Friends Officially Set to Leave Netflix

Fans of the ever-popular Friends series had a substantial meltdown at the beginning of the year, [...]

By Charlie Ridgely

Fans of the ever-popular Friends series had a substantial meltdown at the beginning of the year, as it seemed like all episodes of the show would be leaving Netflix following the conclusion of the streaming service's deal with Warner Bros. TV. However, a new, incredibly high-priced deal was reached at the last minute, allowing the show to continue streaming through 2019. Well, it appears that was only a one year solution. As of Tuesday it has been made official: Friends will no longer be streaming on Netflix at the start of 2020.

The news comes with a massive announcement from WarnerMedia about the upcoming streaming service, which will be titled HBO Max. The service launches in the beginning of 2020 and will be the exclusive streaming home to many of WB's productions, including Friends and Batwoman.

To take things even further, Netflix confirmed the news on Twitter not long after the initial release about HBO Max was sent to press.

"The One Where We Have To Say Goodbye," Netflix wrote in a tweet, playing on the popular format of the Friends episode titles. "We're sorry to see Friends go to Warner's streaming service at the beginning of 2020 (in the US). Thanks for the memories, gang."

Sadly, Friends won't be the only top tier sitcom leaving Netflix in the coming years, as The Office and other NBC programs will eventually make their way to the upcoming NBC Universal streaming service.

"HBO Max will bring together the diverse riches of WarnerMedia to create programming and user experiences not seen before in a streaming platform. HBO's world-class programming leads the way, the quality of which will be the guiding principle for our new array of Max Originals, our exciting acquisitions, and the very best of the Warner Bros. libraries, starting with the phenomenon that is 'Friends,'" said Robert Greenblatt, chairman, WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-To-Consumer. "Under the leadership of two of the strongest creative visionaries — Casey Bloys (HBO) and Kevin Reilly (original content and acquisitions) — and two of the most experienced digital experts — Tony Goncalves and Andy Forssell — I have no doubt they and their dedicated teams will deliver the world's best storytelling to audiences of all ages wherever and whenever they want it."

Are you disappointed to see Friends leave Netflix? Let us know in the comments.

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