Netflix Reveals When 'Friends' Is Officially Leaving Streaming Service

Friends will not be there for you for much longer. After announcing earlier this year that the [...]

By Allison Schonter

Friends will not be there for you for much longer. After announcing earlier this year that the beloved sitcom, one of the most-streamed series on Netflix, would be leaving the streaming platform in 2020, Netflix has revealed Friends' official departure date. According to the series' streaming page, Friends will be leaving Netflix on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020.

It had been announced in July of this year that the series was poised to be pulled from the streamer in favor of the new Warner Bros. streaming platform HBO Max, which will include the exclusive streaming rights at launch to all 236 episodes of Friends.

"We're sorry to see Friends go to Warner's steaming service at the beginning of 2020 (in The US). Thanks for the memories, gang," Netflix announced at the time.

Set to launch in spring 2020, meaning fans will have to go several months without the series, HBO Max will combine content from HBO with a slate of originals and programming from Warner Bros., New Line, DC Entertainment, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, The CW, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth and Looney Tunes — as well as original feature films from producer Greg Berlanti and Reese Witherspoon.

Although the news doesn't necessarily come as a surprise, it is still hitting fans hard, and some are even threatening to cancel their Netflix subscription.

"The day they take [Friends] off netflix is the day I cancel Netflix," one wrote.

"I will cancel my subscription from Netflix If you stop streaming friends," another fan commented on the news.

Unfortunately for the streamer, which had reportedly shelled out $100 million to keep Friends through 2019 after news broke in 2018 that the series was poised for a departure, Netflix has recently suffered an abundance of losses as the streaming wars officially kick off. In recent months, dozens of Disney titles have been pulled as Disney+ officially launched last month.

Additionally, the streamer is set to lose the classic NBC sitcom Frasier by the end of the month, with The Office, one of the other most-streamed series on the platform, set to exit sometime this spring.

Meanwhile, Netflix has made a push to bring new original content to its subscribers and has dedicated billions of dollars in funds to the effort.

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