The One With Matthew Perry Is A Valuable Lesson For Other Streaming Documentaries

This post contains discussions of addiction.

I was … apprehensive as I sat down to watch the three-part Netflix documentary “The One About Matthew Perry,” which interrogates and fully explains the deeply tragic 2023 death of the “Friends” and “Fools Rush In” star from ketamine use and accidental drowning. A lot of documentaries about celebrities who died in tragic ways feel, for lack of a more elegant term, tawdry. Documentaries like “Whitney” and “I Am Heath Ledger” purport to treat subjects like Whitney Houston and Ledger with respect, but they feel sensationalized, rarely celebrate the joy of the person’s life, and end up seeming empty when all is said and done.

That is not true of “The One About Matthew Perry,” which I found to be a straightforward yet deeply emotional portrait of Perry — a complicated man who struggled with substance abuse for much of his life but tried, fervently, to maintain his sobriety.

Perry’s actual friends and family — people who knew him for many, many decades — are vital parts of this documentary. Perry’s sister Mia Perry Bowick, who became a licensed psychotherapist to better understand Perry’s lifelong addiction issues, is a major presence in all three episodes, as are his longtime friends Roger Castillo and David Pressman, fellow actors and close friends Kevin Pollak and Nate Torrence, and even people who spent time with Perry in rehabilitation centers. Thanks to Emmy winner Mary Robertson’s extremely respectful framing of Perry’s rise to fame and subsequent mental health struggles, “The One About Matthew Perry” is blunt about what Perry went through, but is also a genuinely moving story about addiction that could be meaningful to people on similarly difficult sobriety journeys.

Before this documentary, Mia Perry Bowick — Matthew Perry’s half-sister, with whom he shares their father, John Bennett Perry — had never spoken publicly about her brother’s life, legacy, and difficult life. “It’s taken time for me to feel ready to share these memories and what it was like to love Matthew through all the complexity of his life — to see him as a whole person, not just as Chandler, and not just as someone who struggled with addiction,” she said to Netflix’s publication, Tudum.

It’s hard to find anyone in 2026 whose life hasn’t been touched by addiction in one way or another. Without getting too deep into anything personal, I know that watching a loved one try to overcome addiction can be difficult and, in many cases, devastating. The subject also has to be approached with the utmost sensitivity; as we see in an interview that Perry endured with Peter Hitchens, the late actor was extraordinarily angry when Hitchens, on a talk show, told Perry that addiction is a “choice” and not a disease. “The One About Matthew Perry” dispels this as it gives room for Bowick to speak not just from her experience as a psychotherapist, but eloquently about Perry in particular. She told Tudum:

“As his sister, he shaped who I am today, the person I strive to be, and the work to which I’ve devoted my life. Matthew had a beautiful heart and a generous spirit, and even in his darkest moments, he could still make you laugh and feel loved. I hope this series gives everyone who loved him, whether personally or from afar, a deeper appreciation for who he truly was, and the legacy he leaves behind.”

Through interviews with Matthew Perry’s ex-girlfriends, longtime friends, colleagues, and his sister, “The One About Matthew Perry” doesn’t shy away from some of the more difficult moments of his life and sobriety journey, from a car accident he caused while riding with his friend Marjorie Harris Newman to the fact that Perry was in and out of rehab when he filmed the “Friends” episode where his character, Chandler Bing, marries Monica Geller (Courteney Cox). It also lets friends like Roger Castillo and David Pressman tell stories about their early years in Los Angeles goofing around. When all is said and done, it’s a sweet, humanizing, and difficult portrait of a man who struggled, but tried his best.

Speaking to Vulture, Mary Roberston talked about toeing this seemingly impossible line, saying that the intention of the film is for it to help people. As she put it:

“It’s my intention that the film provide balm and entertainment, which is part of how we help people too. I think Matthew would be really upset if I made a film about his life that wasn’t funny. It was very important to me that this film be as funny as it could be, and that we find levity in the darkness and in the sorrowful moments. I don’t think that humor diminishes our grief or our understanding of his struggles.”

“Friends” fan or not, “The One About Matthew Perry” is one worth watching — and it’s on Netflix now.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).