Friends leaving Netflix? Streaming giant removing the hit series was a ‘rumor’ [UPDATED]

Courteney Cox and Matthew Perry as Monica and Chandler on Friends
Friends appears to be leaving Netflix in January. Pic credit: NBC

This story has been updated to reflect the most recent developments. 

Friends is NOT leaving Netflix, despite information on the streaming service over the weekend leading many fans to believe it was.

The enduringly popular series has been on Netflix for several years now, whenever fans needed a good laugh — or even a good cry.

So they went into a frenzy when it looked like the streaming giant was removing the hit series from its archives.

From the relationship evolution of Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) to the unlikely pairing of Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry), the show has been a staple for many Netflix viewers for years.

Even though it has been 15 years since the series’ official season finale aired on NBC, the show is still widely popular in both the United States and the United Kingdom. So it’s no wonder fans were left freaking out after being left thinking that it was being taken off the streaming service.

However, Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos has since revealed that the claims were just “a rumor”. While the show’s departure may still happen at some point in the future (see below), it is staying on Netflix for now.

Friends being taken off Netflix rumor

It appeared that Friends was leaving Netflix on January 1, 2019, after user accounts began showing a notification saying the programme was “available until 01/01/2019”.

That would have meant there was less than a month for people to get their Friends fix in before the show left the streaming giant.

This did not go over well with viewers, who took to social media to vent their frustrations.

Since then, the “January 1” departure date has been removed from the Friends’ show page on Netflix.

Why would Friends leave Netflix at all?

Friends leaving Netflix at some point is still a very real possibility. Why? Because WarnerMedia, which produced the show, looks set to launch its own streaming platform next year — a move they announced back in October. Disney is also launching a similar service.

If Friends is eventually taken off Netflix, one thing’s for sure — it isn’t going to go down well with fans. Aside from the usual upset tweets this time around, some even threatened to cancel their subscriptions to the streaming giant.

WarnerMedia has not yet commented on Friends and the potential for it leaving Netflix. Stay tuned!

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments