Friends canon would seem to be a fairly simple concept on the surface, but recent developments imply that notable alterations have been made.
Friends is one of the biggest sitcoms of all time, but its canon may have been altered years after the show reached its conclusion. As far as its continuity goes, Friends is fairly straightforward. While there is often great debate in other franchises regarding what counts as official lore, Friends seems to be cut and dry.
However, an intriguing circumstance has arisen since the show’s end that could have retconned a sizable area of the Friends universe.
The beloved Friends cast disbanded in 2004. Friends’ final episode broke a 10-year show tradition by adjusting its titling convention, with Friends season 10 finale being called, “The Last One.” This was a last-second departure from a decade of the show prefacing each episode with “The One…” The show’s end was a deeply emotional affair that seemed to wrap everything up into a neat little package. While the final episode wasn’t the end of Friends lore at the time, it could have been made the case retroactively in the years since.
Friends’ Joey Spinoff Isn’t Available To Stream Anywhere In The US
Matt LeBlanc’s Friends sequel show is hard to find
The Friends season 10 finale was the end of the road for all the main cast except for Matt LeBlanc. The actor was the sole member of the main six to have his own spinoff and continue his character’s story.
The spinoff in question, Joey, took Joey Tribianni out of New York and moved him to LA to continue his acting career. Despite the success of its parent show, Joey crashed rather quickly and was canceled after two seasons. The shame of Joey’s failure was so absolute that it’s not on any streaming platforms in the US.
Friends is one of the best sitcoms of all time and continues to be one of the most streamed in the world, but the truth behind LeBlanc’s follow-up series couldn’t be further from this level of success. There were several reasons why Friends’ Joey spinoff failed, one of which was the lack of guest stars from the franchise’s rich history.
However, the show was so poorly received that NBC appears to have buried Joey without a trace. For those who wish to stream Joey Tribianni’s solo exploits, it’s simply not possible in any official capacity.
Joey’s Absence From Streaming Services Could Mean The Show Is No Longer Friends Canon
Fans can still decide whether to include Joey’s show in Friends lore
Given the huge disparity in success between Friends and Joey, the latter could have been thought to have been damaging the legacy of the former. Making the spinoff so difficult to watch may be a sign that NBC no longer wishes the events of Joey to be acknowledged as Friends canon. Although it’s clear that Joey was initially supposed to be part of the main Friends continuity, its negative reception and low ratings have seemingly caused this decision to be reversed.
It is still possible to purchase both seasons of Joey in the form of DVD box sets, which is a format becoming more and more destructive by the year. However, the fact that the episodes are still officially available in any form may imply that it’s up to fans whether they count Joey as canon or not. There are no clashes in lore between the two shows, it’s just that the quality of Joey just wasn’t up to the task of matching that of Friends.
