FriendsCreators Reflect on How the 'Huge Loss' of Matthew Perry Makes Show's 30th Anniversary 'a Little Fraught'

Mar. 15, 2025

Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Courteney Cox Arquette as Monica Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller in ‘Friends’.Photo:Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty

Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty

As the 30th anniversary ofFriendsapproaches, the show’s creators are reflecting on marking the milestone withoutMatthew Perry.

CreatorsMarta KauffmanandDavid Cranespoke about the loss of Perry — whodiedafter anaccidental drug overdose— on Oct. 28, 2023, inan interview withTodayahead of the anniversary of the hit NBC sitcom’s premiere on Sunday, Sept. 22

“It’s a huge loss and it does make the 30th a little fraught,” Kauffman said as Crane added, “He made us laugh every day.”

Kauffman also recalled how “David always said [Matthew] was the funniest man in a room.”

From left: Matthew Perry; David Crane and Marta Kauffman.Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic; Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty

Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic; Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty

The actor’s death came more than two years after the cast ofFriends— including Perry,Jennifer Aniston,Courteney Cox,Lisa Kudrow,Matt LeBlancandDavid Schwimmer— reunited for the unscripted specialFriends: The Reunionin May 2021.

“He’d been fighting the good fight for so long, and it did really like, from the reunion, that he had finally found some peace,” executive producer Kevin Bright toldToday.

Speaking withThe Timesfor a 30th-anniversary retrospective of the iconic television series in August, Kauffman opened up about how viewers should celebrate Perry.

Actors clockwise from bottom left, Courteney Cox as ‘Monica Geller’, Matt LeBlanc as ‘Joey Tribbiani’, Lisa Kudrow as ‘Phoebe Buffay’, David Schwimmer as ‘Ross Geller’, Matthew Perry as ‘Chandler Bing’, Jennifer Aniston as ‘Rachel Green’ in a ‘Friends’ group portrait, June 15th 1994.Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

“Two things come to mind [about how to celebrate him]: one of them is to donate to drug treatment centers — let’s fight the disease,” she said.

“And the second way is to watchFriendsand remember him not as a man who died like that but as a man who was hilariously funny and brought joy to everybody,” Kauffman, 67, told the outlet.

After Perry’s death last year, Kauffman and herFriendsco-creatorDavid Craneappeared onTodayto speak about the last exchange they had with the beloved actor.

In August, federal authorities announced that five people, including two doctors and Perry’s personal, live-in assistant, had been charged in connection with his death. TheDepartment of Justice announcedthat Jasveen Sangha and Dr. Salvador Plascencia are facing charges, while assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, Erik Fleming and Dr. Mark Chavez were charged separately.

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“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr. Perry than caring for his well being.”

source: people.com