The death of actor Matthew Perry, who played the role of Chandler in the legendary series Friends, sparked a shower of tributes from Hollywood to Canada. The scale of the reactions testifies to the public’s unwavering attachment to situation comedy (sitcom) which followed a group of young professional roommates in Manhattan, and whose model inspired productions here.
Remember that the 54-year-old American-Canadian actor was found unconscious by his assistant on Saturday in his jacuzzi at his home in Los Angeles. The death was later confirmed by police. An investigator said the cause of death likely wouldn’t be determined for some time, but there was no indication of foul play.
“The passing of Matthew Perry is sad and heartbreaking. I will never forget our games in the schoolyard, and I know that people around the world will not forget the joy you brought them,” reacted Justin Trudeau on X. The two men attended the same elementary school in Ottawa, and Perry was the son of Suzanne Langford, who was Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s press secretary.
The death of Matthew Perry is sad and heartbreaking. I will never forget our schoolyard games, and I know that people around the world will not forget the joy you brought them. Thanks for all the laughs, Matthew. You were loved, and you will be missed.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 29, 2023
Maggie Wheeler, the eccentric Janice in Friends, was one of the first to share her dismay on Instagram: “What a loss. The world will miss you, Matthew Perry. The joy you brought during your too short life will endure. I feel so lucky to have been able to share all these moments with you.” Dozens of other former colleagues then followed suit.
“A landmark series”
Pierre Barrette, specialist in television studies and professor at UQAM, is not surprised that the actor’s death generates such reactions. “ Friends is a landmark series. It’s impossible to study television without looking at its legacy. »
“ Friends embodies the zeitgeist of the 1990s, observes Mr. Barrette. It corresponds to a time of transition in American culture, where the nuclear family becomes the adopted family. The characters represent the fantasy of a real family made up of close friends who love each other and stay together. The series has reached millions of people all over the world. »
Matthew Perry’s character, Chandler Bing, known for his sarcastic humor, is the roommate of Joey (Matt Leblanc) and best friend of Ross (David Schwimmer). Chandler and Joey live in an apartment across the street from their friend Monica (Courteney Cox) — who is also Ross’s sister — and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), where their friend Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) once lived. The series chronicles their loves, as well as their professional successes and failures, over ten seasons.
Friends has enjoyed global success and made “staggering profits”, underlines Professor Barrette, thanks to its unique “syndication” model. This involves selling the broadcast rights for the series to several broadcasters at the same time, like a press agency. The series was notably broadcast on Netflix, and is now available on Crave.
“It’s one of the highest-grossing series in the history of American television,” explains Mr. Barrette. Actors still earn several million dollars a year in royalties. » The final episode of the series was watched by more than 52 million viewers in the United States, making it the most watched episode of the 2000s, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“Emulators in Quebec”
“There were certainly emulators of the series in Quebec,” adds the professor. Several Quebecers had access to the American channels which broadcast the series. They had a more immediate relationship of influence with it than the French, for example, who watched versions dubbed out of time. »
The professor cites in particular Life, life And All on metwo local series which were very successful and which represented the daily lives of friends, young Montreal professionals.
The situation comedy genre has also marked the history of Quebec television, starting in the 1960s and 70s with What a family !then in the 1990s with The little life. “Quebecers find themselves in the exaggeration and comedy that we associate with the genre. Today, The beautiful discomforts completely takes up the codes of the sitcom American like Friends. »
According to Mr. Barrette, in our time “nostalgic for the 1990s”, and in “post-pandemic context where young people are eager for social contacts”, Friends has “everything to renew its audience, here as elsewhere. »