The One About Matthew Perry: Netflix drops the official trailer for new documentary about the late Friends star's life
Matthew sadly died in 2023Matthew Perry spent $7 million trying to get sober, his sister has revealed in a deeply personal new Netflix documentary titled The One About Matthew Perry.
Netflix previewed the three-part programme in a trailer featuring family memories, unseen photographs and archive audio.
The series examines the Friends actor’s fame, addiction and attempts at recovery before his death aged 54 in 2023.
Matthew Perry’s sister details his sobriety fight in new Netflix documentary
Mia Perry Bowick, a psychotherapist, describes her brother’s long struggle with substance use in the Netflix trailer.
In the footage, Mia says: “He spent $7million trying to get sober.” She adds: “That’s how seriously he took his disease.”
Across his recovery efforts, Matthew entered rehabilitation 15 times and attended 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
He battled alcohol, prescription opioids including Vicodin and OxyContin, and later ketamine over many years.
Mia says she needed time before sharing memories of loving Matthew through his complicated life.
She hopes the series will deepen understanding of Matthew beyond his Friends character Chandler Bing and his addiction.
Mia also remembers Matthew as funny and loving, even during his darkest moments.
Matthew Perry described pain behind Friends fame in new documentary
Archive audio in the trailer captures Matthew discussing the moment Chandler Bing transformed his career.
He says: “I was extremely happy when I got famous.”
He then recalls: “Then it was like, ‘Uh-oh. This didn’t fix what’s inside me.'”
Matthew also recalled being warned that continuing his substance use could kill him, while feeling unable to stop.
Mia says her brother described “that feeling of emptiness or loneliness that he couldn’t quite fill”.
He rose to fame alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer. The role brought enormous success, although addiction frequently interfered with his work during the sitcom’s run. Matthew described those experiences in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
His Vicodin addiction developed after taking the painkiller following a jet-ski accident shortly after joining Friends.
In 2018, his opioid addiction left him with a burst colon, followed by a two-week coma. He then needed a colostomy bag for the following nine months.
Two years later, his heart stopped after a sedative interacted with opioids during treatment in Switzerland. Medical staff resuscitated him, breaking eight ribs in the process. That forced him to leave a planned role opposite Meryl Streep in Don’t Look Up.
When does The One About Matthew Perry air on Netflix?
The three-part series is due on Netflix on October 27, a day before the third anniversary of Matthew’s death.
Directed by Mary Robertson, the series includes Mia and Matthew’s friends David Pressman and Roger Castillo.
Several former girlfriends also contribute, while the Perry family shares photographs from its private collection.
Matthew died in 2023 after drowning in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home following a ketamine overdose.
Anyone struggling with alcohol can contact Alcoholics Anonymous on 0800 917 7650 or [email protected].
For confidential drug support, FRANK is available on 0300 123 6600.
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The One About Matthew Perry debuts on Netflix on October 27.
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