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‘Friends’ Reunion Kicks Off With Shout-Out to Matthew Perry, Poker Game Memories

https://youtube.com/watch?v=LEzV8lSRb90

Best buds forever! Matt LeBlanc wanted to make it clear that though five of the six original cast members of Friends were present for an upcoming James Burrows tribute special, their gang was still incomplete.

In a new preview clip of their long-awaited reunion, posted on Tuesday, February 16, moderator Andy Cohen kicks off the night by expressing his excitement over seeing the actors together to honor Burrows, a legendary TV director who helmed 15 episodes of the hit NBC sitcom, including the pilot.

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“I just want to speak on behalf of America and say we all love seeing you together,” the Bravo host said. “Everyone’s wanted a Friends reunion for so long.”

LeBlanc, 48, immediately jumped in.

'Friends' reunion
‘Friends’ reunion.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We’re not all together. There’s one missing,” he said. “We wish he was here. Matty, we miss you.”

Matthew Perry was notably absent from the couch, where LeBlanc shared the spotlight with Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow (the actor was out of town due to rehearsals for his play, The End of Longing, in London.)

Related: PHOTOS: Costars Reunited!

The former costars then grew nostalgic about the 10 years they spent growing and learning together on the hit NBC sitcom.

“We would do anything for Jim Burrows because he really gave us the opportunity of a lifetime,” Aniston, 47, said of all five of the actors coming to be in the same room after so many years. “We experienced friendship, family, heartbreak, babies, everything, together. And we also had a wonderful experience with the world loving us as well.”

David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, James Burrows, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow (from left) at the Tribute to James Burrows
David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, James Burrows, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow (from left) at the Tribute to James Burrows.

LeBlanc added that Burrows encouraged the castmates to spend a lot of time together, and to “get to know one another and be kind to one another and support one another and watch one another.”

Kudrow, 52, piggy-backed on LeBlanc’s sentiment, noting that Burrows even gave them his bigger dressing room to use for playing poker.

“We instinctively felt like, we need to be friends, and we need to get along, and we need to connect,” she said.

Season 10 of Friends
Season 10 of ‘Friends.’

The Friends reunion will air in full on Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows on Sunday, February 21, at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

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