Two old "Friends" reunite on new TV show

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two old television "Friends" will soon reunite on the small screen -- this time playing rival magazine editors rather than coffee-drinking pals.

Jennifer Aniston has agreed to guest star on an upcoming episode of

Courteney Cox's new TV drama "Dirt," marking the first time the two will have worked together since their former NBC comedy hit, "Friends," left the airwaves in May 2004.

Production on Aniston's guest appearance, the season finale of "Dirt" set to air on March 27, will begin later this week, FX spokesman Jon Solberg said on Tuesday.

Cox stars on "Dirt" as hard-charging, scandal-obsessed tabloid editor-in-chief Lucy Spiller, a character far removed from her role as the sensible neat freak Monica Geller on "Friends."

Aniston, best known for her Emmy-winning "Friends" role as lovelorn Rachel Green, will appear on "Dirt" as Tina Harrod, a rival magazine editor who has a history with Spiller, Solberg said.

The show's first two episodes have averaged 3 million viewers, about the same as two other signature FX series, "The Shield" and "Rescue Me."

Aniston has at this point committed to just the one episode of "Dirt," but Solberg said it was possible her part would be written in such a way as to allow her to return to the show in later seasons.

Two other former members of the "Friends" cast launched short-lived comedy series of their own after "Friends" ended its 10-year NBC run --

Matt LeBlanc with his spin-off "Joey" and

Lisa Kudrow with HBO's "The Comeback." But both of those shows fizzled due to low ratings.

Another "Friends" veteran,

Matthew Perry, currently co-stars on NBC's show-within-a-show drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."