Friends cast reuniting for final time as 'tears expected' for late Matthew Perry

The stars of Friends are set to reunite a final time this summer to mark the 30th anniversary of their iconic sitcom, which first aired on September 22, 1994.

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer plan to gather for a private party in LA, according to a former executive on the show.

Their celebrations will be muted, however, following the tragic death last October of co-star Matthew Perry, who drowned in his hot tub after a massive overdose of the powerful pain and depression drug ketamine.

“There are bound to be more tears for their beloved Matty,” said the network source, adding: “Everyone is still raw and emotional over the way he died, especially Jen and Courteney.”

All six cast members grew close in real life during their record-breaking reign as TV’s top comedy that spanned ten seasons and 236 episodes and was seen in more than 150 countries.

Courteney, who turns 60 on Saturday (June 15), personally marked another milestone in May when she posted a clip from the last episode of the show – which was watched by an astonishing 52.5 million in the US alone – on Instagram.

Alongside, she wrote: “It’s been 20 years since the season finale of Friends. I don’t know how we were able to act through all the tears. Forever grateful.”

The original six stars, including Perry, were the first ensemble cast in history to each win $1 million-per-episode pay deals, though the Canadian-born actor continued to struggle with drug and alcohol problems that plagued his entire adult life.

“He will again be sorely missed at September’s gathering,” said the source. “This isn’t the closure any of his co-stars would have chosen and they can barely believe it’s been three decades since they all burst on the scene together in Friends.”