I Won’t Be There for You: Friends is leaving Netflix – and angering fans | friends

If you’ve noticed a growing sense of millennial angst in the air lately, it’s likely because Friends is leaving Netflix this month. And the fans, reader, didn’t take it well.

“So angry,” one viewer tweeted upon hearing the news. “I’m canceling my Netflix subscription,” another fumed. “Fuck friends is leaving NETFLIX in the UK what am I going to do to relax this has been the show that put me to sleep since I was a kid what do you mean it’s coming from NEFLIX I’m sorry,” wrote a third, who simultaneously managed to capture the mood of the nation while retaining a healthy sense of perspective. But no.

Unfortunately, this is true. On December 30, Friends will leave Netflix, where it has been streaming since 2015. Which really shouldn’t be a surprise, since shows have a habit of bouncing around streaming services. I remember trying to rewatch Mad Men a few years ago, a quest that ended up being a game of Whack-a-Mole status as it moved from Sky to Netflix to God knows where. It’s just part of the modern landscape.

However, the fact that Friends, of all shows, is the one that pushed people over the edge says a lot about television in 2025. For one thing, Friends is not dying at all. The finale aired 21 years ago, but despite it all – the changing tastes, the new writing, the increased choice – it remains such a cult favorite that The Independent recently named it “the most rewatched series on Netflix.”

This, of course, means they are highly valuable. In 2018, Netflix had to renegotiate in order to keep Friends in its global lineup, and had to shell out between $80 million and $100 million to do so. This was for a one year deal. In fairness, this is still a good deal for everyone involved; Even at the higher end, that amount was less than 1% of Netflix’s revenue in 2018, and Friends ended up being the most-watched show on any streaming service in the UK that year.

But we now live in an era of streaming wars, where multiple platforms are fighting tooth and nail for every subscriber they can get. This is why Friends is really leaving Netflix. Friends is a Warner Bros. Warner Bros. is about to launch HBO Max in the UK for the first time. It can be said that no existing offer will be able to attract subscribers like friends. It makes sense, then, for HBO Max to claim Friends as its own series.

Apart from this, the hype also provides an insight into how people actually watch television. You’ll notice that very few fans are upset because Friends is a good show; Instead, they are heartbroken because their routine has been disrupted. For them, friends are a piece of relaxing background noise that they can turn on while they do other things. Spend any time on X and you’ll see people talking about watching Friends while they eat, study, or do jobs around the house. It is a symptom that people use to manage their ADHD. It is a sleep aid.

This makes a lot of sense, because one of the most amazing things about Friends has always been its efficiency. This was not a show that took risks or played with form. It’s a show in which six attractive people fire off gags with automatic weapons in a very specific rhythm for over 20 minutes. The studio audience laughs. Every few minutes there is a burst of interstitial music. There is a pattern to it, a comfortable rhythm that you can set your body clock to.

But look, this has happened before. You may remember the days when Friends was an E4 mainstay, with episodes showing more or less around the clock. Friends left E4 in 2011, and there were similar protests at that time as well. “E4 is dead!” People cried on the forums. “Is Channel 4 burning all its bridges?” In a move that occurred in 2011, there was an online petition to save it from moving to Comedy Central. “I am absolutely, utterly disgusted,” the message read. In a larger step in 2011, the petition received 81 signatures.

The point is, everyone survived it. Continue E4. Friends moved. Fans have found her again. Just because you quit Netflix, doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. What’s more, we live in an era of such aggressive media consolidation that Netflix may end up owning the streaming side of Warner Bros., for which it made a bid last month; If you succeed, you’ll likely have friends again by Christmas. Maybe don’t cancel this subscription yet.