'Friends' Cast Then and Now—How Actors Looked in the 90s Compared to Today On 5/26/21 at 7:13 AM EDT Friends: The Reunion is set to mark the first time the cast will return to the show's sets in 17 years. The sitcom classic, which followed six friends as they navigated life in New York, first aired in 1994 and spanned the entirety of a decade. Friends catapulted stars Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Courteney Cox (Monica Geller), David Schwimmer (Ross Geller), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing) and Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani) to fame. Since the show wrapped in 2004, fans have been eager to see actors reunite on-screen.