Sterling K. Brown will play Ross in 'Friends' reimagining with all-Black cast
Gabrielle Union and Sterling K. Brown will be there for you — even if it means only online.
The two are teaming up with fellow actors Ryan Bathe, Uzo Aduba, Aisha Hinds, Kendrick Sampson and Jeremy Pope to do an all-Black rendition of the classic NBC show “Friends.”
Phoebe will be played by Aduba, while Bathe will portray Rachel and Hinds will act as Monica. "This Is Us" star Brown will play Ross while Sampson will be Joey and Pope will fill the role of Chandler. Union will serve as host.
They’re going to tackle the 1996 episode “The One Where No One’s Ready” — a classic from the third season that features the main characters getting ready (clearly unsuccessfully) to go to a function at Ross’ museum. Hummus is spilled, Joey couldn’t BE wearing any more clothes, and Rachel can’t pick a dress and eventually puts on sweatpants — a real quarantine mood, if you ask us.
The production, which will take place Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern time, is free but requires registration.
The “Friends” episode is the second installment of “Zoom Where It Happens,” a live table-read series presented by Black women artists with a goal to mobilize voters.
This week's performance aims to connect viewers with When We All Vote, a nonpartisan voting initiative founded by former first lady Michelle Obama.
The first episode starred Tracee Ellis Ross, Sanaa Lathan, Alfre Woodard and Regina King doing a re-creation of a classic episode of “The Golden Girls.”
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That episode — a table read of the 1986 episode appropriately titled “Flu Attack”— aimed to raise awareness about the 2020 census and to connect people to the civil rights organization Color of Change.
Ross played Rose, Lathan portrayed Blanche, King was Dorothy and Woodard acted as Dorothy’s mother, Sophia. Filmmaker and actor Lena Waithe hosted the event, narrating the stage cues and occasionally playing minor roles, while “Grey’s Anatomy” actor Jesse Williams played all the male characters.
The “Zoom Where It Happens” series will continue with a rotating cast of actors every Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST until Election Day.
