The cast of 'Friends' reunites for a 2021 HBO Max special, 'Friends: The Reunion'. (Photo: HBO Max)
Friends: The Reunion was missing several well-known friends when it debuted in China this week.
Appearances by Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and K-Pop sensation BTS were all stripped from the version broadcast in the People’s Republic.
“Each missing cameo involved a star or group that had been a past target of Beijing’s ire,” the New York Times reported. “Fans suspected the show was stuck in censorship gear.”
“Lady Gaga has been verboten in China since she met with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, in 2016.
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“Justin Bieber’s troubles with China began in 2014, when he posted a photo from the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which honors Japan’s war dead, including war criminals from World War II.
“And the South Korean music group BTS neglected last year to mention the sacrifice of China’s troops when recalling the pain of the Korean War — even though the troops fought on the side of North Korea.”
“Friends was one of the most iconic prime time television shows of the 1990s and a cornerstone of NBC’s Thursday night “Must See TV” lineup.
Many fans in China became familiar with the sitcom through DVD.
“The sitcom was so popular that in major Chinese cities, it spawned look-alike fan cafes of the show’s coffee shop, Central Perk,” the Times noted.
“Some fan accounts on social media noted that the lengths of each version of the special varied, depending on which streaming site users watched it, a likely indication that the online video platforms had cut the show on their own to avoid any potential grief with China’s watchful internet regulator.”
Friends: The Reunion airs in the U.S. on HBO Max.
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