Gabrielle Union to host an all-Black cast reading of 'Friends' to raise awareness for When We All Vote
Sterling K. Brown, Ryan Bathe, and Uzo Aduba are among those participating.
Gabrielle Union is helping to re-imagine the popular sitcom "Friends."
On Monday it was announced that Union will host an all-Black cast reading of "Friends" featuring Sterling K. Brown, Ryan Bathe, Uzo Aduba, Aisha Hinds, Kendrick Sampson and Jeremy Pope. The virtual event will take place on Tuesday, September 22 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET at Zoom Where It Happens.
Directed by Salli Richardson-Whitfield, the table read will create awareness for When We All Vote, a non-partisan voter registration organization. It comes on the heels of the popular "Golden Girls" all-Black table read on September 8, which starred Regina King, Tracee Ellis Ross, Alfre Woodard, and Sanaa Lathan.
It has not yet been revealed which actor will play which cast member or the episode the group will be reading.
This is not the first time an all-Black "Friends" casting has been done. In 2017, Jay-Z re-imagined an all-Black "Friends" cast in his “Moonlight” music video, which starred Jerrod Carmichael, Issa Rae, Tiffany Haddish, Tessa Thompson, LaKeith Stanfield and Lil Rel Howery. Instead of using the show’s memorable theme song, The Rembrandt’s “I’ll Be There For You,” Jay-Z used Whodini’s classic 1984 track “Friends.”