Though it’s been almost 12 years since the final episode of Friends aired, the beloved sitcom and its cast have been generating plenty of headlines lately.
This has a lot to do with the fact that five members of the show’s main cast— Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer—will be appearing on a special reunion episode scheduled for February 21 on NBC. The highly anticipated broadcast, which will also feature appearances from cast members of Will & Grace, Taxi, The Big Bang Theory, Frasier, Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly and Crowded, will honour the contributions of long-time sitcom director James Burrows. This, however, is not the only reason for the re-emergence of Friends in entertainment news.
In a recent interview with BBC Radio 2, Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing on the show, touched on the addiction problems that plagued him for much of the popular sitcom’s heyday.
“I don’t remember three years of it… so none of those” Perry said, when asked which Friends episode was his least favourite. “Somewhere between season 3 and 6,” he elaborated.
Of course, Perry’s past battle with addiction is no secret. In a 2013 interview with People, the Friends star acknowledged his troubles with alcohol and prescription medication. “I had a big problem with pills and alcohol, and I couldn’t stop,” he told the publication.
Thankfully, after two failed trips to rehab, the Friends stars’ substance abuse problems are soundly in the rear view mirror. Now clean, the 46-year-old actor told People that he has “some true happiness and comfort” in his life. He’s also still acting regularly, and is currently working on a play in the UK—the reason he wasn’t able to make the filming of the reunion episode. And here’s where the news gets even better. Though he wasn’t able to appear in the episode, Perry will introduce the special when it airs on the 21st. That, in all likelihood, means there are more laughs on the horizon from the famous Friends wisecracker. Let’s just hope Janice doesn’t show up too.
