https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSlphOETkIs
Who is James Burrows? At any given moment on any given day, his work is most likely playing on TV in syndicated reruns. The man earned at least one Emmy nomination every year from 1980 until 2005, except for 1997, which must be the single most aggravating way to not get nominated for an Emmy in the program’s history. He co-created Cheers with Glen and Les Charles, and directed more than fifty pilot episodes for other programs. The man has had a hand in Night Court, Wings, Frasier, 3rd Rock From The Sun, Dharma and Greg, Will & Grace, Two And A Half Men, and The Big Bang Theory. James Burrows is who TV producers go to when they need a massively successful sitcom.
But if you clicked on that headline, then you probably know him as the guy whose career achievements are the reason that the Friends cast got back together. Friends was one of the megahit shows that Burrows worked on, and so five of the six main cast members — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, in order of most to least post-Friends success — have reunited for a panel discussion about Burrows and the show from which he spun his gold. (Matthew Perry is working overseas and was unavailable.) The trailer embedded above only touches on the reunion for a brief moment, but tantalizes potential viewers with hot gossip that could confirm our shared fantasy that the Friends cast spent every available moment together.
February 21 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on NBC, we may all finally answer the burning question America has been sweating over for decades and discover whether or not Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer actually did it. Or, in all likelihood, they will reminisce and make polite jokes and effuse over what a wonderful director Burrows is. Maybe a little of both, who knows?
