"Going to steal something tonight" - When Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow reflected on keepsakes and regrets at the Friends reunion

By Deepti Sequeira

Modified Jan 12, 2025 11:58 GMT

The cast of Friends with Ben Winston at the Friends Reunion in 2021 (Image via Instagram/@mleblanc)

In 2021, Courteney Cox reunited with the rest of the Friends cast for the special Friends: The Reunion, which premiered on HBO Max on May 27, 2021. The highly-anticipated reunion special was hosted by James Corden and directed by Ben Winston. Over 1 hour and 44 minutes, the actors revisited iconic moments from the show and revealed fun insights about filming the popular NBC sitcom.

Ahead of its premiere, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry came together for an exclusive interview with People Magazine, published on May 19, 2021. It also marked the first time they all appeared together on screen since the show wrapped up in 2004.

When the interviewer asked the group if they took any souvenirs from the show, Courteney Cox shared that she did not take anything, with Jennifer interjecting that she is not "sentimental that way." The Scream actress added that she might change that "tonight" by saying:

"I didn't take anything.... I'm not a person that collects things. And then now I regret. I'm actually going to steal something tonight."

Courteney Cox and the Friends cast reminisce about their time on the show

In the interview, Jennifer shared that she stole one of Monica's black lace dresses from the wardrobe department. Lisa mentioned that she received the cookie jar clock (in Monica's apartment) from Matthew Perry as an inside joke. Meanwhile, Matt LeBlanc stole a 'I Love Friends' license plate frame and David took a placard from the museum where his character worked at.

David added that they were together only for the second time since the group filmed the show's finale episode in January 2004. He also revealed that the last time the gang got together was in 2012, nine years prior.

While discussing their chemistry, the group agreed that they saw each other as family and siblings. Lisa mentioned that they are always "connected no matter what," with Jennifer agreeing before adding, "till death do us part."

Sadly, the reunion marked the last appearance of Matthew Perry, who played the sarcastic Chandler Bing, on the show. He passed away from acute effects of ketamine on October 28, 2023, in his Los Angeles home at age 54, as reported by The New York Times.

Created by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, Friends aired on NBC for 10 seasons from September 1994 to May 2004. The series featured six 20-something friends navigating love, relationships, family, and career while living in Manhattan.

Courteney Cox was last seen in the comedy series Shining Vale

Courteney Cox's latest acting role was in the satirical comedy horror series Shining Vale on the Starz network. Created by Jeff Astrof and Sharon Horgan, the series ran for two seasons from March 6, 2022, to December 1, 2023.

In the show, Cox played a s*x-positive author, Patricia Phelps, with a wild past who moves into a new haunted home with her husband and teenage kids. She starred alongside Greg Kinnear, Gus Birney, Sherilyn Fenn, Judith Light, Mira Sorvino, Dylan Gage, Merrin Dungey, and Alysia Reiner, among others.

Shining Vale was met with mostly positive reviews upon its release. Rotten Tomatoes gave the show's first season a 71% approval rating, while Metacritic gave the season a 61 out of 100 score, based on 16 critic reviews. Moreover, Cox was nominated for 'Best Actress in a Network or Cable Television Series' at the 2022 Saturn Awards for her performance in the series.

Edited by Sugnik Mondal