Netflix has set a new three-part documentary about “Friends” star Matthew Perry, and it’s coming Oct. 27. “The One About Matthew Perry” is directed and executive produced by Mary Robertson, the filmmaker behind “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” and produced by her Maxine Productions banner at Sony Pictures Television.
The series is told through intimate testimonies from the people who knew him best, with Perry’s sister, Mia Perry Bowick, as the key voice. Netflix says it reveals the real Perry — generous, funny, vulnerable, larger than life — and the battles he fought to become the man behind the icon, drawing on unreleased photos and videos from the Perry family archive.
“It’s taken time for me to feel ready to share these memories and what it was like to love Matthew through all the complexity of his life — to see him as a whole person, not just as Chandler, and not just as someone who struggled with addiction.”
Perry Bowick said in a statement that her brother “had a beautiful heart and a generous spirit, and even in his darkest moments, he could still make you laugh and feel loved.” Robertson, who also produced “Framing Britney Spears,” called Perry “one of the comedic geniuses of our time” and said the goal was to let the people who loved him reveal the person behind the public figure.
A Life in Full
Perry died on Oct. 28, 2023, in Los Angeles at 54. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death an accident, citing the acute effects of ketamine, with drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine listed as contributing factors. He was best known as Chandler Bing on “Friends,” part of the core six alongside Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow, and also starred in films like “Fools Rush In,” “The Whole Nine Yards” and “Almost Heroes.”
Executive producers on the project include Lisa Kalikow, Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman, with Lora Moftah as co-executive producer and Jessica Call producing. It is not yet known whether any of the “Friends” cast will appear, though Netflix notes the series includes some of Perry’s “lifelong best friends” and “creative collaborators.”
Why It Matters
Perry was open about his addiction struggles in his 2022 memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” and this docuseries aims to carry that honesty forward. For the millions who grew up watching Chandler Bing, it promises a fuller portrait of the man behind the laugh — told by the family who loved him. With the premiere landing the day before the third anniversary of his death, it’s shaping up as the definitive look at a star whose legacy is still being written.
