The six Friends never got back together in one room since 2004 except for once at a dinner party at Courteney Cox's house in October 2019, one month before the reunion was announced.
During the Sept. 16, 2021 episode of the podcast Literally! with Rob Lowe (2020), Jennifer Aniston discussed how filming the reunion was brutal. It took a toll on her and her former co-stars because it was so emotional and "really took us all down way harder than we anticipated." She said she couldn't stop crying even though there were cameras everywhere and she had to excuse herself from the set a few times. The others felt the same, even Matt LeBlanc, who she called "Mr. Tough Guy."
This reunion was originally supposed to air in late May 2020 but was delayed due to Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The special was filmed in Los Angeles, California, at Stage 24, also known as "The Friends Stage" at Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, where Friends had been filmed since its second season.
When viewers were concerned about his appearance, representatives for Matthew Perry clarified that he had an emergency dental surgery prior to filming.