Max Orders Friends Four-Part Fan Competition Show, FAST FRIENDS, And Celebrates 30th Anniversary With Global Campaign

Home » Max Orders Friends Four-Part Fan Competition Show, FAST FRIENDS, And Celebrates 30th Anniversary With Global Campaign

Sep 23 Posted by Kyle Nolan in Press Releases | Comments

Max Orders Friends Four-Part Fan Competition Show, FAST FRIENDS, And Celebrates 30th Anniversary With Global Campaign

Celebration Includes Episodes In 4K UHD, Newly Added Bonus Content, Collection Page Refresh, And More

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the global phenomenon Friends, Max has greenlit FAST FRIENDS, a Friends fan challenge show from Warner Bros. Unscripted Television. The first of its kind series is scheduled to start production next month at The FRIENDS Experience: The One in New York City, the flagship interactive experience, created by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences, Warner Bros. Television Group, and Original X Productions. Additionally, to honor the 30th anniversary of the iconic series, Max is rolling out an expansive global campaign featuring fan-favorite episodes, in-app surprises, innovative filters, and more.

FAST FRIENDS, a new four-part game show, will take place in the celebrated series’ iconic sets in a fast-paced competition event. From racing through Rachel and Monica’s apartment to darting across Joey and Chandler’s bachelor pad and grabbing a coffee at Central Perk, fans will re-live their favorite moments while being put to the test with trivia, puzzles, and games that will keep even the most die-hard FRIENDS fans on their toes. The quickest team will win the title of Ultimate Friends Fan.

The game show will be shot at The FRIENDS Experience: The One in New York City, a NYC flagship location featuring 18 nostalgia-filled rooms, activations, and recreated sets, spanning two stories and 17,000 square feet dedicated to the show’s history. The FRIENDS Experience also has long-term locations in London and soon-to-be Las Vegas and has traveled to 25 cities across 8 countries worldwide, with more locations to be announced.

FAST FRIENDS is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon. The new four-part game show is executive produced by Dan Sacks, Bridgette Theriault and Dan Norris. Richard Burgio serves as co-executive producer.

To pay tribute to the iconic series, Max Ultimate Ad-Free subscribers can now enjoy their favorite Friends episodes in 4K UHD with Dolby Vision and HDR10 on supported devices. This premium format enhances the show’s viewing experience, allowing fans to spot baby Ben before Joey and Chandler with sharper details, experience the iconic prom video and savor Joey’s Dr. Drake Ramoray scenes with enhanced clarity, and have Ross’s unforgettable white-teeth mishap dazzle them on screen.

As part of the anniversary celebration, Max viewers will see updated 30th anniversary key art throughout the app and a new design for the Friends collection page. New themed rails with handpicked episodes for fans can be found within the page, including:

The Most Watched Episodes

Chandler Bing, the King of One-Liners (Best of Chandler)

How YOU Doin’? (Best of Joey)

We Were On A Break (Ross and Rachel Highlights)

On Monica’s Menu (Best of Monica)

Friendsgiving (Thanksgiving Episodes)

Phoebe Buffay, AKA Regina Phalange (Best of Phoebe)

The One With The Celebrity Guest

To help fans dive deeper into the world of the Central Perk crew, Max’s Friends collection page now includes bonus content with the following featurettes:

FRIENDS From The Start: The creative team discusses the development and casting of Friends while reflecting on the challenges that arose during the early years.

When FRIENDS Become Family: Delve into the inspiration and development of some of the most iconic episodes and favorite moments from Friends.

The Legacy of FRIENDS: The creative team discusses bringing Friends to an end and reflects on the pop culture influence and lasting legacy of the series.

The celebration continues on social media. Fans can take advantage of a Friends 30th anniversary TikTok effect, which is available now. The effect recreates the iconic yellow photo frame for Friends enthusiasts to capture their life’s wackiest, touching, or most Friend-esque moments. Users can also tap the screen to reveal a celebratory photo frame and share their love for the beloved series.

About Friends:
Nearly 30 years after its debut in 1994, FRIENDS remains one of television’s most beloved series. One of the highest-rated shows on television in its original network run, the series remains a perennial go-to in syndication and on streaming services such as Max, and it continues to be a smash hit worldwide. FRIENDS was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, who executive produced the series with Kevin Bright through Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

About Warner Bros. Unscripted Television:
Warner Bros. Unscripted Television is the leading unscripted studio in America, producing programming across broadcast, cable, streaming, digital, first-run syndication, podcasts, and high-end documentaries. The division is comprised of Warner Horizon, Telepictures, and Shed Media, which produce leading and award-winning series and franchises such as “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” “The Golden Bachelor,” “The Golden Bachelorette,” “Bachelor in Paradise,” “The Voice,” “Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking,” “How Music Got Free,” “Extra,” “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” “Paris in Love,” “The Real Housewives of New York City,” “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” “The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip,” and “True Crime News,” premium specials like “Friends: The Reunion,” “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts,” “100 Years of Warner Bros.,” “Superpowered: The DC Story,” and podcasts such as “Bachelor Happy Hour,” “Extra: The Podcast,” “Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon,” “Trapped in Treatment,” and “True Crime Daily: The Podcast,” among others.

About Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences:
Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences (WBDGE) is a worldwide leader in the creation, development, licensing and operating of location-based entertainment based on the biggest franchises, stories, and characters from Warner Bros.’ world-renowned film, television, animation, and games studios, HBO, Discovery, Cartoon Network and more. WBDGE is home to the groundbreaking locations of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal theme parks around the world, award-winning Warner Bros. Studio Tour locations in London, Hollywood, and Tokyo, the iconic Harry Potter New York flagship store, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, The WB Abu Dhabi, The FRIENDS Experience, The Game of Thrones Studio Tour and countless other experiences inspired by Harry Potter, DC, Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Game of Thrones, FRIENDS and more. WBDGE is part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Revenue & Strategy division.

About Original X Productions:
Original X Productions is a leader in creating and operating live events and immersive location-based entertainment worldwide. Focused on creating unforgettable experiences, OGX transforms how audiences connect with their favorite entertainment properties. OGX has entertained over 2 million guests with its standout attractions, including The FRIENDS™ Experience, The Office Experience, and Harry Potter™: Magic at Play. This year marks the 5th anniversary of The FRIENDS™ Experience, which has traveled to 25 locations across eight countries and has permanent locations in New York, London and an upcoming expansion in Las Vegas. In an innovative new venture, OGX has partnered with Hershey to develop an original experience that will showcase OGX’s storytelling capability and creative approach in the location-based entertainment industry, which will debut in the Fall of 2024. For more information about The FRIENDS™ Experience, please visit www.friendstheexperience.com.