Periodic rumors about the possibility of the cast of the hit '90s TV sitcom Friends reuniting run a close second in popularity to celebrity death hoaxes in the world of urban legends.
The former took another lap around the Internet in May 2017, when a Facebook post seemingly made from the account of actor David Schwimmer, who portrayed the character of Ross Geller in Friends, announced the cast of principals would be getting back together to shoot a new season of the series:
Although the post was avidly and widely shared by many social media users,
skeptical viewers pointed out a number of reasons why the announcement shouldn't be regarded as anything other than a hoax.
For starters, the post was made by someone using the names of "David Schwimer" and "Ross Gheler," both of which are misspellings of the real name of the Friends actor (David Schwimmer) and the character he played (Ross Geller). Moreover, the Facebook account from which the post was made seems to have been created that same day and has put out no other material.
More important, no announcement has been made by, nor has even a hint slipped from, any cast member (other than the apparently faux David Schwimmer account), or NBC, or Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions or Warner Bros. Television (who produced the original series) about a potential Friends reunion. In fact, time and time again, whenever similar rumors resurface, both the show's creators and its cast have disclaimed that such an event will ever come about.
As recently as April 2017, actress Lisa Kudrow (who played Phoebe Buffay in the show) proclaimed that a Friends reunion "isn't going to happen" and wasn't even logistically possible (or sensible):
[I]t looks like the Friends reunion is definitely NOT happening, ever – according to Lisa Kudrow anyway.
The 53-year-old actress, who played Phoebe Buffay in the long-running comedy series, discussed the possibility of all six friends coming together again, only to reveal that it's not going to happen.
Speaking to heat magazine, she said: "I feel like I'm just constantly bursting that little bubble of hope, each and every time it's asked.
"It's been 13 years, 13 years of the same question and right now, or in the future, it's not going to happen. And every time I say that, I get yelled at."
Kudrow continued: "What's it going to be about? Really, how is it going to work? This is what everybody is forgetting.
"They no longer hang out at the coffee house, they have all moved away. Chandler and Monica live upstate, Phoebe and Mike, probably the same.
"[W]hat reason would there be for them all to come together for a significant amount of time. The setting, and that time of life, worked brilliantly for then."
She added: "It would be great [if it happened]. It would be a lot of fun. But even just from a logistical purpose, it would never work because everyone is on a totally, ridiculous work schedule, that's the opposite of someone else.
"It's even impossible for us to get together for dinner, it's really hard. It's six people, how easy it is for you to get six of your friends together?"
And when similar rumors swirled last year, they were also quickly put to rest by those involved with the series:
The inevitable question — will there ever be a real “Friends” reboot, with or without the same cast members — was asked by Variety, to which [series co-creator Marta] Kauffman shook her head “no.”
“Why? I mean, for me, why go back to that territory?” she said. Speaking of “Grace and Frankie, she added, “I get to do what I loved about ‘Friends’ which is make a show that’s got some hope and joy to it, and explore something completely new. That was about a certain time in your life and I just had left the ‘Friends’ time of my life. This is the time in my life that I’m looking toward. It’s thrilling that we can do that.”