox added in her post.

All four posts were flooded with hundreds of thousands of likes and comments from fans within an hour, each of whom were ready to revisit the sextet. Speculation quickly began online about the possibility of this being some kind of tease for an impending announcement.

Could this mean the reboot is finally a go?

There’s been no confirmation as of this writing from Warner Bros. Entertainment, the studio that owns Friends. But with a blueprint of reboot success from fellow must-see-TV show Will & Grace, as well as renewed interest on the show around the anniversary, it seems possible that, if nothing else, some sort of reunion might be on the horizon.

Let’s hope Ugly Naked Guy sits this one out.

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