It’s been over 20 years since Friends aired its final episodes and, as it remains one of the most rewatchable shows in TV history continues, behind-the-scenes stories continue to come out. We’ve gotten funny anecdotes — the epic prank pulled on Jennifer Aniston — as well as scary moments — Matt LeBlanc’s “genuinely frightening” injury. Now, Courteney Cox has revealed a sweet memory, as she recalled the pre-show ritual she and her co-stars had.
The six stars of Friends skyrocketed to fame in 1994, and going through that whole experience together — including famously negotiating their contracts as a group — formed a bond between them that continues today. It seems like that support for each other started pretty early, as Courteney Cox said at the Inc. 5000 conference (via People):
We’d get in a huddle and we would say, ‘Alright everybody! Good luck!’ And we’d give each other a hug and a high five.
Somebody cue the Friends theme song, because wow! What a sweet way to center themselves before going out in front of the studio audience and showing their confidence in one another.
In addition to Courteney Cox, the ensemble included Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry, who passed away in 2023 in an accidental drowning caused by the “acute effects of ketamine.”
There are plenty of instances that prove the Friends co-stars’ pre-show huddle wasn’t just for show. For example, Matt LeBlanc helped Lisa Kudrow when she had problems playing Phoebe early on. Jennifer Aniston reached out to Matthew Perry about his addiction several times, as the actor explained before his death. The colleagues were together for a pretty significant decade of their lives, seeing each other through marriages, breakups, fertility issues and more.
It may have actually been director James Burrows who set the tone for the six actors to become lifelong pals. In his memoir, he recalled the fabled trip to Las Vegas that he treated them to ahead of Friends’ 1994 premiere, telling them this was their last shot at anonymity. He was right.
They stuck together after that, with Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow eating lunch together every day (though they didn’t have the viral salad that many have attributed to Aniston). Aniston became the godmother to Cox’s daughter, and the actresses still shout out each other’s birthdays and even get together every once in a while. Also, while there’s probably no pre-show huddle anymore, the actors have often made cameo appearances on each other’s projects.
Given how much the Friends actors make in residuals each year, they probably don’t even need to keep working; however, the actresses are all involved in some highly anticipated projects. Courteney Cox will reprise the role of Gale Weathers in Scream 7, set for release on the 2026 movie calendar. Lisa Kudrow also has big things happening next year, as it was recently announced she’ll return for a third and final season of The Comeback, and Jennifer Aniston will also return to the small screen as executive producer and star of The Morning Show Season 4.
While we wait for these to happen, we can always relive the days of yore (or yesteryear) by streaming all 10 seasons of Friends with an HBO Max subscription and imagining the sweet pre-show huddle that came before.
