‘Friends: The Reunion’ Breaks Sky One Ratings Records In UK

Peter White
·2 min read
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Friends: The Reunion appears to be Sky’s lobster.

The reunion show was a big success in the UK, where it aired on Sky One. The series, which was came from producers including James Corden and Ben Winston’s Fulwell 73, drew over 5M viewers for the Comcast-owned network.

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Much like the fact that Joey doesn’t share food, HBO Max, which ordered the special, doesn’t share ratings so we may never know how it did in the U.S. in comparison.

Over four viewings, across live, recorded and downloads, the series was watched by 5.3M in the UK. This was Sky’s most watched show in the last two years and second only to the final series of Game of Thrones for the biggest audience ever across Sky’s portfolio of channels.

It aired on Sky One, the network’s entertainment channel, which is separate to Sky Atlantic, which generally aired scripted dramas, many from HBO Max sibling HBO.

Friends previously aired on Channel 4 in the UK during its ten year run.

The reunion show’s May 27 UK launch was Sky One’s highest rating since at least 2006, when the earliest records are available, and it comfortably beat An Idiot Abroad, the network’s previous highest rater in 2011.

Friends: The Reunion saw stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer return to the comedy’s original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank in an unscripted special.

Guest stars included James Corden, who hosted, David Beckham, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga.

Winston directed and the show was produced by Fulwell 73, Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, Warner Horizon, and Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions.

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