Reunited, but does it really feel that good?

Nostalgia is one big drug. For better or worse, nostalgia has the ability to transport us to a moment in our lives when things were simpler or defining moments in our lives.

Perhaps there is no better example of that magic at hand than reunions, specifically the type that brings together our favourite groups of characters or performers back together for another hoorah.

Reunions have come to dominate pop culture in general with bands, TV shows and movies often attempting to return from obscurity and reinvigorate the careers of the stars that once dominated the world.

Even for the few that have remained in the eyes of the general population, reunions have the potential for stars, characters and fans alike to recapture that magic that made them so popular to begin with.

Do we really need to know what happened to Carry Bradshaw since we last saw her stress over Mr Big or watch a former pop super-group two-step to a hit that came back even before Gretchen Weiner tried to make fetch happen?
No.

But is it fun to sing along to that hit or watch Bradshaw flop again? Absolutely.

So, in celebration of that sweet, sweet nostalgia, here’s a list of iconic reunions that happened over the past few years that we may not have asked for but delighted in anyway.

'FRIENDS'

Just like the fashion trends that continue to sweep the notion, it seems that most of the prominent reunions had their heyday in the 90s and early 2000s.

I suspect that this is because they happened long ago enough to be nostalgic but not too long ago enough to be completely forgotten.

Friends is an American sitcom that debuted in 1994 and dominated TV for a decade, centring around the lives of a group of friends as they navigate adulthood, their friendships, careers and relationships in New York.

The show was an absolute hit with the series finale airing in 2004 racking up a monumental 52.5 million American viewers. So it came as no surprise that a reunion episode went into development in 2019 with a special episode airing on HBO Max in 2021.

The unscripted special acted in a similar fashion as a reality TV reunion episode with it having more to do with a reunion of the cast in the form of a variety special than that of the characters in the form of a traditional episode.

Nevertheless, the episode was a success, earning generally favourable reviews from critics, 4 Primetime Emmy nominations and a Full Popcorn Bucket audience score of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes.

THE SPICE GIRLS

Along with the aforementioned decade, reunions of popular girl groups of yesteryear are pretty much a staple with many making some sort of comeback or (brief) reunion at some point or the other over the last decade or so.

The pinnacle of the girl-group reunion from recent memory is the Spice Girls with the band going in and out of reunions on at least two occasions since their disbandment in 2000; they had two reunion tours in 2007 and 2019.

Both tours were met with commercial success racking up $70.1 million from 45 shows and $78.2 million from 13 shows respectively.

Defined by their bubble-gum pop sound and “girl power” aesthetic, the group’s credentials are exhaustive with them being widely credited for leading the teen-pop resurgence of the late nineties, being the bestselling girl group of all time, having the bestselling girl group album of all time with their debut album Spice, re-defining girl groups by targeting a young female audience, and, of course, introducing the world to Victoria Beckham aka Posh Spice.

'SEX AND THE CITY'

With reboots, remakes and reboot sequels dominating Hollywood (again), it comes as no surprise that Sex and the City would eventually have its return to the public’s gaze.

Having already been no stranger to reboots and reunions with Sex and the City (2008), the aptly named sequel Sex and the City 2 (2010) and the short-lived prequel The Carrie Diaries (2014), the iconic series-turned-franchise decided fourth time’s a charm with HBO Max’s 2021 requel And Just Like That…

Best known for the foot it had on fashion’s neck during its prime, City debuted in 1998 and functioned as if Friends was an R-rated TV show with a tighter script and an all-woman cast that made the show seem much more firmly based on the premise of Friendship than Friends could ever wish to be.

With six seasons ending in 2004, City has earned 7 Primetime Emmy awards from 54 nominations, acclaim from fans and critics alike along with its fair share of backlash and controversy.

Though Samantha is notably missing from the line-up, And Just Like That… stars the primary cast from the original series along with some fresh faces and, despite mixed reviews from critics, was the most watched first-viewing HBO Max’s history at the time of its release.

DESTINY’S CHILD

“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, no, no,” echoed my hairline in fear as Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams propped up from the underworld when Destiny’s Child had its first mini-reunion at Beyoncé's 2013 Superbowl spectacle… and then again for Beyoncé's legendary Coachella annihilation.

Debuting in 1997, Destiny’s Child, along with the Spice Girls, are arguably the definitive girl group of all time further redefining the girl group by adding the intersectionality of black womanhood with the female empowerment aesthetic that the Spice Girls popularised.

The group remains one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, earning a myriad of hits, including 3 #1 Billboard Hot 100 hits, numerous awards and accolades, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and becoming responsible for the term “the Beyoncé of the Group".

Beyoncé's Superbowl performance, Beychella and the band's features on each other’s solo records encapsulate what a reunion without the schtick should be by showing the world why we loved and continue to love them in the first point, by being able to recapture the sheer brilliance of the group without damaging the prowess and solo careers of the bandmates within them.

Though fans are still crying for a full-blown reunion, Beychella and Co. remind us that you don’t need a full-scale and often messy production to create a reunion that is not only special but is a cultural event that shows the world why the core three are able to have flourishing careers with and without the band.

FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR

Very few things can come close to what exactly The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air brought to televisions across the world when it debuted in 1990 and concluded in 1996.

Aside from being a genuinely terrific show, Fresh Prince has that certain it-factor that makes it endlessly rewatchable and not just for its nostalgia.

From its wholesome feeling, to its humour, to its surprisingly effective incorporation of heavier subject matter for a 90s sitcom, Fresh Prince truly was an example of magic in the bottle and birthed the career of one of the world’s most revered superstars - Will Smith.

The cast of Fresh Prince returned to screens when its reunion episode debuted in 2020 on HBO Max and functioned much like the Friends reunion episode with the core cast sitting down reunited together for a chat.

Achieving a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: The Reunion brings the Banks family back together after 30 years, the episode was praised for producing an episode that warranted its existence beyond a quick cash cheque for its cast and crew.

Having been one of the few mainstream black TV shows of the early-to-mid 90s, it’s good to see a show that shifted mainstream pop culture in the way Fresh Prince did be celebrated and lauded for its contributions decades after it first caught the eyes of viewers (and BET Africa).

THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS

In 2019, the Pussycat Dolls announced to the world that they would be reuniting for a new album and world tour following their disbandment in 2010.

Known widely for their provocative sound and aesthetic, the group released their comeback single React in 2019 to moderate commercial success but a widely positive reception from fans alike.

After their reunion performance on The X-Factor: Celebrity, anticipation for a full-scale reunion was at an all-time high.

However, the higher we climb, the harder we fall because in 2020 the group announced the postponement of the tour due to the pandemic and then a cancellation of any plans in 2021.

The latter announcement was salt put on the wounds of fans everywhere when the band's lead, Nicole Scherzinger, announced on Instagram that the reunion tour was cancelled because of how messy it was.

According to the other bandmates, often noted for being glorified backup dancers, they got the announcement when everyone else did after Scherzinger posted and it came as a complete shock but given the group’s history and several fallouts, what did we expect?

Don’t cha wish your lead was as consistent as Bey?

SCREAM (2022)

The movie reunion to end all movie reunions of recent memory has to be Scream (2022).

Following in the footsteps of Halloween (2018), Scream released its very own requel in 2022, 11 years since the release of the last film in the franchise Scream 4.

However, much like 1996’s original Scream, Scream (2022) did things a little differently by being a direct sequel to all previous films as opposed to being a direct sequel to the original that wiped every subsequent sequel from its continuity. And that’s what makes this reunion more of a reunion than a straight-up reboot.

Scream (2022) sees every survivor, sans Kirby Reed, returning to the big screen as “legacy characters” that guide a new cast of fresh-faced victims looking to be carved out or turned into a Final Girl.

What’s special about Scream (2022) and the Scream franchise, in general, is that we follow three survivors Sidney Prescott (the quintessential Final Girl), Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley through every instalment, making them familiar iconic characters with distinct character arcs spanning several movies – an extreme rarity in Slasher films known for prioritising their villains over their heroes.

Scream (2022) does an exceptional job at capturing the magic of the original with its satirical take on the Horror genre, focus on character development (at least for its main cast), and clever whodunit that balances horror and comedy just as good as any other instalment in the lauded franchise.

Even better, it justifies its existence beyond being a movie trying to cash in on the requel craze that is starting to define the slasher resurgence of the late 2010s by both tapping into what made the original so brilliant to begin with but still managing to push its story and the franchise further resulting in a box office smash and a critical success.

As the saying goes, reunions come ago, but nostalgia is forever.