Netflix has responded to reports that Friends is leaving its catalogue – assuring fans that the beloved sitcom is here to stay.
The streaming service shared a message from its Twitter account for the UK and Ireland, consisting of an image of Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) holding up seven fingers.
Along with the picture, Netflix wrote: “How many times we need to tell you Friends isn’t leaving.”
The tweet appears to be a response to reports that emerged in December 2018, and again on Wednesday, saying that Friends would possibly be removed from Netflix in 2019.
The firm spent a reported $100m (£77.7m) to keep the series on its platform for another year.
In the US, Netflix assuaged fans’ fears by tweeting at the time: “The Holiday Armadillo has granted your wish: Friends will still be there for you in the US throughout 2019” – a reference, of course, to the character invented by Ross Geller during a season seven episode, in which he tries to teach his young son Ben about Hanukkah.
Netflix UK and Ireland previously shared a message reading: ”The One Where Friends is Going Nowhere, Don’t Worry” after someone asked whether the sitcom would be removed from the service.
Netflix’s latest tweet comes as a network executive has indicated it would not be a good idea for WarnerMedia to keep sharing “crown jewels” such as Friends when it launches its own streaming platform soon.
“Sharing destination assets like that, it’s not a good model to share,” Kevin Reilly, the head of content for the forthcoming service, said according to The Hollywood Reporter. “They should be exclusive to the service.”
