All the Ways to Celebrate the ‘Friends’ 25th Anniversary (PHOTOS)
Watch Friends on Netflix Before Its Exit
Before the series heads over to HBO Max, why not watch some of your favorite episodes, including key moments from Monica and Chandler’s relationship, Ross and Rachel’s drama, and more.
Play Friends Monopoly
This edition of the popular game allows you to play as a piece representing each of the friends.
Attend the 2019 Tribeca TV Festival
On Friday, September 13, the Tribeca TV Festival will be hosting a special conversation, “25th Anniversary Celebration of Friends: A Conversation with the Series Executive Producers: David Crane, Marta Kauffman and Kevin Bright,” at 6 p.m. ET. Attendees will also see “The One with the Embryos” and “The One Where Everybody Finds Out” in 4K for the first time. (Buy tickets at tribecafilm.com/tvfestival.)
Watch Your Favorite Episodes on the Big Screen
Fathom Events will be screening 12 episodes over three nights on Monday, September 23, Saturday, September 28, and Wednesday, October 2, beginning at 7 p.m. in more than 1,000 movie theaters nationwide. (Visit the Fathom Events website to see if there’s one close to you.)
Build Your Own Central Perk
LEGO is releasing a Central Perk set, which includes the six friends and Gunther (each with an item related to their characters), the main seating area (including the couch), the service area, the stage, the window with the café’s logo, and entrance doors. It includes 1,079 pieces.
Decorate Your Home Like Friends
Phoebe would be so upset (but only if she knows where it all came from), but don’t let that stop you from taking advantage of Pottery Barn’s 25th Anniversary collection. From mugs to pillows to art prints, you can bring a little Friends into your home. And, of course, don’t forget the apothecary table from the days of yore.
Enjoy a Friends Specialty Beverage
Through August 27, you can go to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in California and order a beverage named for each character. The Rachel is a matcha latte. The Ross is a classic flat white. The Monica is a midnight mocha cold brew. The Chandler is a caramel coconut latte. The Joey is a mango cold brew tea. The Phoebe is a cookies & cream ice blended drink.
The café is also selling Central Perk coffee (medium and dark roast) and black tea, as well as “We were on a coffee break” and “How you brewin’?” mugs.
Visit Central Perk Pop-Ups in California
These iconic pop-ups (like the one above for the 20th anniversary in 2014) will take over two Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf locations in West Hollywood and Santa Monica, from August 16 to 23. Visitors can lounge on the iconic couch and enjoy the café’s specialty drinks with limited-edition collectable Central Perk sleeves printed with fan-favorite quotes.
Visit the Friends Pop-Up Experience in New York City
This immersive experience will allow fans to take photos with set recreations, props, and costumes, including on the legendary orange couch in the recreated Central Perk. There will also be a retail store. The pop-up opens September 7 and runs through October 6, seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The ticketholder entrance is at 76 Mercer St. (between Spring and Broome), and the retail store entrance is at 503 Broadway.
What better way to mark the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Friends than by doing something special, whether at home or at one of the special events for the occasion?
There are plenty of options, no matter where you live — though those in New York and California are in for a special, Central Perk-shaped treat — and in some cases, you can even add a little Friends magic to your own home.
Click through the gallery above for the screenings, pop-ups, merchandise, and more available to celebrate the comedy’s milestone.
