What About Your Friends? Tonight, Gabrielle Union Is Hosting Them in the 'Zoom Where It Happens'

On Sunday night, fans of the long-running sitcom Friends were treated to a mini-reunion when Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow made a group appearance via a Zoom-like appearance at the 72nd Annual Emmy Awards. Now, this Tuesday night at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT, we’ll get to see some of our friends, as David Schwimmer’s dream comes true and Gabrielle Union-Wade hosts an all-Black live table read of a classic Friends episode starring Emmy winners and nominees Uzo Aduba, Sterling K. Brown and Jeremy Pope along with Ryan Bathe, Aisha Hinds and Kendrick Sampson. It’s all going down for Episode Two of “Zoom Where It Happens,” the live series presented by Black women artists to raise awareness, intention and activation around voting rights, in partnership with Zoom.

Via a press release provided to The Root:

For the second installment of “Zoom Where It Happens”, Aduba will play Phoebe, Bathe will portray Rachel, Hinds will play Monica, Brown will assume the role of Ross, Sampson will appear as Joey and Pope will star as Chandler in a remake of the classic episode, “The One Where No One’s Ready,” from season three of “Friends.” The production team of this series also includes Bathe, Hinds, Cynthia Erivo, Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington, Rashida Jones, Stefanie and Quentin James, Channing Dungey, Karen Richardson, Issa Rae, Latanya Richardson and Ava DuVernay.

If you recall, the series launched on September 8 with an all-Black episode of “Golden Girls” hilariously starring Tracee Ellis Ross, Alfre Woodard, Regina King and Sanaa Lathan, hosted by Lena Waithe. The episode garnered over and 100,000 RSVPs, cementing the success of the series, which will continue with a rotating cast of actors through Election Day 2020.

“We’ve selected popular four-quadrant shows to attract a wide cross-section of potential voters,” said Bathe via a statement. “We’re thrilled to see how many people have embraced the series and are actively motivated to get out the vote this November.”

The release further explains:

In addition to offering an evening of culture and live entertainment, “Zoom Where It Happens” aims to catalyze voters and amplify the fight for voting rights and electoral justice. To gain access to the free show, viewers register with their mobile numbers and sign up to receive ongoing election information from various social impact organizations. This week’s performance will connect viewers to When We All Vote, the nonpartisan voting initiative founded by former First Lady Michelle Obama. All table reads are live one-time only events, produced and performed on a volunteer basis.

“Historically, artists and entertainers have played essential roles in amplifying urgent voter issues and mobilizing the masses to be civically engaged. This series is a continuance of that tradition, and a way to bring much-needed joy and laughter into people’s homes,” said Richardson-Whitfield, who directs this week’s episode.

Why Zoom? Well, it’s the room where many of us have been spending our days, as of late, so why not spend some time with a few good Friends?

“When you combine cutting edge technology and some of the most creative minds in entertainment, incredible things happen,” said Janine Pelosi, CMO for Zoom. “It is an honor to partner with this dynamic group of artists and activists on this nostalgic series with such an incredible intention.”

But don’t drop by your Friends house unannounced; RSVP via the series’ event page, and follow the official hashtag #ZoomWhereItHappens for updates on future “Zoom Where It Happens” episodes.