‘Friends’ Is Leaving Netflix in January and Fans Are Devastated

Warner Bros.

No one told “Friends” fans life was gonna be this way: The sitcom favorite is leaving Netflix next month.
Over the weekend, Netflix subscribers began noticing warnings from the streaming service that “Friends” was due to be removed from the company’s library on January 1, 2019. As you can imagine, the news elicited a collective horrified gasp of “Oh. My. GAWD!”

“Friends” first landed on Netflix back in 2015, and immediately became one of the most-watched series on the streaming service, especially appealing to younger audiences that were in diapers during the show’s original run. But as Collider points out, Netflix paid a hefty price to acquire the “Friends” rights, and with its pivot (“PI-VOT!”) to more and more original programming, it makes more financial sense to take a break from the sitcom. (Though it seems that fans are even less forgiving than Rachel about this whole “break” situation.)
Another likely factor in this change is the impending launch of “Friends” producer WarnerMedia’s own streaming service, of which “Friends” would obviously be a cornerstone. It remains to be seen, however, if fans will really shell out for yet another standalone service, or just hope to catch a “Friends” rerun on one of the many cable channels in which it airs in syndication.
While you mull over whether or not to make yet another withdrawal from your bank account, catch “Friends” on Netflix now, while it’s still there for you.
[via: Twitter Moments, Collider]

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