‘Friends’ Officially Left Netflix on New Year’s Day, and Fans Aren’t Happy

The world may have roared its way into 2020, but as the clock struck midnight, it left one thing […]

January 1, 2020, 2:58pm

The world may have roared its way into 2020, but as the clock struck midnight, it left one thing behind. On New Year’s Day, beloved sitcom Friends officially left Netflix, leaving fans with a hole that just cannot be filled. Although the series’ departure had been a long time coming, its sudden absence from the streaming giant’s catalogue of content is leaving many starting off the new year on a bad note.

I’m over 2020 already. They ripped #Friends right off of #Netflix mid episode and this is the rudest way to start the new year pic.twitter.com/wj9VW1MIZt
— Dee Zayed (@DeeZayed) January 1, 2020

“[Netflix] why would you do this to us,” asked one fan. “We need Friends. It was the show to turn on when going to bed or the fallback show when you couldn’t find anything to watch. Friends is one of the best shows….ever.”

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While today is a happy new year, and a happy new decade….. it was a pretty sad time to flip on Netflix and see that [Friends] was missing,” tweeted another, who added a series of crying emojis.

I don’t know why we’re acting like 2020 is going to be “the year.” Honestly we’re already 0-1 because #Friends is no longer on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/svcj1oHQkB
— Paige Boeckner (@pboeckner) January 1, 2020

“I’m absolutely crushed,” added one Netflix subscriber. “There are days when I just need to turn on [Netflix] and binge some [Friends] while meal prepping just to ‘de-stress’. Thank you [Netflix] for failing at life. Great job.”

“[Friends] not being on [Netflix] is already the worst thing in 2020!!” wrote one fan.

Officially #Friends went out of viewing at 3:27am from @netflix . I binge watched till the end when it was suddenly interrupted by a preview of other show. Bye Friends! It’s truly the end of an era. pic.twitter.com/70sM8cCdd7
— Jeff’s Blue Wave 🌊🌊🏄🌊 (@JeffMagnato) January 1, 2020

Fear that Friends‘ fate was hanging in limbo had first been sparked back in 2018, though Netflix had reportedly dropped $100 million to keep the series around for a little while longer, a talking point that eventually became something of a controversy. In December of 2019, however, the streamer confirmed that Friends was running on numbered days and would be leaving at the very start of the new year.

The series is set to eventually make its way to HBO Max, WarnerMedia Entertainment’s upcoming streaming service, which is set to launch in May 2020 at the cost of $14.99 per month. All hope is not lost, however, and those hoping to stream Friends in the odd amount of time between its Netflix departure and the launch of HBO Max can purchase the DVDs and Blu-rays, including a 25th anniversary box set released in September. Episodes and complete seasons are also available for purchase on Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play and Vudu.