Friends is coming back?

[Kenazo]

We were duped.


Text

Man, my wife is going to love this...

Photo GalleryHOLLYWOOD - Seminal sitcom Friends is returning to television after each of its six stars agreed multi-million dollar deals to star in four one-hour specials.
In a secret meeting before Christmas, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry reportedly agreed a $5 million apiece deal with NBC bosses in Los Angeles.

Scriptwriters have already started penning lines for the four double episodes, which are due to air next year.

Aniston, who has filmed a string of movies since the final Friends episode, was the last to agree to the new deal.

An NBC insider says, "She's the one who had been holding out. But she's now agreed to reprise Rachel (Green).

"Bringing them back is a dream come true. Ratings will go through the roof."

Network bosses have also hinted at a second spin-off of the hit comedy, following the disappointing performance of Matt LeBlanc's show Joey. The new program will see the three male stars--Perry, Schwimmer and LeBlanc--pilot a series called It's A Guy Thing.

An NBC spokesperson confirms, "Negotiations on future projects are going on all the time."

 

[rh71]

Loved it when it was on... Joey is not the same... I thought it was better than Seinfeld. I can't stand any of the chars in Seinfeld. Anyway, this 4-episode thing won't cut it although I'd still watch.

 

[swtethan]

OMG OMG OMG!!! must watch!

 

[George P Burdell]

Yay!

 

[Patt]

My wife would be over the moon too

 

[tw1164]

$30mil for the actors alone?!?!

 

[bigrash]

considering how bad they're doing right now, i'm not surprised.

 

[Sphexi]

It's funny, the show ended, only one of them was even remotely successful in movies, and only LeBlanc got a new TV show. They must be desperate for cash.

 

[Kenazo]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
It's funny, the show ended, only one of them was even remotely successful in movies, and only LeBlanc got a new TV show. They must be desperate for cash.

Though Schwimmer did do BoB.

 

[swtethan]

i would love to see what happened after the last episode

 

[toekramp]

Originally posted by: rh71
Loved it when it was on... Joey is not the same... I thought it was better than Seinfeld. I can't stand any of the chars in Seinfeld. Anyway, this 4-episode thing won't cut it although I'd still watch.

insanity! friends was teh suck compared to Seinfeld

 

[Kenazo]

Originally posted by: toekramp

Originally posted by: rh71
Loved it when it was on... Joey is not the same... I thought it was better than Seinfeld. I can't stand any of the chars in Seinfeld. Anyway, this 4-episode thing won't cut it although I'd still watch.

insanity! friends was teh suck compared to Seinfeld

I think they were too different to really compare.

 

[pecel]

AWESOME !!

 

[Shawn]

lame

 

[moshquerade]

please no.

 

[Cooler]

how many times must friends die!

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
It's funny, the show ended, only one of them was even remotely successful in movies, and only LeBlanc got a new TV show. They must be desperate for cash.

Yeah, they must be really short of cash...lol!

 

[Omegachi]

is this going to be like "saved by the bell"?

 

[Syrch]

Originally posted by: rh71
Loved it when it was on... Joey is not the same... I thought it was better than Seinfeld. I can't stand any of the chars in Seinfeld. Anyway, this 4-episode thing won't cut it although I'd still watch.

 

[ShadowBlade]

i hope they dont screw it up

 

[Parrotheader]

This has a lot more to do with helping NBC's finances/ratings than it does the stars begging for bucks. My family could live like kings off the royalties that one of them gets just off reruns - much less the roughly $1million per episode stockpile they accumulated during their final years.

 

[PlatinumGold]

NBC is really really desperate right now. amazing how fast they've fallen, that's what they get for just trying to ride the "reality" shows.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
It's funny, the show ended, only one of them was even remotely successful in movies, and only LeBlanc got a new TV show. They must be desperate for cash.

It's an old story. TV stars become stars in the context of their show only. They're not like movie stars where a big name star will draw viewers into a theater for any new project. When a TV star leaves their show due to ego or the show ending they're far more likely to wind up looking for any work rather than remaining a big star. Look at the history of the big #1 sitcoms. Friends: Other than Aniston having limited movie success, none of them has done anything. Joey has been a ratings disaster. Before Friends #1 was Seinfeld. 3 of the 4 "stars" of Seinfeld got new sitcoms the very next season and none of them lasted more than a few episodes. Before Seinfeld the #1 show on TV was Home Improvement. Seen Tim Allen lately? The only thing Patricia Richardson has done in recent years is a recurring guest role on the West Wing. Before Home Improvement it was Roseanne and both she and John Goodman crashed and burned in other projects when it ended. Most of the stars of Cheers failed in their post-cheers projects, from Taxi only Danny Devito made it big after the show ended and the less said of the post-M*A*S*H era the better. Hell, how long did it take David Caruso and Jimmy Smits to find steady work after they decided they ere too big of stars to be on NYPD Blue? They both disappeared for years after convincing themselves they were only one step from superstardom.

 

[Parrotheader]

I just noticed the line talking about a possible spinoff involving the guys of Friends.

Didn't NBC just launch pretty much the exact same type show in 'Four Kings.'?? Granted, the Friends characters have much more recognition, but in all honestly, how many people actually watched the show because of the guy characters?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Parrotheader
I just noticed the line talking about a possible spinoff involving the guys of Friends.

Didn't NBC just launch pretty much the exact same type show in 'Four Kings.'?? Granted, the Friends characters have much more recognition, but in all honestly, how many people actually watched the show because of the guy characters?

Probably quite a few. The demographic of Friends viewers was highly skewed towards females. Chicks watch TV for the guys and for romance storylines (like Ross and Rachel). Guys watch TV for hot chicks, sports and action.