This October 28th will mark three years since the passing of actor Matthew Perry. Does it seem like it’s been that long? We swear it doesn’t feel that way to us. He’ll, of course, be remembered as Chandler on Friends, but he had the film The Whole Nine Yards in there. He also had his remake series of The Odd Couple that ran for years. And considering the demon of addiction he was facing… well, in some ways it’s remarkable he kept managing to work at all. In his final years, he tried to present a picture of wellness and sobriety to inspire others. Now we know he was suffering. We might end up seeing a bit more of that with Netflix’s Matthew Perry documentary.
Matthew Perry’s Sister Speaks Out
The One About Matthew Perry is a three-part series that will air this October on Netflix. It aims to highlight the late actor’s career without shying away from his issues. His sister, Mia Perry Bowick, released a statement about the upcoming project. “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.” No person is just one thing. It’s very easy for society to slap a label on someone. It’s even easier when it’s a negative label like “addict.”
Mary Robertson directed the docuseries, which will include a number of interviews. Some of the people include ex-girlfriends, collaborators from film and television, and close friends. It sounds like it’s not going to be an easy watch. But any honest Matthew Perry documentary is not going to be all laughter and joy. In the trailer for the series, he talks about emptiness and how fame didn’t fill that. It rarely does, as we know from so many other celebrities who face addiction issues. That’s how powerful it can be. Sometimes the most affluent people in the world are helpless before it. There are poor addicts who are found dead in the street. Matthew Perry’s wealth only amounted to him being found dead in a hot tub.
The Cruel Nature of Addiction
That might sound cold and crass, but it’s the blunt reality of addiction. Some people are more predisposed to it than others. It doesn’t discriminate based on wealth. Your money may give you more access to recovery options. Then again, it can also give you more access to furthering and enabling that addiction. It gave Perry access to the ketamine that eventually would contribute to his death. Additionally, regardless of income, society judges very harshly. We discussed this in August with the death of Hayden Panettiere. As a culture, we need to step up and view addicts as more than just their illness. If we boil someone down to just that trait, just that disease, we’re robbing them of who they are as a whole. It helps nothing. Hopefully this upcoming series helps in showcasing that.
The documentary, The One About Matthew Perry, will premiere on Netflix on October 27th, 2026.
