NEED TO KNOW
- The One About Matthew Perry is a new three-part Netflix documentary about the late Friends star.
- His sister speaks out for the first time on camera about his private struggles.
- Close friends are also featured and want Matthew to be remembered for his kindness and desire to help others.
- His Friends co-stars do not particpate, preferring the focus to be with his personal friends and family.
- The documentary premieres on October 27.
Three years after his tragic passing, Matthew Perry’s friends and family are shining a light on his long and determined struggle to recover from his addiction issues – and opening up about his strong desire to help others.
The One About Matthew Perry is a three-part Netflix series about the beloved Friends star, who passed away on October 28, 2023, following an accidental ketamine overdose.
The documentary is primarily voiced by his sister Mia Perry Bowick, who is speaking out for the first time on camera about her mega-star brother.
“He spent $7 million trying to get sober,” Mia, who is a psychotherapist, said. “That’s how seriously he took his disease.”
She also explained: “He used to talk about that feeling of emptiness or loneliness that he couldn’t quite fill.”
But, she added, making people laugh was vital to him because “it made him feel good.”
Of her decision to finally speak out now, Mia says “I hope this series gives everyone who loved him, whether personally or from afar, a deeper appreciation for who he truly was and the legacy he leaves behind.”
Matthew’s Friends co-stars are not involved in the project, with a Hollywood insider telling New Idea that they “didn’t want the focus to be on them and their relationship with Matthew.”
Matthew, who was just 54 when he passed away, certainly realised his keenly felt ambition to make people laugh, especially across the 10 seasons of Friends, in which he starred as the hilariously witty and sarcastic Chandler Bing.
He also had fans in stitches when starring in hit movies including 17 Again and The Whole Nine Yards.
But throughout his years in the limelight, Matthew struggled – openly at times – with addictions to alcohol and drugs.
He especially opened up about those battles in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, poignantly writing at the time, “when I die, I know people will talk about Friends … and I’m glad of that … But, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try and help other people.”
As the Netflix program documents, Matthew did indeed go above and beyond to help others in his situation.
He became an outspoken advocate for addiction recovery, and even for a time, turned his Malibu home into Perry House, a sober-living facility for men recovering from addiction.
Matthew’s good friend, Tim Harrington, who features in the documentary, credits the star with “saving his life” after they met at an addiction recovery meeting in 2001.
They remained close until the end of Matthew’s life.
Tim says his friend was “vulnerable, generous and wide open about his struggles.”
Despite the tragedy and circumstances of his premature death, Matthew’s loved ones hope the documentary reminds his countless fans of his true legacy.
“He brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend,” his mother Suzanne Morrison has noted. “He deserved a third act.”
The National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline is a free and confidential phone service that provides counselling, advice, and information for those struggling with addiction. Call 1800 250 015 or visit the website.
You can also call Lifeline 24/7 on 13 11 14 or visit the website
