Friends Is Leaving Netflix Early Next Year

While the most recent season of Stranger Things may have reignited our love of the 80s, it seems the decade after has remained more popular than ever. Whether you place your flag firmly in the Seinfeld camp (as I do) or side with the Central Perk Six (a horrible reference, I know), it’s hard to deny the popularity of Friends, which has managed to endure ever since the show kicked off in 1994.

Nearly 250 episodes later, the NBC sitcom has seen a resurgence, thanks in part to Netflix – the company added it to their streaming platform back in 2015. The deal, which cost a whopping $100 million, ensured that fans would be able to watch the adventures of Ross, Rachel, Joey, Chandler, Monica and Phoebe until 2020. Unfortunately though, it doesn’t seem like these so-called friends will always be there for us.

Earlier today, Netflix confirmed that the much-beloved show would be leaving their streaming platform on January 1st, 2020. It seems the series is heading to WarnerMedia’s HBO Max service, which will become the new home for a variety of programming, including all Arrowverse shows, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and content from networks such as Adult Swim and The CW. As you might imagine, fans were terribly upset to hear their suspicions confirmed, and took to Twitter to share their reactions.

https://twitter.com/Chiefkenny01/status/1148692724847190017

https://twitter.com/TheBlakeBagu/status/1148665246799675392

https://twitter.com/pjimcrawfish/status/1148669020503191554

https://twitter.com/Zackiscool44/status/1148659104333873152

my initial thought finding out that Friends will no longer be on netflix pic.twitter.com/eB5VAEZq8P

— nic (@anistonily) July 9, 2019

As a few posts have pointed out, it seems that a sizable number of people tend to watch The Office and Friends over and over, which makes sense if you’re looking for something easy or familiar to have on in the background. Unfortunately, NBC’s other megahit is leaving Netflix in 2021. That means a lot of subscribers will have to, you know, venture out of their comfort zone and check out something new.