Netflix is preparing to pull back the curtain on one of television’s most beloved yet complicated figures. The streaming giant has commissioned what it is calling the “first in-depth, definitive documentary” about the late Matthew Perry, with the actor’s own sister among those set to share deeply personal recollections for the first time.
Titled The One About Matthew Perry, the three-part series will chart the journey of a man who became a global household name as Chandler Bing on Friends while privately battling an addiction that would ultimately claim his life. Perry died in October 2023 at the age of 54 from the acute effects of ketamine. The documentary will arrive on Netflix on 27 October — one day before the third anniversary of his death.
A Sister Ready to Tell Her Story
At the heart of the series is Mia Perry Bowick, Matthew’s younger sister, who says she has spent years working up the courage to speak publicly about her brother.
“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,” Bowick said in a statement released by Netflix.
She continued: “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.”
Bowick has also handed over unreleased footage from the Perry family’s private archive, offering what Netflix describes as an unprecedented window into the actor’s life beyond the red carpets and sitcom soundstages.
The Vision Behind the Project
Directing the series is Mary Robertson, an Emmy winner who frames the documentary as a long-overdue corrective to a public narrative that often reduced Perry to his most famous role. “Through his many films, TV and stage performances, and his unforgettable portrayal of Chandler Bing, he made millions of us laugh, connect, and feel a little less alone,” Robertson said.
“He also gave us so much more by bravely speaking about addiction. Yet the public only knew part of his story.”
Robertson’s mission, she explained, is straightforward: “To let the people who knew and loved Matthew reveal the person behind the public figure.” Former creative collaborators and lifelong friends will also contribute “candid new details on his private struggles,” according to Netflix.
A Mother Keeps Her Son’s Memory Alive
The announcement lands in the same week that Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, marked what would have been her son’s 57th birthday. The Matthew Perry House — a foundation established in his name to support those grappling with addiction — shared her tribute on 19 August.
“August 19th. It’s his birthday. Matthew was born 57 years ago today, a day that I feel as keenly as if [it] all happened this very morning,” Morrison wrote. “Along with all the days he struggled, and the days he hid his addiction from the world, and even from me.”
“Sweet, loving, funny, cantankerous, pig-headed Matthew, who wanted — so much — to be well. I miss him terribly. All the time. Every day.”
Her words carried a determination to continue the work Perry championed in his final years. “And I hear him saying over and over in those last days of his life, ‘I just want to help people like me, stuck in the disease of addiction,'” Morrison wrote. “He can’t anymore. But we can. And with your help, we will.”
Why it Matters
Perry spent much of his final chapter trying to destigmatise addiction through candour rather than silence, and the foundation bearing his name continues that fight today. This documentary arrives at a moment when streaming audiences have grown hungry for celebrity portraits that resist hagiography in favour of honesty. By centring voices closest to Perry — particularly his sister, whose grief has clearly shaped her willingness to participate — Netflix is signalling that the man behind Chandler Bing finally deserves a tribute as layered, funny and painfully human as the performances that made him famous.
