Netflix has released a three-part documentary series titled "The One About Matthew Perry," focusing on the late actor's decades-long struggle with addiction and his death from a ketamine overdose in the fall of 2023. The series relies on commentary from family, friends and Perry's own past interviews.
No major celebrities from Perry's "Friends" cast appear, nor does longtime friend and "Simpsons" star Hank Azaria, or collaborators such as Bradley Whitford and Aaron Sorkin. Whether this reflects limited access for director Mary Robertson ("Quiet on Set") or a deliberate choice, the result is a more personal depiction of Perry's fight with a chronic disease.
The unofficial narrator is Perry's younger half-sister Mia Perry Bowick, a therapist who describes the experience of sharing a loved one's life with the public. She is joined by close friends Roger Castillo and David Pressman, who recount pre-fame evenings with Perry and Azaria at West Hollywood's Formosa Cafe, as well as ex-girlfriends and a Gen Z individual who met Perry during rehab. Bowick notes the age gap helped bond them: "I was born in 1997; you're not that big a deal to me." Director Jonathan Lynn also comments on Perry's artistic talent, while most interviewees speak to the aspects of his life that remained hidden until his 2022 memoir.
Because Perry disclosed many details of his recovery later in life, the series does not unveil major new facts. An opening title card describes the program as "the story of Matthew Perry's life, as told by his family and friends, and by Matthew himself." The production avoids AI-generated content, relying on archival footage and Perry's previously recorded voice.
Perry is quoted saying, "God, you can do anything you want to me; just please make me famous," a prayer he made before landing "Friends." He later remarks that "God didn't forget" about that first part. The docuseries compiles known events such as his 2018 sepsis-induced coma caused by opiate use, adding personal testimonies and remarks like "intimacy was his greatest fear and his greatest wish." Perry's own line "Reality is an acquired taste" also appears.
Representatives from "Friends" include writer Jeff Strauss and former NBC Entertainment president Warren Littlefield. The series places the sitcom's run, which ends by the midway point, within the broader context of Perry's life, including a turbulent childhood with remarried parents, attempts at follow-up projects like "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," and addiction's impact on his career. The 2021 "Friends" reunion is shown as a source of anxiety, as Perry was still recovering from his coma and dealing with online criticism.
The three-episode format allows the series to trace the long, intermittent nature of Perry's addiction, beginning with prescribed painkillers after an on-set injury during the 1997 film "Fools Rush In," and moving through cycles of relapse, detox and sobriety. The final minutes address the circumstances of his death, noting criminal convictions for his dealers and live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who administered the lethal dose. Former U.S. Attorney interviews provide legal context, while Bowick condemns Iwamasa for not alerting family members to Perry's ketamine use.
All three episodes of "The One About Matthew Perry" are now streaming on Netflix.