Too soon? Netflix releasing docuseries on late 'Friends' star Matthew Perry in October
Just three years after his sudden death, Netflix is set to release a three-part docuseries on the life and legacy of Friends star Matthew Perry this October.
Perry’s death shocked the world when news broke on Oct. 28, 2023, that the actor had died at his Los Angeles home at the age of 54. According to the L.A. County Medical Examiner, Perry died from the “acute effects of ketamine” and drowning.
Perry was best known for his role as the quick-witted Chandler Bing in all 10 seasons and 236 episodes of Friends, which originally ran from 1994 to 2004. More than two decades after the series finale, the beloved sitcom continues to reach new audiences through reruns and streaming platforms such as Crave.
Now, Netflix has announced that its upcoming three-part docuseries, The One About Matthew Perry, will take a closer look at the American-Canadian actor’s life and career, featuring “some of the people who knew him best.”
Matthew Perry’s sister and friends remember the generous, funny and larger than life man who rose to global superstardom — and share how the actor’s honesty became his greatest legacy.
The One About Matthew Perry, an intimate documentary series, premieres October 27. pic.twitter.com/WkQeiF8S3y
— Netflix (@netflix) September 29, 2026
The documentary is helmed by Emmy Award-winning director Mary Robertson, known for other provocative docs like The Fall of Diddy and Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which explored the toxic culture behind several iconic children’s shows of the ’90s and 2000s.
Netflix says the upcoming documentary will feature never-before-heard testimonies from Perry’s sister Mia Perry Bowick and his lifelong best friends’ “candid new details on his private struggles.” It will also include never-seen-before videos from the Perry family’s private archive.
“His unforgettable portrayal of Chandler Bing… he made millions of us laugh, connect, and feel a little less alone,” says Robertson. “He also gave us so much more by bravely speaking about addiction. Yet the public only knew part of his story.”
Some familiar faces to appear in the documentary include actor Kevin Pollak, who starred alongside Perry in The Whole Nine Yards, Nate Torrence from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and My Cousin Vinny director Jonathan Lynn.
None of Perry’s Friends co-stars are set to appear.
And not everyone is enthusiastic about the docuseries’ release.
Some fans online have questioned the timing of the documentary, arguing that three years may be too soon to revisit the death of such a beloved celebrity.
“You can practically see Netflix lick their lips when a tragedy happens. Not everything is content,” writes one user on Reddit.
“We do not need this all the time. It’s so disrespectful,” writes another.
Netflix has faced scrutiny before over its approach to real-life tragedy.
Earlier this year, the streamer came under fire over The Sticks, an upcoming hockey drama whose storyline bears far too many similarities to the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash that killed 16 people. Fans online called the series “tone deaf.”
However, there are plenty of Friends fans who admit they will be tuning in to the documentary.
“This might be the first documentary to make me emotional,” writes one user on X.
“It’s gonna be hard, but absolutely watching this,” another user writes.
The One About Matthew Perry premieres on Netflix on Oct. 27.