It’s 2020, and we should be blithely celebrating the advent of a new decade, but we can’t because Friends has officially left Netflix, and there’s a chasm in our hearts the size of the Central Perk couch.
Friends wasn’t perfect by any means—Fat Monica still hurts my feelings, and the near-constant barrage of homophobic jokes is appalling—but at this point the breezy sitcom is like a record I’ve listened to so much that the grooves have worn out. It’s soothing, it’s familiar, and it’s the perfect show to fall asleep to.
While we won’t have the easy comfort of Friends on tap again for a while (it begins streaming on HBO Max in May), the show paved the way for other shows just like it. The friends-hanging-out-but-make-it-a-series genre was arguably popularized by the NBC sitcom, and luckily there are plenty of similar options to binge on Netflix. Below, five of the ultimate comfort shows to watch if you’re feeling bereft of your Friends.
New Girl
When New Girl premiered, it seemed like little more than a Zooey Deschanel vehicle with a forgettable cast of bros, but it quickly evolved into one of the weirdest, funniest network sitcoms in recent memory, scratching the mid-20s-buddies-drinking-coffee itch for a new generation.
Episodes
I will die singing the praises of this slyly hilarious Britcom, which features Friends’ Matt LeBlanc, a.k.a. Joey Tribbiani, playing a slightly heightened version of himself. Don’t miss the David Schwimmer cameo!
Friends From College
Did it reinvent the wheel? No, not really, but this show about an ex-Harvard gang of friends surviving their 40s is the epitome of cozy nighttime viewing: intriguing enough to keep watching but not so dramatic that you’ll feel bad about drifting off to sleep.
Cheers
When in doubt, go to the classics. Cheers is sort of the ur-sitcom, without which Friends might never have existed. Simply put, the ensemble comedy featuring an ever-zany cast is required viewing for any student of TV history. Kelly Kelly Kelly K-E-L-L-Y!
Derry Girls
To be fully transparent, this show is nothing like Friends, but everyone should watch it so that it gets a third season. If you know a better show about BFFs growing up and finding their path in Troubles-era Northern Ireland, please let me know.
