Matthew Perry’s death is still difficult to think about, especially for those of us who spent years watching him make people laugh as Chandler Bing on Friends. The actor died on Oct. 28, 2023, and now, three years later, Netflix’s The One About Matthew Perry shares deeply personal memories from those who knew him best. One of those stories comes from his younger sister, Mia Perry Bowick, who recalled how Jennifer Aniston and the rest of the Friends cast said goodbye at his funeral.
The three-part documentary, which arrived on Netflix on Oct. 27, follows Perry’s career, his struggles with addiction and the relationships that shaped his life. Director Mary Robertson said she wanted the documentary to capture Perry’s humor while honoring the person his loved ones knew. In the final episode, Bowick remembers the small 2023 service held for family and close friends. The family had arranged a brief open-casket period for their own goodbyes. Then Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer arrived together. As Bowick explained:
At the funeral, we arranged for just the family to have it be open casket for a little while for all of us. The funeral was very small, close friends and family.
Given how unexpectedly Perry died, I can understand why his family wanted to keep the funeral small and intimate. Of course, his Friends co-stars were among those who came to pay their respects, and Bowick recalled a particularly heartbreaking moment when all five arrived together:
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The rest of the Friends cast all walked in together. I hadn’t seen them in easily 20 years. Jen Aniston was the first one of them to come up to me and give me a huge hug. But they all did. And then, all five of them walked up to the casket holding hands and stood around him, crying.
It’s heartbreaking to imagine those five actors standing together at Perry’s casket, especially knowing how much history they shared. For 10 seasons, they brought one of television’s most beloved groups of friends to life, and somewhere along the way, those on-screen friendships became real ones. They spent a decade working together, navigating sudden fame, and building relationships that lasted long after Friends ended.
Since Perry’s death, several of his former co-stars have opened up about what losing him has been like. Lisa Kudrow, for instance, has spoken about finding comfort in rewatching Friends after Perry’s death, explaining that seeing him on-screen reminds her of just how funny he was.
Aniston has also been particularly open about how much Perry meant to her, which makes her gesture toward Bowick all the more touching. Following his death, the actress spoke about texting with him that very morning and later encouraged fans to celebrate him. The surviving cast members also released a touching joint statement in the days following his death, describing their bond as a family and asking for time to grieve.
Interestingly, none of Perry’s Friends co-stars sat for new interviews in the Netflix series. Director Mary Robertson told Netflix’s Tudum that the team approached them, but they declined. Given what Bowick describes, I don’t think their absence from the documentary should be interpreted as a lack of love. Robertson has said the project instead gives space to Perry’s family and longtime friends to share the person they knew outside the sitcom.
Bowick is one of those voices. In a separate interview with Netflix’s Tudum, she discussed how difficult it was to revisit her brother’s life and how making the documentary helped her process her own grief. She’s a psychotherapist, and this was the first time she’d spoken about Perry on camera. That makes her willingness to share a memory as private as his funeral feel particularly significant.
The One About Matthew Perry is now streaming with a Netflix subscription. It’s an emotional story, but Bowick’s recollection of his funeral is likely to stay with me, especially the detail of five friends holding hands beside someone they loved.
