As the investigation into the death of Matthew Perry remains ongoing, the actor’s longtime Friends co-star Lisa Kudrow is remembering the good times. She recently shared that she has been rewatching the beloved comedy series in honor of the late actor, and she has a lot of sweet things to say about the sitcom in retrospect.
Kudrow played Phoebe Buffay alongside Matthew Perry’s Chandler Bing for 10 seasons and 236 episodes of Friends. Here’s what Kudrow recently said about how she’s looking back at her friend:
Honestly, I wasn’t able to watch it because it’s too embarrassing to watch yourself. But if I make it about Matthew, then that’s OK. And it’s just celebrating how hilarious he was — and that is what I want to remember [about him].
Kudrow got to experience all our favorite Friends moments in real-time, but now she is getting the chance to see the episodes we’ve seen over and over, and perhaps attach to those episodes that really made us Matthew Perry fans. While Lisa Kudrow spoke to THR about her time watching one of the best sitcoms, she also said this:
I’m laughing out loud, and everyone is hilarious. I’m blown away by Courteney Cox. I’m blown away by Jen. Matthew, obviously, is just uniquely hilarious. No one ever knew that cadence or comedic rhythm before him. Matt LeBlanc is hilarious. And David Schwimmer, too. Sometimes I even laugh at what I’ve done. So yeah, I mean, that’s my own little way of celebrating [the anniversaries], just watching it. But it’s embarrassing. At home, if anyone walks in the room and I’m watching Friends, that’s a horrible look, I think, don’t you?
I don’t know what’s more embarrassing, Kudrow watching her work in one of the best sitcoms of all time, or me wanting to rewatch the whole series (probably for the 20th time) with my Max subscription? While many of us can’t say we have hours and hours of recordings of a decade of our life to look back on, I’m sure many of us would spend some time looking back on it if we did.
It’s sweet to hear Kudrow is returning to Friends following the death of Matthew Perry, who sadly was on the list of actors we lost in 2023. He died back in October at the age of 54 from the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine. This week, the law enforcement looking into his death told People the investigation is “nearing its conclusion” and believes “multiple people” should be charged for the actor’s death.
Following the Friends finale in 2004, the core cast has remained close. Jennifer Aniston even said that she was texting Perry the morning of his death. When speaking about his memory, Lisa Kudrow shared this as well:
I think the world is remembering him the way he wanted to be remembered. I think that’s happening [already].
Despite the sadness that comes with knowing that the Friends cast will never be completely reunited again and Perry’s life was cut too short, the actor certainly has left behind an incredible legacy, between Friends and being an advocate for others who struggled with addiction like he did.
Lisa Kudrow’s words about Matthew Perry came as the actress stars in a new series called Time Bandits created by Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement and Iain Morris. The fantasy adventure series premieres on the 2024 TV schedule for those with an Apple TV+ subscription on July 24.
