Credit: NBC

Could this be any more heartbreaking? You heard that in Chandler Bing’s voice, didn’t you? Of course you did. More than two decades after Friends ended, Matthew Perry‘s cadence remains ingrained in our memories. The man who gave us sarcastic pauses so memorable and comic timing so perfect seems hard to erase.

But come on, Perry was never just Chandler Bing, no matter how impossible it became to separate the two in our heads. He gave Chandler that razor-sharp comic timing for 236 episodes of Friends, but once the cameras were elsewhere, he spoke with remarkable candour about the addiction that had taken up far too much space in his life.

And then came October 2023. Perry passed away from an accidental overdose at just 54, and as sad as it sounds, suddenly all those scenes we had laughed at for years brought us an ache none of us had asked for. Now, Netflix is returning to the man behind all of it, and to be honest, it was about time.

Titled The One About Matthew Perry (yes, even the name gets you), the three-part documentary comes from Emmy-winning director Mary Robertson and promises an intimate account of Perry through people who knew him when the cameras were nowhere around.

What will The One About Matthew Perry cover?

Rather than treating Perry’s life as another celebrity chronology, the series will trace the distance between the comic star millions thought they knew and the man his family and friends knew at home. It will move through his ascent to Friends fame and focus on his battles with addiction, as well as the work he later did to help others struggling with the same illness.

And this is where it may become difficult to keep the eyes dry. Perry’s sister, Mia Perry Bowick, has given never-before-heard testimony, while lifelong friends and creative collaborators will share their memories too. The production has also been given access to unreleased photographs and videos from the Perry family archive.

Bowick says she wants viewers to understand her brother as a whole person rather than just Chandler or a man defined by addiction. She told Netflix, “Matthew had a beautiful heart and a generous spirit, and even in his darkest moments, he could still make you laugh and feel loved.” That might seem like just another statement that tells us exactly why this documentary is so special.

Is there a trailer?

No, we just have the announcement from Netflix about the said documentary, which reveals his family involvement, archival material and creative team, but a full trailer has not been released.

When does The One About Matthew Perry release?

The One About Matthew Perry arrives on Netflix on October 27th, almost three years after Perry’s death. Prepare yourself, people, because this one is going to hurt big time.