The 'Friends' reunion special could be filmed ''by the end of the summer''.

The stars of the hit sitcom - Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, and Matt LeBlanc - were due to reunite for a one-off reunion for HBO Max later this month, but the project was delayed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

And now, WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-to-Consumer chairman Bob Greenblatt has confirmed production is set to go ahead in the summer, as long as lockdown measures have been lifted in time.

Speaking to Variety, he said: ''At first we thought, shows will be delayed for a month or two at the most, and now it seems like it's going to be far longer than that. We're holding out for being able to get this special done hopefully by the end of the summer, if the stars align and hopefully we can get back into production. We do think there's a value to having a big, raucous live audience to experience these six great friends coming back together and we didn't want to just suddenly do it on a web call with, you know, six squares and people shooting from their kitchens and bedrooms.''

Greenblatt insists the crew don't want to shoot the reunion with the stars each getting in touch in a group video call, but said if the stay-at-home orders continue, they will look into a virtual reunion.

He added: ''But at the moment, we're trying to look to the future and get this thing done in a more conventional way, and I think it's worth waiting for. We would have loved to have had it on [HBO Max on] Day One, but at the same time, if we can get it launched in the fall, I think it'll be something that we can have the audience really looking forward to as well.''

The 'Friends' special will see the original cast reunite on the programme's soundstage for an unscripted reunion, where they will reminisce about their time on the much-loved sitcom.