We get by with a little help from our friends. And by friends we mean the casts of our favorite shows.
As we all continue to practice social distancing due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we're all finding comfort in old TV shows, binge-watching old episodes for a sense of companionship and calm.
And that's why so many virtual reunions among some of pop culture's most beloved casts have brought us so much joy since March.
From iconic films celebrating their anniversaries with digital hangouts, like The Parent Trap and Almost Famous, to beloved TV fams coming together, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Office and Lizzie McGuire, there's no such thing as too much nostalgia when it comes to virtual reunions—or should we say Zoom-unions?
Two of the people we can thank for all of these reunions? SiriusXM host Seth Rudetsky and producer James Wesley, who created Stars in the House to benefit The Actor's Fund. Approaching their 200th episode, the pair have raised over $418,000 by bringing together the casts of Scandal, One Day at a Time and other popular series.
"I started volunteering at The Actors Fund in 2000," Rudetsky told E! News of his personal connection to the project. "The Actors Fund is for everyone in the arts: singers, dancers, whatever you do in the arts, but not just the people on stage. Also the people backstage: the wigmakers, makeup artists, people at the front of house, the box office, the ushers—anybody can go to The Actors Fund for help."
When theaters were forced to close their curtains in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Wesley and Rudetsky, who are married, decided to live stream daily to bring some much-needed happiness to people missing the sense of community live entertainment can foster.
"We want them feeling like they're not alone and to feel some hope and joy," Wesley said of Stars in the House's ultimate goal, "and also to leave with some information. Whether it's COVID-19 information from Dr. Jon LaPook, updates that are, as we like to say, embraced in science, and giving people information about the census and the importance of lobbying of people in Congress on including the arts [in] the next stimulus, which has been a big push of ours lately. So a little bit of information, some hope, and joy, that's kind of what we want."
Check out all of the virtual cast reunions that have gone down since March...
One month after the series finale, Succession stars Brian Cox (Logan Roy) and Nicholas Braun (Cousin Greg) reunited at the Loewe Menswear spring/summer 2024 show during Paris Fashion Week in June 2023.
Worlds collided when The White Lotus season one star Murray Bartlett, who played hotel manager Armond, and Theo James, who played resort guest Cameron Sullivan on season two, met up with series creator Mike White at the Loewe Menswear spring/summer 2024 show during Paris Fashion Week in June 2023.
Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis were all smiles on the red carpet, as they attended the 30th anniversary of Thelma & Louise at The Greek Theatre in LA.
Hilary Duff and the cast of Lizzie McGuire reunited for a virtual table read of the iconic "bra episode" and it was beyond perfect.
In a 44-minute Instagram video posted on May 11, Duff was joined by Jake Thomas (Matt McGuire), Hallie Todd (Jo McGuire), Robert Carradine (Sam McGuire), Adam Lamberg (Gordo), Lalaine (Miranda), Davida Williams (Claire), Ashlie Brillault (Kate) and Kyle Downs (who played Larry Tudgeman, but was reading David Carradine's lines) for a reading of one of the Disney Channel hit's most talked-about episodes, which happened to air on May 11, 2001.
The group even attempted to sing the theme song for fans, which didn't exactly go as planned.
Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Elaine Hendrix and more stars of The Parent Trap have virtually reunited in honor of the beloved film's 22nd anniversary, proving it really was an everlasting love.
That's right, the Nancy Meyers-directed movie, a remake of the 1961 film, was released in theaters over 20 years ago in July 2020, so the cast came together in a 14-minute video hosted by Katie Couric on July 23.
The main stars, along with supporting standouts Lisa Ann Walter and Simon Kunz, shared their favorite memories from filming and also honored their late co-star, Natasha Richardson, who passed away in 2009.
This reunion special, in addition to delighting fans, was set up to help raise funds for José Andrés' World Central Kitchen.
A sketch on All That might not quite be a Zoey 101 reboot, but if you ask the cast, it will hopefully lead to one.
For the second time, the cast of the Nickelodeon comedy reunited for an appearance on the kids sketch show, and it sounds like they'd be happy to keep coming together, especially if they were doing it in the form of a return to their original show. In fact, star Jamie Lynn Spears said there have definitely been talks, and it's "the ultimate goal."
"I've had conversations, and we want to be able to tell everyone's story the best way we can, and finding the right home for it, I think that's the most important part right now," she spilled.
The main cast of Pretty Little Liars had a virtual reunion for a good cause in May and did a whole lot of reminiscing. A would've had a field day!
To benefit Feeding America, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell, Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Sasha Pieterse, Janel Parrish, Ian Harding, Tyler Blackburn, and creator Marlene King all got together to reveal secrets about the Freeform drama, and they also answered some of fans' biggest burning questions since PLL ended in 2017.
E!'s Lilliana Vazquez chatted with Ross Lynch (Austin), Laura Marano (Ally), Calum Worthy (Dez) and Raini Rodriguez (Trish) in an epic reunion for the Disney Channel series that ran from 2011-2016.
During the digital sit-down, the cast revealed their early memories of the show and what it was like filming it before the rise of Snapchat and TikTok.
While Lynch admitted he was shocked when he landed one of the titular roles, his co-star assured The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star that his fears were unwarranted.
"Ross, I'm not sure how you didn't know you got it, because at the end of the process there was one person for Austin, Ross, there was one person for Trish, Raini, and there were two girls for Ally. So, I actually had no idea if I got it or not," Marano revealed with a laugh during the chat.
They're all in this together!
Almost all of the stars of the iconic Disney Channel movie franchise reunited on Zoom in April, with one notable absence: Zac Efron was unable to participate. (Way to break our hearts, Troy Bolton!)
But Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman, as well as HSM director Kenny Ortega, were all able to reminisce about their Wildcat days in the highly anticipated hangout.
Who says you have to let it go?!
Goonies never say die...or goodbye.
In a reunion put together by Frozen's Josh Gad, the stars of the classic '80s film came together for a virtual hangout in April.
Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Jeff Cohen, Ke Huy Quan, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton and Josh Brolin all participated, though One-Eyed Willy was sadly unavailable.
"It's a great time to reassess what starts to surface as what's important and what's not so important," Brolin said during the virtual hangout, which went down over 35 years after the film's release. "I'm so happy to see everybody I can't even tell you."
Well, here's one day Ferris definitely didn't skip.
As part of his YouTube series "Reunited Apart," Josh Gad reunited the stars of the iconic '80s film, including Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jennifer Grey, Cindy Pickett, Lyman Ward and Ben Stein.
During the hangout, Broderick recalled landing the part that made him a household name.
"John Hughes, who wrote it and directed it, I got a call from my agent that said he wanted me to be in a movie," he said. "I was in a play at the time and everybody said he's the Steven Spielberg of teen movies…And then I rented Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles and loved them."
In yet another installment of his YouTube series Reunited Apart, Josh Gad brought together the cast of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and it was pretty epic.
Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom, Sir Ian McKellan, director Peter Jackson and more all called in for the episode, which raised money for the charity organization No Kid Hungry. It was one Zoom to rule them all.
The pack came back together!
The cast and creator of MTV's Teen Wolf reunited in early June for the first installment MTV Reunions, which benefited First Responders First Charity.
Taking part in the virtual hangout were cast members Orny Adams, Linden Ashby, Ian Bohen, Charlie Carver, Max Carver, Arden Cho, Cody Christian, Shelly Henning, Dylan O'Brien, Melissa Ponzio, Tyler Posey, Khylin Rhambo, Holland Roden and Dylan Sprayberry, as well as creator Jeff Davis.
Talk about some good news: During the first episode of his new YouTube show Some Good News (SNG)—a program dedicated entirely to, you guessed it, heartwarming news—John Krasinski virtually welcomed a very special guest: Steve Carell, his former The Office co-star.
Krasinski and Carell, who played Jim Halpert and Michael Scott respectively on the iconic NBC sitcom, looked back on their favorite moments and shared behind-the-scenes details.
"Some of my most fond memories, personally or professionally, are entwined with that show," Carell shared.
The Malfoy men Jason Isaacs and Tom Felton had a magical father-son reunion via Skype in support of the British Red Cross, talking about how they are passing the time while isolating, how to give back amid the coronavirus pandemic, and, of course, Tiger King.
"Malfoy Family reunion," Isaacs wrote of the formerly platinum blond duo's heartwarming video call on Instagram. "Sharing lockdown life."
Weasley family forever!
Bonnie Wright and James and Oliver Phelps virtually reunited in July for the twins' podcast Double Trouble, staging a family get-together that surely delighted Harry Potter fans.
Though it's been nearly 20 years since the cast met on the set of iconic film franchise, Wright and the boys recalled meeting their "film family" when they shot the King's Cross station scene in the first movie.
While the rest of the Weasley family was unable to join for the virtual meeting, they had good reason! Ron Weasley, a.k.a. Rupert Grint, recently welcomed his first child with girlfriend Georgia Groom.
Debby Ryan and other former stars of the Disney Channel hit series Jessie reunited on Zoom in April and they paid tribute to their late co-star Cameron Boyce, who died at age 20 in July 2019 after suffering an epileptic seizure.
Ryan, who played main character Jessie Prescott, remembered being comforted by Boyce when she was dealing with her mother Sandy's battle with breast cancer, which she did eventually beat.
"My mom was battling cancer and we weren't really vocal about it, so I would like go to chemo with her after work and then I would come back...sometimes people would be like, 'Tired, late night?' like making jokes, whatever and I would just be like kind of fragile but never shared about it," Ryan said during the show's Stars in the House repisode. "[Boyce] had this sense, was aware, and I remember he would just pursue to come and give me hugs. I remember one time starting to cry and being like, 'You are like my younger brother.' He would have sort of like this maturity and this comforting- and it was like a two-way street for the first time in a really cool way. I just will never forget that."
Shonda Rhimes' fierce Gladiators assembled for the first time since the ABC hit series hung up its white hat in 2018.
Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn, Bellamy Young, Jeff Perry, Kate Burton, Dan Bucatinsky, Norm Lewis, Katie Lowes, Guillermo Diaz, Cornelius Smith, George Newbern and Joe Morton all came together as part of the Stars in the House series to benefit The Actors Fund. It was handled and the reunion provided Rudetsky with his biggest surprise from hosting almost 200 episodes.
"Kerry Washington ended the season by meeting her father. And she just said, 'Dad ,'and did it," he told E! News. "They basically hadn't written the script for season three. So she said she had to record, like, six different line readings where they should be happy to see him, devastated to see him, depressed to see him, angry...it's so fun that like it's an old acting exercise."
How did John Krasinski follow-up his epic The Office reunion? On his next episode of Some Good News, he just casually reunited the entire original cast of Hamilton, one of the biggest Broadway hits ever. NBD!
After learning that Aubrey, a 9-year-old superfan from Florida, had plans to see the hit Broadway play that were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Lin-Manuel Miranda assembled Leslie Odom Jr., Anthony Ramos, and more cast members to perform the opening track "Alexander Hamilton" from the play for her via video chat.
Plus, Krasinski's wife Emily Blunt joined in, as Aubrey is also a massive fan of Mary Poppins Returns, which Blunt and Miranda starred in together.
And the episode ended with Krasinski gifting Aubrey and her mother with a trip to New York City to see Hamilton on Broadway once it's safe to do so.
In honor of the Nickelodeon sitcom's 10th anniversary, the main cast of Victorious staged an epic Zoom reunion, with Victoria Justice and Ariana Grande sharing snaps from the "happy"event on social media.
"This made me happy. 10 years later. Can't even believe it," Justice captioned a screenshot of the video chat on Instagram, which included Avan Jogia, Elizabeth Gillies, Leon Thomas III, Matt Bennett, Daniella Monet, Eric Lange and creator Dan Schneider.
Will Smith reunited with the cast of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast over Zoom during his Snapchat Discover series WFH Will From Home, and it was filled with nostalgia.
In anticipation of the 30th anniversary of the hit sitcom's first episode, which took place on September 10, 1990, fellow castmates Alfonso Ribeiro, Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons, Daphne Maxwell Reid, Joseph Marcell and DJ Jazzy Jeff joined Smith in the cast's first time coming together since 1996. NBD!
With help from co-creator and ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson, the beloved '90s series' star Fran Drescher managed to reunite the entire gang—including Renee Taylor, Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, Madeline Zima and Rachel Chagall—for a virtual, pandemic performance of the sitcom's pilot episode.
Available on YouTube, the table-read was put together, Drescher told E! News, because, "We wanted to show our gratitude to their loyalty and give them something new to look forward to that makes you feel lighthearted. Laughter is the best medicine."
Miley Cyrus and Emily Osment aka Hannah Montana and BFF Lilly Truscott staged the "reunion of the decade" on Cyrus' Bright Minded Instagram Live series in mid-March, revealing behind-the-scenes details about the beloved Disney Channel series.
After introducing Osment as "a badass best friend," Cyrus looked at old photos from their time co-starring on Hannah Montana and exchanged funny anecdotes, including one about Cyrus losing all of her baby teeth before a photo shoot. "My mom had to get me some fake teeth," the singer revealed.
Anyone else more than willing to say "Bye bye bye" to their Zoom happy hour to join this epic one? During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Lance Bass revealed the members of NSYNC have been keeping in touch while social distancing, even having virtual happy hours.
Bass and his former bandmates Justin Timberlake, Joe Fatone, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick have been getting together online after they all had done individual interviews for his podcast The Daily Popcast, which included reminiscing about their boy band days.
"I think the interviews really kind of even bonded us even more, especially during this quarantine," Bass explained. "You know, your relationships, they get tighter so now we have happy hours every week together on Zoom, which is really fun."