‘Friends’ Season 20, Episode 20: The one where we say goodbye

By Remi Goldstein, Editor in Chief|March 11, 2020

A show with six young adults spiraled into an iconic sitcom known by people worldwide and loved by millions. The show, “Friends,” became peoples’ go-to show in times they wanted to laugh, smile and even cry. “Friends” was filmed during the 1994-2004 era, but thanks to Netflix, the teenage generation today has also been given the chance to witness the dramatic, hilarious, heartwarming and heartbreaking lives of Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey. When Netflix announced that on Jan. 1, 2020 “Friends” would be removed from their service, fan’s hearts broke, like they did during Ross and Rachel’s “break”.

Whether it was Chandlers awkward jokes, Joey’s horrific acting as Dr. Drake Remoray, Phoebe’s hilarious songs about smelly cats, Monica’s extreme OCD, Rachel’s constant boy issues or Ross’s obsessive dinosaur obsession, “Friends” addressed realistic problems young adults face in the real world, but through entertainment. Whether “your jobs a joke, your broke, [or] your love life’s DOA” or you just needed to smile, watching “Friends” has been a cure for people ever since Jan. 1 2015 when Netflix started streaming it.

The generation of high schoolers growing up today are hooked onto the humor and plot of the show due to the characters ability to always keep their life in New York interesting. Senior Christian Caronia explained his reasoning behind loving “Friends.”

“I enjoyed Friends because it was funny and had a good story line,” Caronia said.  

When it was announced in 2018 that “Friends” would be leaving Netflix in 2019, fans world wide rebelled, causing Netflix to retract their statement and keep it on their service another year. However, now that 2019 has come to a close, and HBO max has decided to create their own streaming service, fans in the United States were forced to say goodbye in 2020.

 “When I have a bad day, I watch “Friends” to make me smile,” sophomore Lily Satz said. “I have rewatched the show like four times and I could do it four more and still find every scene as enjoyable and funny as I did the first time. Friends has been my favorite show since I was in like sixth grade which is why I am so mad it’s off Netflix.”

There have been no rumors that indicate “Friends” is returning to Netflix in the United States any time soon. 

So for now “Friends” fans, 2020 is the one where we have to say goodbye.