Wait, what do you MEAN we won’t be able to binge-watch ‘Friends’ on Netflix anymore?
2020 is shaping up to be quite a challenging year for many reasons—politics being just one of them. Another concern? Our beloved shows are disappearing from Netflix, and ‘Friends’ is the latest to join the list of casualties. We’ve already lost ‘The Office’; how could they do this to us?
The silver lining is that ‘Friends’ will find a new streaming home, but that also means we’ll need to pay for yet another subscription service. This new platform is HBO Max, which sounds promising, but still—ugh. Netflix and ‘Friends’ are like peanut butter and jelly, for crying out loud.
According to reports from Variety, HBO Max will have exclusive streaming rights to all 236 episodes of ‘Friends’ when it launches, officially taking it off Netflix in 2020. “We’re sad to see ‘Friends’ move to Warner’s streaming service at the start of 2020,” a spokesperson said.
This situation might seem familiar. Back in December 2018, we faced the heart-wrenching news that ‘Friends’ would be taking a break from Netflix—permanently. However, after a flood of emotional messages from fans, they decided to extend its stay for another year.
Netflix had initially renewed its contract with Warner Bros. TV for exclusive streaming rights until the end of 2019, but AT&T CEO Mark Thompson recently announced that WarnerMedia would be reclaiming popular titles for its own streaming service, HBO Max.
Alongside ‘Friends’ and ‘The Office’, Disney is also pulling all of its movies from Netflix as they prepare to launch their own service, Disney+, later this year. While it’s frustrating to juggle our favorite shows across multiple platforms, one upside of Disney+ is that the notorious vault system will no longer exist—yay for that!
When it comes to losing ‘Friends’ to HBO Max, fans have mixed emotions. On the bright side, HBO Max will offer a range of binge-worthy content, including ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ and ‘Pretty Little Liars’, as well as new original series like an animated ‘Gremlins’ reboot and a thriller titled ‘The Flight Attendant’ starring Kaley Cuoco. WarnerMedia also revealed production deals with popular actress Reese Witherspoon, so there’s that.
Yet, as Chandler Bing would say, having ‘Friends’ right there on Netflix always provided a comforting escape from feeling “hopeless, awkward, and desperate for love.”
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In summary, the departure of ‘Friends’ from Netflix has stirred up a whirlwind of emotions among fans. While HBO Max will host the beloved series, the transition also means yet another subscription to manage. As we navigate this streaming landscape, let’s hold onto the hope that our favorite shows will still be accessible, even if it requires a little more effort.