To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the sitcom Friends, Rachel and Monica’s iconic New York City apartment has been transformed into an immersive pop-up experience. It will officially open to visitors from September 8 through October and will cost $29.50 per person.
What will the Friends pop-up experience have?
The apartment is located in New York’s SoHo neighbourhood which is also where the show was originally set. The apartment is being called “The One with the Pop-Up” and will feature all the set re-creations, props and costumes that have become an inextricable part of the lives of every Friends fan. The event is sponsored by Superfly and Warner Bros. Tickets have been on sale since August 2 at friends25popup.com.
Though the show released over two decades ago, it is still immensely popular among viewers of all age groups. Streaming services like Netflix have allowed fans to continue enjoying the show by watching re-runs. “It’s been nearly 25 years since Friends premiered, but the fascination and universal appeal of the hit TV series lives on with fans of all ages,” said Peter van Roden, a senior executive at Warner Bros.
He added:
“As we celebrate the show’s milestone anniversary, we are excited to bring the Friends experience to life for our fans in a way that pays homage to the remarkable cast of characters, iconic sets and instantly quotable moments.”
The pop-up experience will be open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will also include a Friends merchandise store. While during filming, the apartment itself was located on a sound stage in LA, the building used for the exterior shots of the can also be found at 90 Bedford Street.
Will the show ever be back on screen?
While a lot of events are lined up for the 25th anniversary of the show, will fans ever get to see their beloved cast back on screen? Chances seem unlikely. In an interview, Courtney Cox (who played Monica Geller) said: “People ask us all the time, ‘Will we ever do a remake?’ That was a story about these group of people that are friends in their 30s who are finding themselves. I don’t know if there’s a way to redo it.”
