A new documentary chronicling Matthew Perry's decade-long stint as the beloved Chandler Bing in "Friends" and his public battle with drug and alcohol addiction has arrived at Netflix.
"The One About Matthew Perry," directed by Mary Robertson, examines the late star's life in the limelight − banking $1 million an episode at the sitcom's peak − to the time he spent in and out of rehabilitation centers. The three-part project (now streaming) also pays homage to the celebrated NBC sitcom, revisiting everything from Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler's marriage to the finale episode watched by more than 50 million fans.
As the documentary features first-hand interviews
with his sister Mia Perry Bowick, former NBC entertainment president Warren Littlefield, "Friends" producer and writer Jeff Strauss, and close confidantes, five people are noticeably absent: Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Cox. Although memorialized in archival footage and clips, the "Friends" mainstays don't appear in any interviews.
Director Robertson tells USA TODAY that despite her efforts to corral the main cast, they declined.
"I know that the cast of 'Friends' loves Matthew and is grieving him," Robertson tells USA TODAY. "We did reach out to them, and they decided not to participate. I'm really proud of the fact that we have accounts from others who worked on the set of 'Friends' and who were instrumental in its success."
"The One About Matthew Perry," which made a nod to the show's episode titles, arrived nearly three years after Perry's death on Oct. 28, 2023. Perry died at his Los Angeles home at age 54, with medical examiners declaring his death an accident caused by the acute effects of ketamine. Other contributing factors included drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine.
Robertson has long strived to detail Perry's life in a documentary format. After reading Perry's memoir, "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing," Robertson said she reached out to his publishing team and didn't hear a response. In the months after his death, Robertson tried again, finding a renewed commitment to documenting the totality of his life and legacy, and began to reach out to Perry's circle of friends and family.
Although the "Friends" cast declined, she did hear from the late star's sister.
"I wrote a letter to Mia, along with a few of my colleagues, and we crossed our fingers and clicked send, probably thinking that odds are we would never hear back because how many requests had she received over the years," Robertson explains. "We were one of many, but we did hear back. I screamed when she wrote back."
Perry Bowick fights tears as she recounts in the documentary greeting and hugging the "Friends" cast at his November 2023 funeral. She said Aniston, Kudrow, Schwimmer, Le Blanc and Cox approached his open casket, held hands and began to cry.
Viewers of the documentary can also catch glimpses of them in early cast-wide interviews or footage from the "Friends" HBO reunion special.
"The totality of the offering is one that enriches our understanding of Matthew, the human," Robertson says. "Not Matthew, who played Chandler Bing. Yes, that's there, of course. Not Matthew, who became known as Matthew Perry − a name in life that was famous around the world − but Matty, Mia's brother, Matty."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matthew Perry documentary director reveals why 'Friends' cast didn't participate
