Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer reminisce together about their beloved show

The six stars of Friends were overcome with emotion.

Walking back onto Stage 24 at Warner Bros. studios, the former castmates — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer — were taken aback by the site of meticulously recreated sets of a world they hadn’t visited in 17 years: Joey and Chandler’s bachelor pad, Monica and Rachel’s apartment, even Central Perk, where the thrift-store-find orange couch was always reserved for them.

“I was flooded with 10 years of irreplaceable memories,” Cox, 56, tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s cover story.

By the end of its 10-season run, Friends was one of the highest-rated television shows of all time. Now, for only the second time since the finale aired in 2004, the six actors reunited for two days to film Friends: The Reunion — a non-scripted celebration of the NBC series premiering on HBO Max on May 27.

“It’s funny, when we do get together, it’s like no time has passed,” says LeBlanc, 53. “We pick up right where we left off.”

From reminiscing about the show and performing a table read of part of “The One with The Jellyfish” episode to even re-imagining the epic trivia game from season 4 when Joey and Chandler won Monica and Rachel’s apartment, the reunion special also features special guests — like Reese Witherspoon (who played Rachel’s sister), superfan Lady Gaga as well as David Beckham and Justin Bieber.

When the six stars first met up together on the soundstage, their initial mutual thought was “Oh God, how are we going to get through this alive, without just crying our faces off?” says Aniston, 52.

“It was kind of melancholy, I guess. Right?” asks LeBlanc. Kudrow, 57, agrees: “Yeah, emotional.”

While the special is unscripted, the cast members each have an idea of what their characters would be doing today. “I would like to have maybe started a clothing line of my own, and it’s sort of a small franchise,” says Aniston of Rachel. “Like a Nili Lotan. And I live in New York City on the Upper East Side.”

For Cox, “I always just feel like Monica would be doing something competitively with other mothers and trying to outdo them,” she says. “Whether it’s the bake sale at school or something. I mean, she’d be so annoying. She’d be at the head of the PTA or something.”

Kudrow thinks Phoebe “is living in Connecticut with Mike and their kids, and she‘s in charge of the arts program for the school,” the actress says. “And just … the advocate for her kids because they’re different like she was.”

Chandler “would be a wonderful father,” says Perry, 51. “And a wonderful comedy writer.”

LeBlanc says Joey “would have opened a chain of sandwich shops.” Adds Perry: “And eaten all the sandwiches.”

As for Ross, aside from “playin’ with the bones” as a paleontologist, Schwimmer, 54, says “he would’ve invested in Joey’s sandwich shop and lost a lot of his savings for his kids.”

“Dinosaur-themed sandwich shop,” adds LeBlanc. “Bronto-burger.”

While generations of fans have fallen for the sextet through syndication and streaming services, the actors recognize their chemistry working together “was like lightning in a bottle,” Cox says.

“It was a character-driven funny, not timely funny,” says Perry of why the show has found such a following. “They didn’t make timely jokes. They didn’t make jokes about O.J. Simpson. They made character-driven jokes about people — and people are going to come back time and time again and watch that.”

The chemistry that still exists between them all is “magic,” he insists.

“Awkward,” deadpans LeBlanc. “I would say awkward.” Adds Perry: “It’s awkwardly magic.”

Friends: The Reunion premieres May 27 on HBO Max

RACH: That was amazing. I can’t even send back soup.

ROSS: Well, that’s because you’re such a sweet, gentle, uh…Do you, uh, do you…Oh, hey, uh you must need detergent.

[Ross pulls out a huge box of laundry detergent.]

RACH: What’s that?

ROSS: Uberveiss. It’s new, it’s German, it’s extra-tough.

[Rachel starts to load her clothes.]

ROSS: Rach, do you uh, are you gonna separate those?

RACH: Oh god. Oh, am I being like a total laundry spaz? I mean, am I supposed to use like one machine for shirts and another machine for pants?

ROSS: Rach, have you never done this before?

RACH: Well, not myself, but I know other people that have. Ok, you caught me. I’m a laundry virgin.

ROSS: Uh, well, don’t worry, I’ll use the gentle cycle. Ok, um, basically you wanna use one machine for all your whites, a whole another machine for colors, and a third for your uh, your uh, delicates, and that would be your bras and your under-panty things.

RACH: [holds a pair of panties in front of Ross] Ok, Well, what about these are white cotton panties. Would they go with whites or delicates?

ROSS: [visibly nervous] Uh, that, that, that would be a judgment call.

laundry	washing machine	spin dryer/ tumble dryer	dryer
szennyes	mosógép	centrifuga	szárítógép
detergent	fabric softener	bleach	stain remover
mosószer	öblítő	hipó	folteltávolító

(Scene: At the tanning salon. Ross and a male assistant are walking through a hall)

Assistant: Alright Mr. Geller! Right this way! So, how dark do you wanna be? We have one, two or three.
Ross: Well… I like how you look, what are you?
Assistant: Puerto Rican.
Ross: Two, I think a two.
Assistant: You’ve got to face the red light. When the red light goes on the spraying is about to start so close your eyes. When the spraying stops, count to five. Pat yourself down to avoid drip marks then turn around so we can get your back. Got it?
Ross: Spray, count, pat, then turn, spray, count and pat.
Assistant: Wow, you catch on quick.
Ross: Well, I have a PhD, so… (assistant walk out, not impressed by this statement)

(Ross takes his bathrobe off and he enters the tanning booth. He stands up in front of the red light and the sprayer starts and sprays his face and torso)

Ross:One Mississipi, two Mississipi, Three Mis…(the sprayer starts again, spraying him in the face and torso again) WAIT! WAIT! I’m not-I’ve not finished counting!! (he leaves the booth) (the assistant enters the room)
Ross: You sprayed my front twice!
Assistant: You’ve never turned?
Ross: No, I barely even got to three Mississippi.
Assistant: Mississippi? I said count to five’!
Ross: Mississippilesly? (pause) Well, how bad is it?
Assistant: Ain’t that bad yet, but it keeps getting darker for the next four hours.
Ross: So, how dark is it gonna get?
Assistant: You got sprayed with two two’ s and…
Ross: I’m a four?
Assistant: Yeah, but you’re back’s a zero. You’re gonna wanna even that out.
Ross: (sarcastically) Really!
Assistant: You might wanna get back in there.
Ross: (annoyed) Ok!

(The assistant leaves and Ross goes back in the spray-on tan booth and turns his back to the spray nozzles, facing the back wall)

Ross:Wait, wait a minute, there’s no light on the back wall! How do I know when it’s gonna start? Hello? (he slowly turns and the spraying begins, on his face) Ah, oh, ah! (he turns, but then he turns again and is sprayed in the front again) Ah! (he spits and angrily goes out of the spray-on tan booth and the assistant enters the room) The same thing happened again!
Assistant: You got two more twos?
Ross: (hysterically) I’m an eight!

(Chandler is at the table reading; Monica puts some food for him on the table. Ross walks in looking very tanned. Chandler and Monica look up at him smiling.)

Chandler: Hold on! There is something different.
Ross: I went to that tanning place your wife suggested.
Chandler: Was that place… The Sun?
Ross: Oh! And it gets worse! (Turns his side to Chandler and Monica and pulls up his shirt. There’s a distinct line across his body, where his belly is very tanned and his back is very pale.)
Chandler: Oh My God! You can do a duet of Ebony and Ivory all by yourself!
Monica: How could you mess this up? It’s so easy? You go into the booth, you count to five and you turn around!!
Ross: (looks at her suspiciously) How do you count to five?
Monica: One Two Three…
Ross: (Yells) Damnit! (Goes to the door to leave. Rachel just enters, sees him and starts laughing)
Rachel: (laughing) oooh! Oh oh!
Ross: (Still yelling) I Know!
Rachel: oh oh! What is up with Miss Hawaiian Tropic?

(Glenda, who works here, and Ross are walking to the room with the spray-on tan booth.)

Glenda: Now, let me explain how this works. You go into the booth, and…
Ross: I’m gonna stop you right there, Glenda. Okay? Does it look like this is my first time, huh? Now I want 4 two’s… and I want them all on my back.
Glenda: (quietly) Okay…

(Ross enters the room, takes off his robe and enters the booth. He stands with his back to the nozzles and then realises that this booth has nozzles at both sides of the wall)

Ross: Wait a minute, there’s two sets of nozzles, which one is it?

(He turns around frantically from side to side.)

Ross: Which… which… which… Which one is it?

(He then stops turning, facing one of the nozzles, which starts spraying in this face and front again.)

Ross:OH! SON OF A BITCH!

(He now turns to the other side, which also starts spraying his face and front.)

(Ross is reading a National Geographic on his sofa when Chandler knocks on the door.)

Chandler:Dude, it’s Chandler. Let me in.

(Ross’s face is now a VERY dark shade of brown.)

Ross: Go away! I don’t want to see anybody.
Chandler: I know, I went to the tanning place and the same thing happened to me. You have to let me in.
Ross: Really? Did you count Mississipily?

(Ross walks to the door and opens it.)

Ross: Dude, you’re not tanned.
Chandler: No, I just had to get a picture of this.

(Chandler holds up a camera and takes Ross’s picture.)

Chandler:I see you later!

(Ross closes the door)

angrily – mérgesen
bathrobe – fürdőköpeny
belly – has
booth – fülke
distinct line – megkülönböztető/elválasztó vonal
drip marks – cseppek nyomai
dude – haver, cimbi
florist – virágbolt
French tips – Francia manikűr
I wonder if … – Azon gondolkodom, hogy vajon …
keeps getting darker – egyre sötétebb less
nozzle – fúvóka, szívócső
Son of a bitch! – K…va anyád!
spray-on tan – „felspriccelős” barnító
suspiciously – gyanakvóan
sweetie – édesem, drágám
tan – barnaság, lebarnulás
tanned – lebarnult
tanning salon – szolárium
to catch on quick – gyors a felfogása
to even out sth – kiegyenlít
to face sth – szembe nézni vmivel
to get colours (on nails) – kilakkoztatni a körmeit
to knock on the door – kopogni az ajtón
to pat oneself – megveregeti/megütögeti magát
to spit – köp
to stare – bámul
to suggest – javasol
toe separator – lábujj elválasztó (pedikűrözéshez)
torso – felsőtest
X-rated video – 18 éven felülieknek való film, pornófilm/szexfilm