Netflix Sets October 27 Premiere for Matthew Perry Docuseries Featuring His Sister's First Interview

Netflix announced Tuesday it will release a three-part documentary about Matthew Perry titled "The One About Matthew Perry," premiering October 27, according to the streamer's announcement. That's one day before the third anniversary of Perry's death.

The series is directed and executive produced by Mary Robertson, known for "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" and for producing "Framing Britney Spears," according to Deadline and Variety. It's produced by Robertson's Maxine Productions, a division of Sony Pictures Television.

What's In It

The project centers on Perry's sister, Mia Perry Bowick, who is speaking publicly about her brother for the docuseries, along with what Netflix describes as unreleased photos and video from the Perry family's private archive. Lifelong friends and creative collaborators also appear, according to Deadline, BroadwayWorld and Variety. Netflix has not said whether any of Perry's "Friends" castmates, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc or Lisa Kudrow, will show up on screen.

"It's taken time for me to feel ready to share these memories and what it was like to love Matthew through all the complexity of his life," Perry Bowick said in a statement carried by all outlets covering the announcement. "To see him as a whole person, not just as Chandler, and not just as someone who struggled with addiction."

Robertson framed the series as an attempt to fill in what she called a partial public record. "He also gave us so much more by bravely speaking about addiction," she said. "Yet the public only knew part of his story."

The Facts of His Death

Perry was found unresponsive in the jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023, at age 54. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the cause of death "acute effects of ketamine," with the autopsy also citing drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, as contributing factors, according to Deadline. The manner of death was ruled an accident.

Five people were criminally charged over the supply chain that put ketamine in Perry's system. Dr. Salvador Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Jasveen Sangha, known as the "Ketamine Queen," received 15 years. Perry's assistant, identified in Deadline's reporting as Kenneth Iwamasa, admitted to injecting Perry with the fatal shots. A second doctor and a former drug counselor were also sentenced.

Not the First Documentary

This isn't the first attempt to document Perry's life on screen. "Matthew Perry: An American Tragedy" aired on Peacock last year, according to the Los Angeles Times. What separates the Netflix project, according to TheWrap, is that it's being billed as "the first in-depth, definitive documentary" made with direct family cooperation, rather than one assembled largely from outside interviews and archival footage.

The involvement of Perry's sister, using her own words and family archive rather than secondhand accounts, is a meaningful difference from prior projects built without direct family participation.

The credited producing team includes executive producers Lisa Kalikow, Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman alongside Robertson, with Lora Moftah as co-executive producer and Jessica Call producing, according to Deadline and Variety.

Netflix has not released a trailer, episode-by-episode breakdown, or confirmation of which specific collaborators beyond Perry's sister will appear on camera. Whether the series addresses the criminal cases against Plasencia, Sangha and the others in detail, or focuses narrowly on Perry's personal life and career, remains unclear ahead of the October 27 premiere.