Here’s Your First Look At The ‘Friends’ Reunion

mark your calendar

by daniel barna

How about a warm, steaming cup of nostalgia on this Thursday morning? Perhaps, served up by an awkward barista with peroxide blond hair named Gunther? Now grab a cozy place to sit, (Central Perk can get packed in the mornings), put your feet up, and press play. What you'll see is the first promo clip for NBC's upcoming tribute to sitcom czar James Burrows, the man responsible for some of the most indelible multi-camera comedies of our time—Cheers, Frasier, Taxi, Will and Grace, and of course, Friends.

Much has been made of the upcoming special, as it's the closest thing there's been to an actual Friends reunion since the show went off the air over 10 years ago. But in the new clip—in which host Andy Cohen asks the gang if they had to sign a contract that forbade them from sleeping with one another (cue awkward pause)—Matthew Perry's absence is glaring. The actor has said that he would be unable to attend the event because he's in London rehearsing for a play. Clearly, he doesn't take that whole "I'll be there for you" thing to heart. 

So while this isn't quite the reunion we were all hoping for, judging by the clip above, it's the next best thing. The two-hour special airs February 21 on NBC.