While the Friends cast may not gather frequently, their bond remains unshakable. Lisa Kudrow recently appeared on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s On Me podcast on December 10, taking a trip down memory lane with the beloved sitcom. Reflecting on their 25th reunion episode in 2019, Kudrow revealed that it was the first time she and all her costars had come together in a decade. “It was so good,” she said. “We’d only had dinner with just the six of us once before since the show ended.”

Reunion and Its Significance

When Ferguson asked how soon after the show the reunion took place, Kudrow replied, “Ten years!” She added that it was a fantastic experience. “It was like we didn’t miss a beat,” she said of the core group consisting of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and Matthew Perry. “Just us at someone’s house having dinner and not missing a beat.”During the show’s run, these six actors became household names, and their chemistry on screen was palpable. The reunion episode brought back memories of those early days and reminded everyone of the special connection they shared.

Matthew Perry's Passing

Just four years later, in October 2023, Matthew Perry tragically died of an accidental drug overdose. Kudrow had spoken to Perry about his death before he passed, but nothing could have prepared the cast for the loss. “It shook us up, I have to say,” Kudrow explained. “He said, ‘It won’t be a surprise, but it will be a shock.’ And that was exactly right. He’s so smart, like, how did he know? So smart. That is true, it wasn’t a surprise, but it was a shock. It was a big jolt.”She continued, “I think, personally, I think he died happy. I think in the days around his passing, he was happy and excited about what’s happening next.” Perry's death was a profound loss for the entire cast and left a void that will never be filled.

Reliving the Good Times

To help with the grief, Kudrow decided to relive their days working together. She started re-watching Friends. “God forbid anybody walk into my house and saw me watching my show, I’d be mortified,” she joked. But after Matthew’s passing, there were marathons, and she wanted to watch. It felt like part of the remembering, grieving, and celebrating process.“Like, Ben!” she continued. “Schwimmer’s hilarious. Matt LeBlanc is making me laugh out loud. Jennifer, come on! She’s so good. Look what she just did, she’s so good. And Courteney, it’s like, oh my god, you’re hilarious. How did you never get nominated for an Emmy? And Matthew, of course. Genius. At the time he was blowing me away.”Kudrow then admitted that there are still episodes of the show that she hasn’t seen and is still deciding how to work her way through it. “I was at the table read. I don’t know what the rewrites were for the other stories. You know, cause then everyone’s busy and doing things. I had a kid, I was married — I was the first one. And then I was doing movies, so sometimes I was doing them and come back to do pickups for the scenes I was in. There were episodes I just never saw and still haven’t.”Friends is available to stream in full on Max, allowing fans to relive the memories and cherish the bond of the Friends cast.