Overview
- Netflix announced on Thursday, July 2, 2026, that all 10 seasons and 236 episodes of Friends are now available on its service via posts on its official social channels.
- The addition was unannounced before the post and prompted immediate reaction from subscribers and social media users celebrating the sudden return.
- News coverage says the move is part of a string of recent licensing agreements between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery that have returned former HBO Max exclusives to Netflix's catalog.
- Reporting notes Friends remains a major revenue source for the main cast, with Lisa Kudrow telling The Times the show still brings her more than US$20 million a year and the cast historically negotiated equal per-episode pay.
- Industry analysts view the restoration as a deliberate catalog strategy that can drive rewatching, attract new viewers, and sharpen competition for evergreen, revenue-generating series between streamers.