Picture: Warner Bros. Television
Following the passing of Matthew Perry, aged 54, many have taken to rewatching Friends in its entirety or their favorite episodes, with the show ranking again in the top 10s in dozens of Netflix regions around the world and on Max.
Tributes for the late star have been flooding over the past few days, with Perry’s co-stars saying they are “all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew” in a statement to numerous press outlets.
News events have been known to influence the Netflix top 10s in the past. Last year, for example, we saw The Crown re-enter the Netflix top 10s following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Netflix continues to hold the rights to Friends in over a couple dozen of countries around the world, excluding the United States, which famously lost the series back at the beginning of 2020. Other regions, which mostly have the streaming service Max available, lost the series in January 2022. Our understanding is the remaining Netflix regions with Friends streaming will see the rights come up for renewal at the end of 2024.
According to FlixPatrol (data behind paywall), the show currently ranks in the top 10s in 20 countries, with many beginning their new top 10 runs starting October 30th.
Among the countries where the show has re-entered the top 10s is the United Kingdom, where currently ranks 6th. It’s also featuring in the top 10s again in India, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Friends #6 in Netflix Top 10 in the UK
Over the years, Friends has been a frequent appearance in many Netflix top 10s, with FlixPatrol data suggesting the show has spent 1,234 days in various countries’ top 10s over the past few years since the introduction of the top 10s.
Its ability to jump into the top 10s is all the more impressive, considering Netflix changed the way the system works over the summer, with views taking precedence over total hours watched, favoring smaller and newer shows with few episodes.
The bump in viewing didn’t make it qualify for the Netflix top 10s for the week of October 23-29 either, but because of the number of seasons, that’s to be expected.
Max also sees a bump in viewing
FlixPatrol also suggests Max is seeing a bump in viewership, too.
Their data suggests the show has shot to the top 10s in 40 countries making it the second most popular show on Max globally only behind The Gilded Age in terms of points. The show notably hasn’t reappeared in the US Max top 10s, however.
We’ve also seen Friends climb the iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon Top 10s on the VOD side of things this week too.
Are you rewatching Friends following the passing of Matthew Perry? Let us know in the comments.