Friends Star Matthew Perry To Pen Memoir About Time On The Show And Addiction

Friends star Matthew Perry will write an “unflinchingly honest” autobiography exploring his addiction issues, a publisher has announced.

The as-yet-untitled book, to be published in the autumn of 2022, will take readers “behind-the-scenes” on era-defining sitcom Friends, Flatiron Books said.

Perry, who played Chandler Bing on the show, will also explore the substance abuse and alcohol issues that have dogged his career.

The publisher said it won the rights to the book “in a major overnight pre-empt” – essentially securing it ahead of an auction.

Reports in the US suggested the deal was in the “mid-seven figure range”.

The memoir is “the book that Friends fans have been waiting for but will also shed a powerful light for anyone who is in their own battle for themselves or a loved one”, Flatiron, a division of Macmillan, said.

Megan Lynch, publisher of Flatiron Books, said:

“We need humour, we need catharsis, and we need to agree on something – and Matthew’s extraordinary story, told in his inimitable voice, is that thing.

“Matthew’s book has unrivalled potential to bring people together, which feels especially galvanising right now, a time of isolation and division.”

Perry, 52, was one of the best-known and best-paid television stars during the 10-year run of Friends from 1994 but he struggled to overcome addiction.

His appearance on the show changed as his weight fluctuated drastically due to his drug problems.

In 2016 Perry, whose film roles include The Whole Nine Yards and 17 Again, told the BBC his drug use was so bad he cannot remember roughly three years of his time on Friends, from seasons three to six.

Perry joined his former co-stars for the highly awaited Friends reunion special in May. Some fans expressed concern at his appearance on the programme.