Rumors have once again begun flying that Friends is coming back for a new The Next Generation reboot series, leaving many wondering what the truth holds.
Friends ran for 10 seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2004 and has remained a cultural phenomenon ever since for its relatable story of a group of, well, friends, hanging out at a coffee shop and living their lives in New York City.
New Friends Reboot Rumors Explained
A viral Facebook post has stirred rumors that Friends is set to return as it displayed a poster for a reboot called Friends: The Next Generation. The post came with a caption, saying, "Friends Reboot: CONFIRMED!!"
However, a Friends reboot is far from confirmed as this news, along with the poster included, is quite simply fake.
What makes this reboot poster even more hilarious is the cast featured are all the stars of The Boys including Antony Starr, Jack Quaid, Karl Urban, and many more.
But while this particular alleged reboot poster is obviously fan-made, one has to wonder if Friends could ever receive this treatment…
[ Read more on another rumored 2025 Friends reboot. ]
Why Friends Will Never Get a Reboot
Recent years have seen many popular series return with spin-offs featuring a new cast, setting, and storyline, but in the same vein and tone as the original flagship.
For example, Greg Daniels will soon return to the world of The Office with The Paper, while Suits is coming back with a new series that will switch out its New York backdrop for Los Angeles.
That said, with over two decades having passed since Friends locked up the apartment one last time, the New York-set sitcom is unlikely to receive the same treatment.
For one, most of the original cast have expressed an aversion to returning, especially after the passing of Chandler Bing actor Matthew Perry. But even a fresh reboot starring a whole new cast in the same vein is beyond unlikely.
A comeback for Friends would presumably require the involvement, or at least the blessing, of the original creative team behind the '90s series, all of which have the same disinclination to coming back.
Speaking with Deadline in 2019, co-creator Marta Kauffman shut down a reunion or a reboot, expressing how nothing could "beat what [they] did" with the original:
"We will not be doing a reunion show, we will not be doing a reboot. The show was about that time in life when friends are your family. It’s not going to beat what we did.”
Her co-creator David Crane also discussed the matter with The Hollywood Reporter in 2016 and called it a "bad idea" to "revisit those characters:"
"We finished the show exactly the way we wanted to finish it. To revisit those characters just seems like a bad idea — you don’t want to see them hanging out in the coffeehouse now. And the good news is, you can see them whenever you want to. The show lives on with amazing vitality."
Friends is streaming now on Max.
