To get this out of the way up top, Friends is likely never coming back for a revival season, a revival special, or anything else of a scripted nature outside of late night. That said, former star Courtney Cox apparently had zero problem plucking fans' Friends-embracing heartstrings with a recent social media video. Below, you can see her popping up outside Monica and Rachel's old stomping grounds.
Regardless of whether or not one has been to the physical New York location, the apartment building that Courtney Cox is walking towards is one that every single Friends fan out there will instantly recognize with glee. Some might also instantly start thinking about looking for Ugly Naked Guy's building, and hey, to each their own.
This is, of course, the exterior of the apartment building that all six of the central Friends characters called home at one point or another before and during the ten seasons the show was on the air. It's not solely the staid look of the structure that strikes deeply familiar with the fanbase, though. Courtney Cox's video is so effective because it mimics Friends' upward establishing shots that clue audiences in on where the next scenes are taking place.
Okay, so it's also quite effective because of the oh-so-familiar Friends music played over the end, after Cox says that she's "going home." Is there possibly a chance that we all somehow recently entered a parallel universe where Courtney Cox actually thinks that she is Monica Gellar, and tries to live her life as such?
The lack of follow-up reports about Courtney Cox trying to break into someone's apartment is probably confirmation enough. But wait! Monica and Chandler had moved out of that Bedford Street building whenever Friends wrapped, and were then living in a house of their own. What if Cox thinks she's Monica, but with amnesia that prevents her from remembering where she actually lives now?
Thankfully, such inane theories are just that; the actress is fine, and the universe is exactly the way that it should be. Minus the fact that we're not getting a Friends revival, naturally (Note that I don't necessarily think the show's return would be any good, but I still greedily want to see what would happen.)
Lots of fans around the world would also love to see where the Friends characters would be in 2019 and beyond, and this video will likely stoke those feelings in earnest. But the yearning to see more seems to be located solely on the fan side of things. For one, the former stars have mostly been hesitant to show any optimism when asked about returning to the roles that turned them all into superstars.
In the second place, co-creator Marta Kauffman has consistently maintained the same viewpoint during the nearly 15 years since Friends ended its run on NBC. She's just not that into it. Talking to Rolling Stone just in the last month, here's how Kauffman explained her disinterest in resurrecting Friends.
There are several reasons. One, the show is about a time in your life when your friends are your family. It’s not that time anymore. All we’d be doing is putting those six actors back together, but the heart of the show would be gone. Two, I don’t know what good it does us. The show is doing just fine, people love it. [A reunion] could only disappoint. 'The One Where Everyone’s Disappointed.'
I doubt I'm alone in thinking that a disappointment-themed Friends revival episode would at least be more interesting than not having one at all. Hell, even if Marta Kauffman and David Crane just wrote a goofy short script for the actors to perform via a table-read for next year's Red Nose Day special on NBC, that would be better than lots of things currently airing on TV. For what it's worth, Crane has also been against a revival.
All that said, Courtney Cox DID add "#MissThoseDays" to the post. So, maybe she'll start a new revolution of fan furor.
While waiting for more Friends-related videos to feed the hunger, remember that the sitcom can be streamed in its entirety on Netflix. At least until it bounces and becomes an exclusive for WarnerMedia's upcoming streaming service.
