Matthew Perry Wasn't Fond Of This Beloved Joey And Chandler Friends Episode
In the wake of the tragic death of Matthew Perry at age 54, fans of "Friends" have been sharing touching tributes to the late star online. One image from the show that has been posted on social media a lot is of Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani sitting in a recliner and looking over to the empty chair next to him, where Chandler Bing, played by Perry, would normally sit.
The friendship between Joey and Chandler was one of the strongest ones on "Friends," and along with being besties, they were also roommates who notably had matching recliners. While the viral photo comes from Season 2, Episode 17, the chairs are a feature in Season 2, Episode 15, where the main storyline is clear from its title — "The One Where Ross and Rachel... You Know." However, that's also the episode in which Chandler and Joey do nothing but sit in their new La-Z-Boy recliners and watch TV. You wouldn't be able to tell it from the final cut of the beloved episode, considering how fun it is, but that was an episode that Perry once referred to as "so stupid."
Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc worked together to make the episode 'fun'
Matt LeBlanc spilled the beans about Matthew Perry's initial opinion of their recliner episode during "Friends: The Reunion" on HBO Max in 2021. LeBlanc said that Perry had come to him after going through the first draft of the episode where he and LeBlanc stay in their chairs the whole time. "[Y]ou came to me and went it's so stupid but I went, 'Yeah but that's the brilliance,'" LeBlanc shared. That apparently got Perry thinking, and LeBlanc said the late actor said, "Yeah, maybe we can have fun with this," which is exactly what they did.
We're glad that Perry had LeBlanc there to reframe what he thought of the possibility in that episode as well as to have fun with as they filmed it. It's sweet to then watch back that Season 2 episode knowing that they were able to enjoy themselves so much. While filming "Friends," Perry was struggling with addiction to drugs and alcohol. And because of his substance abuse, he admitted to BBC Radio 2 that for Seasons 3 through 6 of "Friends," he couldn't really remember much. However, the recliner episode was in Season 2, and when LeBlanc asked Perry in the reunion special if he remembered that one, Perry said he did.