Friendsfans span generations. Thanks to the series' arrival on streaming, a whole new generation of young people are discovering NBC’s must-see Thursday night comedyturned cultural touchstone. But that also means there are a whole host of fans who probably had no idea — or at least have never seen — that a Joey Tribbiani-centric spinoff calledJoeyactually happened. Well, for those younger fans, the chance to check out the short-lived series that barely was is now.
The Matt LeBlanc-starring series, which saw Joey reunited with his sister and nephew, only aired for two seasons before being canceled by NBC (with eight whole episodes left on the cutting room floor, never to be seen). The show moved LeBlanc’s Joey from New York to Los Angeles in an attempt to further his acting career, but also saw a role reversal for the character that audiences did not enjoy. Instead of the womanizing, goofy-but-confident and loyal friend, the Joey ofJoeywas a far more sad sack-ian sort; a pathetic and mopey guy that didn’t entice audiences to stick around.
Friends: Why Joey Never Should’ve Had His Own Spinoff
Joey Tribbiani was a fan favorite on Friends, but his spinoff should never have happened. But what was it about Joey that didn’t work?
And now you’re able to watch the first two episodes, for free, in the section below! So what are you doing still reading this here? Scroll down and watch! Or, alternatively, you can hear us out and also check out the criminally under-appreciatedEpisodesinstead.
The One About ‘Joey’, And The Meta-Analysis And Absurdist Comedy That Was ‘Episodes’
TheJoeyseries also starred Drea de Mattea as his sister Gina, and Paolo Costanzo as his nephew Michael, with Andrea Anders playing Joey’s love interest, Alex, and Jennifer Coolidge in the role of Bobby, Joey’s talent agent. The show was created by Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan, who were both executive producers and writers onFriendsfor many years. And though it didn’t take off, the duo are married and still have successful careers in television, including creating the beloved Minnie Driver series,Speechless.
Watch episode two ofJoeybelow:
Any conversation aboutJoeycould and should involve discussion of another Matt LeBlanc starring comedy,Episodes. The Showtime and BBC Two co-production starred Matt LeBlanc as a satirized version of, well, Matt LeBlanc.
Cast as an actor cast in an American adaptation of a writer-couple’s wildly popular British sitcom, LeBlanc —the star-poweredFriendscast member, whose inclusion in the series gets it the green light — turns the show into a cliché-riddled mess (calledPucks!) that in no way resembles their beloved original. That, and the subsequent drama that is “getting anything made in Hollywood,” causes extreme tension in the couple’s marriage, much to our comedic delight.
Created byFriendsco-creator David Crane alongside his in-real-life partner, fellow writer Jeffrey Klarik, the series was a meta-analysis of not only the fame and cultural cache that surrounded the beloved series, but also the toll it took on its writers and stars. And, yes, there are more than a few jokes aboutJoeythat are included in the show’s five seasons (which aired from 2011 to 2017).
UnlikeJoey, however,Episodeswas beloved by critics and fans alike, garnering an 80% approval rating from critics and 90% from fanson Rotten Tomatoes. It even garnered some Emmy nominations (and a win for LeBlanc in the best actor category). Thankfully, that series is also streaming — in full — on Paramount+ with Showtime. So I guess you don’t have to choose which one to watch, really, do you?
