It’s the one where Rachel and Phoebe look back at their friendship.
Friends costars Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow reunited for the season 24 premiere of Variety’s Actors on Actors, sitting down for a one-on-one conversation that spanned their current projects like The Comeback and The Morning Show as well as their time on the beloved NBC sitcom.
In fact, the pair found themselves getting unexpectedly emotional when Kudrow revealed that the latest season of The Comeback was filmed on the same stage as Friends.
“I can’t tell you how many ways that moved me. Oops,” Kudrow said, her voice hitching along the way. “Because knowing this is the end of Valerie Cherish and The Comeback, and that was where it was the end of Friends.”
Aniston was similarly touched by the revelation, reaching for a tissue to dab her eyes. “S—!” she exclaimed.
“And next to Friends this is,” Kudrow tried to continue, before giving up and telling Aniston to pass her a tissue as she began to cry too.
“Sorry!” Aniston said as she handed one to Kudrow. “Goddamn! I did this last time. Shoot.”
The pair then took a beat to laugh and cry over the connection before getting back on track. Kudrow recovered first. “Next to Friends, The Comeback means the most to me, right?” she added.
But Aniston needed another moment to compose herself. “Goddamn! Sorry! Hold on a second!” she said. “Please don’t put this in there. I beg of you! Anyway. But, yes! I’m seeing shots on the show, backstage, like seeing where craft service was.”
Kudrow noted that she has a picture of her son, Julian, that was taken on the set of Friends when he was just two years old and how full circle it was that he made his acting debut on that very same soundstage on The Comeback.
“I was beside myself, because that was a surprise for me. A really good, really amazing surprise,” Aniston said. “And he’s so good. That young man was baked on that show!”
Kudrow agreed, “Literally. Every huddle. Touched my stomach before we’d go out.”
For those who missed the live premiere of the Friends-themed Actors on Actors, the full interview will be posted on Variety’s YouTube channel at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Wednesday wasn’t the first time Aniston and Kudrow paired up for Actors on Actors. In 2020, the two chatted from a social distance for a virtual episode of the interview series, in which they reminisced on their favorite Friends memories — and the many times they broke character when shooting a scene.
“I would always get into these fits of laughter because you had this wonderful ability to hit your punch line,” recalled Aniston, “and you would do this adorable thing where you would… always turn to the audience and say, ‘I’m sorry it’s really funny’… And then I would watch you do that and then I would break. We were terrible.”
Season 24 of Actors on Actors is reuniting several other famous TV duos, who are individually strong contenders for this year’s Emmy Awards (nominations will be announced July 8).
In addition to Aniston (The Morning Show) and Kudrow (The Comeback), the 13 episodes will also pair Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington (Industry) and Peter Dinklage (The Lowdown); Scandal’s Kerry Washington (Imperfect Women) and Tony Goldwyn (Hacks); and The Hunger Games’ Elizabeth Banks (The Miniature Wife) and Josh Hutcherson (I Love LA).