Many "Friends" fans were delighted when a social media post purportedly made by one of the show's cast members made the rounds last week announcing that the sitcom would be making a comeback. However, this post has since been proven to be false.
The post appeared to have been made by David Schwimmer, who played Ross Geller on the hit show. It stated that "Friends" has been renewed for one season, with all of the cast members reprising their roles. Adding to the credibility was the use of the show's and NBC's logos. The post also used the hashtag "#theonewheretheycomeback," as a nod to how "Friends" episodes are titled.
However, TVGuide said that the post was obviously fake, citing the wrong spelling of the actor's and his character's names. His name appeared on the fake post as "David Schwimer," and the handle was written as "RossGheler," despite the fact that his character's name on the show is "Ross Geller."
The post has since been removed. However, prior to its deletion, the post was reportedly shared over 250,000 times and got more than 200,000 comments, according to Inquisitr.
The renewal hoax came in the heels of the revival of shows that were previously pulled off air, such as "The X-Files" and "Will & Grace." Many fans have been clamoring for a reunion show of "Friends." However, the main cast has repeatedly stated that it will never happen. In an interview with Heatworld, Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe Buffay, said that in terms of story and logistics, pulling a reunion episode would be impossible, as the characters have already moved out of Manhattan. She also said that the actors themselves have busy schedules, so it would be difficult to bring them in together.
"Friends" ran from 1994 to 2004. Schwimmer, Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, and Matt LeBlanc formed its ensemble cast.
NBC did not release a statement regarding this issue.
