While the three-part Matthew Perry documentary is set to premiere this month, five familiar faces will be notably absent.
Matthew’s Friends co-stars, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Courteney Cox have all declined to appear in the Netflix special, three years after his tragic death.
New Idea understands that they felt it was simply too soon to revisit their grief publicly, and have chosen to honour Matthew in their own way and in their own time.
“It’s still too raw,” an insider tells us.
“Jen and Lisa are still unable to speak about Matthew without breaking down. It’s way too soon for them to do this, even Matt and David weren’t comfortable about it.
“They want to honour Matthew on their own terms, in their own time and not dilute anyone else’s message or memories about him.
“They’re going to do their own special, but they’re not going to be pushed either.
“This was a man they group hugged every day for a decade – this will never stop being a deeply personal loss for Jen and co.”
Netflix’s three-part special, The One About Matthew Perry, will premiere on the platform on October 27.
One of Matthew’s four sisters, Mia Perry Bowick, will speak on camera for the first time, sharing insights into the late actor’s life away from the public eye.
The trailer has seen Mia open up about Matthew’s struggles with addiction, revealing he spent $7millionUSD trying to get sober.
Though the Friends cast have chosen not to take part, many of Matthew’s closest friends and recovery companions will also feature in on-camera testimonies.
The documentary is being released three years after Matthew passed away on October 28, 2023, at his Los Angeles home.
Matthew, aged 54, was found in his backyard hot tub and died from “the acute effects of anaesthetic ketamine”, according to the coroner’s report.
His autopsy also listed accidental drowning as a contributing factor.
Five people were charged, pleaded guilty and sentenced in connection with supplying the ketamine that led to Matthew’s death.
Matthew’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, was sentenced to 41 months in prison.
He was found guilty of injecting Matthew with ketamine and working with two doctors to provide the actor with over $50,000USD of the drug in the weeks before his death.
Jasveen Sangha, known as “The Ketamine Queen”, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of distribution of ketamine, one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury, and one count of using her home for drug distribution.
Drug addiction counsellor Erik Fleming was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of probation for distributing ketamine, resulting in death. Prosecutors said he delivered 50 vials of Sangha’s ketamine for Matthew’s personal use, marking up the price for profit.
Dr Salvador Plasencia admitted to selling Matthew’s 20 vials of ketamine in the weeks before his death and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, two years of probation and a $5,600 fine on four counts of ketamine distribution.
Dr Mark Chavez, who provided Plasencia with the doses given to the actor, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and was sentenced to eight months of home confinement and three years of supervised release.
