The Long-Awaited Return of Joey Tribbiani
American audiences are finally getting the complete story of Joey Tribbiani's Los Angeles adventures, nearly two decades after the character's spin-off series was abruptly cancelled. The final eight never-before-aired episodes of Joey are set to stream on the official Friends YouTube channel, marking the first time US fans can watch the full 46-episode run.
From Promising Start to Untimely End
Launched in 2004 with high expectations, Joey followed Matt LeBlanc's beloved Friends character as he pursued acting dreams in LA. The show initially enjoyed the coveted Thursday night slot that had made Friends a ratings juggernaut and boasted an impressive supporting cast including Jennifer Coolidge as Joey's eccentric manager and Drea de Matteo as his sister.
Despite the promising start, trouble emerged quickly. Critics delivered harsh reviews, and viewer numbers plummeted from an initial strong pilot to a first-season average of just 10.1 million viewers, partly due to competition against CBS's Survivor. The situation worsened during the second season when NBC moved the show to Tuesday nights, pitting it against the ratings powerhouse American Idol. Viewership collapsed to a dismal 4.1 million, leading to the show's cancellation in May 2006.
Interestingly, British audiences saw the complete second season, including the 'lost' episodes, when Channel 5 aired them in 2007, while American viewers were left with an incomplete story for nearly eighteen years.
Behind the Scenes Struggles and Legacy
Reflecting on the show's challenges, Matt LeBlanc admitted in a 2015 Radio Times interview that Joey was "doomed from the start." He revealed the immense pressure of carrying a series alone after sharing screen time with five other actors in Friends. "I remember feeling like an elephant had sat on my head," LeBlanc confessed.
The actor also criticised the storytelling approach, noting that while the jokes were acceptable, the conflicts lacked validity. He observed that his character's optimistic "glass half full" attitude from Friends had become "glass half empty" in the spin-off, creating a fundamentally different tone that didn't resonate with audiences.
Despite the show's struggles, LeBlanc's comedic timing and charisma shone through, supported by strong performances from Coolidge and de Matteo. The recent availability of the complete series comes as a bittersweet moment for Friends fans, following the tragic passing of Matthew Perry in 2023, meaning one of the original cast members won't witness the full celebration of their collective legacy.
Now, with all episodes finally accessible to American audiences, fans can complete Joey Tribbiani's journey and judge for themselves whether the spin-off deserved its fate or contained hidden gems worth rediscovering.
