The Friends Finale Is Turning 20 This Year Without Matthew Perry. How The Rest Of The Cast Is Reportedly Planning To Move Forward
It’s hard to believe that two full decades have passed since Matthew Perry spoke the final line on Friends — a joke about where the six core characters could go for a cup of coffee. As the 20th anniversary of “The Last One” approaches on May 6, it will be a bittersweet day, falling less than a year after Perry died at age 54. Sources say the surviving cast members still want to celebrate the milestone, and they are allegedly figuring out the most appropriate way to do that without their Chandler.
The six stars of Friends — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry — all came together on-screen just one time after the 2004 series finale, for Friends: The Reunion (available to stream with a Max subscription). The knowledge that they can never do that again is reportedly weighing on the actors as they approach that 20-year milestone. According to an insider for US Weekly:
The prospect of having a reunion or a formal get-together without Matthew is bittersweet. There will be a huge void. [But] they know Matthew would’ve wanted them to carry on and celebrate the show. So that’s very much on their minds as they move forward.
Matthew Perry delivered some of Friends’ most hilarious quotes as Chandler Bing, and just like the sitcom couldn’t have existed without the statistical analysis and data reconfiguration expert, a formal reunion to mark the finale’s 20th anniversary wouldn’t be the same without Perry.
The cast, however, is still in touch with each other “frequently,” the source reports. They have group chats and will get together one-on-one, with Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox apparently being in “constant contact.” The insider said Matthew Perry’s October 2023 passing was a wakeup call for the other five friends, explaining:
Matthew’s death reminded them how precious life is and the importance of catching up with each other more frequently. It underlined the unbreakable bond they share and the need to look out for each other.
The fact that they have Friends to thank for their success and the relationships formed through that shared 10-year experience isn’t lost on them, and that’s why they “most certainly” will be commemorating the May 6 anniversary. The source continued:
For all their individual successes after Friends, nothing else comes even close to that experience. They continue to look back on it with a huge amount of love, and of course, they’ll be giving Matthew credit for everything he contributed.
The Friends cast paid tribute to Matthew Perry with a touching message after his death, and it will be interesting to see how they decide to handle this first big milestone fpr the show.
If you want to honor the late actor, you can check out some of Matthew Perry’s best movie and TV appearances or relive some of Chandler’s best episodes. All 10 seasons of the sitcom can be streamed on Max (one of the best streaming services to purchase, per CinemaBlend staffers).
