WarnerMedia nears deal with 'Friends' cast for reunion special

[February 08, 2020]    (Reuters) - The one with the long-awaited reunion.

Warner Bros is finalizing deals with the cast of "Friends" for a reunion special that will likely be used to launch the HBO Max streaming service this spring, the Wall Street Journal reported https://on.wsj.com/2St9Pb5 on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

There have been a flurry of media reports about a potential reunion since Jennifer Aniston, who portrayed Rachel in the hit sitcom series, hinted that something might be underway.

The Journal reported that under terms being discussed, each of the six 'Friends' cast members Aniston, Matt LeBlanc (Joey), Courtney Cox (Monica), Matthew Perry (Chandler), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe) and David Schwimmer (Ross) would receive between $2.25 million and $2.5 million.

Hollywood website Deadline said http://bit.ly/2OvJ7NK the stars will be paid between $3 million-$4 million for an unscripted reunion special.

AT&T Inc's Warner Bros Television told the Journal there is no deal. A WarnerMedia spokesman did not immediately respond to Reuters queries related to the reports.

HBO Max secured the rights to all 10 seasons of "Friends" for its streaming service scheduled to launch in April.

The series has found a new lease of life on Netflix where it was the second most-watched show in 2018, according to Nielsen data.

Last year, Aniston spoke to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres about a possible new "Friends" project saying: "We would love for there to be something, but we don’t know what that something is. So we're just trying. We're working on something."

(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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