Friends lands new streaming home after being axed by Netflix in UK - with all episodes just weeks away from returning to screens
Netflix fans were left furious after the streaming service announced that they will be removing sitcom Friends from their site in December. The hit series, which originally aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004, had been on the platform since 2018, with all ten seasons available to watch. After it was removed from the streaming giant on December 30, UK viewers of the hit 1990s series don't have long to wait to stream it again on their TV screens. Friends, which stars Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courtney Cox, Matt Le Blanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry, follows the lives of six pals living in New York.It features a mammoth 236 episodes, giving fans more than 88 hours of viewing time.All ten seasons will soon be available to stream on HBO Max, which will launch in the UK on March 26 - having run across the pond since 2020. Netflix fans were left furious after the streaming service announced they will be removing sitcom Friends from their site in December - but it will soon be back in the UK Friends, which stars Matt Le Blanc, Lisa Kudrow, Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry, follows the lives of six pals living in New YorkThe site, which also streams other hit series including Game of Thrones and Succession, will be made available in the UK and Ireland from just £4.99. Aside from Friends, the streaming service will also include programmes made by HBO, Warner Bros, DC Studios and Max Originals. The return of Euphoria, House of the Dragon and The Comeback, alongside the new Harry Potter TV series, and DC Studios series Lanterns, will all be uploaded to the site.Oscar-nominated films Sinners and One Battle Another, which hit the silver screen last year, will also be made available. HBO-made shows have been previously available to stream in the UK through Sky and NOW - but from March 26 onwards, HBO-made content will be exclusive to HBO Max customers. The two companies have come to an agreement that will allow members to have a bundle of both NOW and HBO Max subscriptions under one belt, which all NOW Entertainment subscribers will be moved to automatically. The agreement means that HBO Max will already be available to stream in more than 10million households on its launch day. It comes after Netflix fans were left bereft by the news Friends was being removed from the streaming giant, with just a few weeks of notice. House of the Dragon, which made its debut in 2022 and stars Emma D'Arcy, is now in its third series and will stream on HBO Max in the UK and Ireland Euphoria, which stars Sydney Sweeney, will also hit screens later this yearOne penned on X: 'Removing Friends on 30th dec…. so you want me to go insane? Count your days Netflix,' as a second added: 'You cannot take Friends off Netflix. It is my anti-depressant at night. Every night without fail I watch it.'A third wrote: 'I saw that Friends is leaving the platform, and I just wanted to share how much this show means to me.'It’s the series I turn to when I’m happy, sad, stressed, or celebrating something. Watching Friends while eating my favorite dinner is one of my small joys in life.'While a fourth agreed: 'How can Netflix be taking Friends off in UK? Literally the ONLY thing I go onto Netflix everyday for, I watch it non stop back to back, my absolute comfort show, may as well cancel my subscription.'As a fifth concluded: 'Genuinely heartbroken Friends is being taken off of Netflix.'Friends departed the streaming site alongside another hit sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, created by Two and a Half Men writer Chuck Lorre.The American series was first added to Netflix UK in 2016, with later seasons released annually until 2019 when the show came to an end. For six years, fans had been able to stream all twelve seasons. Friends will be available to stream on HBO Max on its launch on March 26
