If binge-watching “Friends” is your idea of a perfect pastime, there’s something you should know: The beloved sitcom and Netflix are officially on a break!
As of New Year’s Day, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey and Phoebe are packing up and moving all 236 episodes off of the streaming service.
And if you still want to watch them, you’re going to have pivot.
Back in 2015, Netflix secured the rights to “Friends” for $30 million, but as the popularity of the series continued to soar with younger audiences, that price tag went up. Last year, the company reportedly paid an additional $100 million to keep it.
Until now.
But don’t despair! The series that originally ran from 1994 to 2004 will be back on a new streaming home in the spring, with the launch of WarnerMedia and HBO’s highly anticipated service, HBO Max.
The only question that remains for faithful “Friends” fans is, where should they get their fix of Central Perk, “Smelly Cat” and Ugly Naked Guy until then? Well …
While cable networks and broadcast stations will continue to air the show in their regular rotations, binge-watching will require a little creativity.
Digital media stores, like Amazon’s Prime Video, Apple’s iTunes and Google Play, have the episodes available for purchase. Or, for those who prefer to go old-school with their retro TV binges, DVDs and Blu-ray remain options.
And there could be another way to view everyone’s favorite group of small screen pals soon.
In October, Jennifer Aniston revealed that she and her former fellow co-stars have “something” in the works.
“A reboot of the show? No,” she told a hopeful Ellen DeGeneres. “Listen, we would love for there to be something, but we don’t know what that something is, so we’re just trying. … We’re working on something.”
Could that BE any more exciting?!
As the streaming wars continue, expect to see more favorite shows relocate. In fact, another wildly popular sitcom will leave Netflix one year from now. In 2021, “The Office” will move to Peacock, a new streaming service for NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.