The One Where They Leave… Netflix

“Friends” was officially taken off Netflix on January 1, 2020, after five strong years on the streaming platform and a 2019 petition to postpone the show’s removal. During its initial airing from 1994 to 2004, “Friends” was extremely popular and consistently did well in syndication. However, a new generation of fans came to “Friends” when it was added to Netflix in 2014. During its time on the platform, “Friends” has grown in popularity, which can be seen by the profits made from merchandise such as shirts, posters, mugs, and more. There was even a huge pop-up shop in Soho that replicated Monica’s apartment and Central Perk; the shop was always fully booked and cost $30 per ticket. There were also many celebrations for the show’s recent 25th anniversary, proving the continuing relevance and legacy of “Friends.”

Filmed in the 1990s, “Friends” is a sitcom about six adults living in New York City and their intertwined love lives. Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel’s (Jennifer Aniston) complicated on-and-off relationship and Monica (Courtney Cox) and Chandler’s (Matthew Perry) hook-up and eventual marriage were both funny and wildly popular storylines. “Friends” is hilarious, whether it’s Ross screaming “PIVOT,” Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) changing her name to “Princess Consuela Banana Hammock,” or Joey (Matt LeBlanc) saying “How you doin’?” The show’s setting centers around the iconic café, Central Perk, where they exchange gossip and hang out together. The show remains lighthearted and finds humor in the seemingly benign world of these six adults, entertaining its audience with the group’s almost adjoined apartments, carefree banter, dating lives, occasional petty behavior, and sweet camaraderie.

Personally, my favorite character is Phoebe because of her quirkiness. However, what’s so special is that each “Friends” fan has a different favorite character, whether it’s Ross, the divorced paleontologist, Rachel, who is spoiled and fashionable, Monica, the uptight neat freak, Chandler, who copes with life by making jokes, Joey, the broke actor, or Phoebe, the eccentric masseuse. The diversity of their personalities despite their familiar and relatable struggles and mistakes make “Friends” a sitcom for all ages.

Adults are surprised by the popularity of “Friends” among a younger audience. Despite the show’s noticeable lack of social media and the internet, the timeless charm of “Friends'' could stem from the engaging storyline and the tight-knit friendships between the characters, a perpetual ideal that translates to any generation.

“Friends” is a great show to binge-watch, and from experience, easy to play on repeat. Though nothing can replace it, I would recommend Netflix’s “The Office” as a substitute, until it too leaves Netflix in 2021. “The Office,” like “Friends,” is a comedy you can easily binge-watch or enjoy casually. Both shows make you laugh out loud and tend to use absurd scenes for comedic effect.

However, you don’t need to find a full replacement for “Friends,” as the show will be on HBO Max and is still available on cable TV. HBO bought the right to stream “Friends” from Netflix and is likely to come out later this year. It reportedly spent $425 million on the rights to “Friends” and is even planning to host a 25th-anniversary reunion with the actors, using their new investment to attract subscribers. Hopefully, HBO Max will perform so well that “Friends” will stay the staple that it is today. I always hear of past iconic shows like “Seinfeld” (1989), but because they aren’t available on many streaming platforms, they are mostly being forgotten by my generation. My bet is that “Friends” will remain known as the phenomenon it is today.