Friends Reunion: Why Were Paul Rudd and Cole Sprouse Not Part of The Special

The Friends Reunion special finally aired on May 27 across multiple platforms and fans had a fun time watching it. Actors Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer were the main six that appeared on the episode.

Apart from them, we also had Tom Selleck (Richard in the show), James Michael Tyler (Gunther) and Maggie Wheeler (Janice) making an appearance. Friends had a good run with many side characters also becoming an integral part of the show. Among them, one of the most loved characters was Mike Hannigan (played by Paul Rudd).

Mike Hannigan and Ben Geller, you will obviously remember these two characters. Cole Sprouse played Ben Geller, Ross Geller’s son. These two became a prominent part of the show. So naturally, their absence was felt in the reunion special.

The special’s director, Ben Winston explained the reason. He shared that they wanted to bring as many of them as they could, but as the episode was really short, everybody could not fit in. The main nub of the show has got to be about the six cast members. Many became a close part of the show, sadly we couldn’t bring in all of them.

Many of them were invited to be part of the special, but given the Covid situation, not everyone could make it. Some people were shooting for other TV shows or films and had prior commitments, so they couldn’t come for the shoot.

James Corden acted as the host of the reunion episode. Boyband BTS, Lady Gaga, David Beckham, Justin Bieber, James Corden, Elliott Gould, Kit Harington, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling and few others also made an appearance.

The special was directed by Ben Winston and executive produced by Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane with the original six being the executive producers of the episode.