We were so close to a 'Friends' reunion special, but in came the coronavirus to ruin everything.

Due to begin filming later this month, the unscripted 'Friends' reunion special on HBO Max has been postponed until a later date due to COVID-19. After years of rumours, and plenty of outcry from fans of the sitcom, when the special was announced just a month ago, many were overjoyed.

According to The Hollywood Reporter however, it's likely that we won't get to see Jennifer Anniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perri, Courtney Cox, and David Schwimmer on our screens together as soon as we had hoped. Just a week out from filming next Monday and Tuesday, the special is now excepted to be pushed back until at least May. The 'Friends' reunion special was due to film at the show's former home at Stage 24 of the Warner Bros. Studio in California.

The six returning stars are expected to take home a huge paycheque for their work on the one-off special, each securing a deal somewhere in the region between $2.5 million and $3 million.

The show is just one causality in a long line of TV shows and movies who have fallen to the coronavirus this past week. Many movies due to release in cinemas over the coming weeks have now either been postponed or will become available online, while TV shows in production may have to make do with what they've already filmed due to budget constraints.