Matthew Perry’s younger half-sister, Mia Perry Bowick, shares her first on-camera reflections about the late actor in a new three-part Netflix documentary series scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Titled The One About Matthew Perry and directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Mary Robertson, the project arrives one day before the third anniversary of the Friends star's death on October 28, 2023. According to Yahoo Entertainment, Bowick reveals in the series that she came to view her brother's long-standing substance abuse struggle as a "terminal illness" five years before he died at age 54.

The three-episode series, as detailed by Netflix Tudum, examines Perry's rise to international fame through comedies like Fools Rush In, The Whole Nine Yards, and 17 Again, alongside his 10-season run as Chandler Bing on Friends from 1994 to 2004. By incorporating previously unseen home videos, photographs, and interviews with his inner circle, the production documents both his comedic legacy and the severe personal challenges he faced away from the cameras. In an interview with People, Robertson noted that Bowick wanted audiences to recognize Perry as a gifted creator who was committed to helping others facing addiction, while also illustrating the emotional weight carried by loved ones of those battling substance use disorders.

A Sister’s Perspective on a Decades-Long Struggle

Throughout his life, Perry spoke openly about his battles with alcoholism, opioid dependence, and eating disorders—topics he later detailed in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which traced his painkiller addiction back to a jet ski accident. However, the Netflix series provides a clinical and deeply personal viewpoint through Bowick, who works as a psychotherapist, author, and speaker. A focal point of her testimony centers on a near-fatal medical crisis in 2018, when Perry's colon ruptured due to opiate misuse, placing him on a temporary life support machine.

Bowick recalled feeling intense anger at the time, having recently given birth to a child. "I was certainly angry at him. You did this to yourself, man. I just had a baby. You're supposed to be an uncle," she stated in the documentary. She noted that Perry returned from the hospital in poor condition, requiring a colostomy bag and living with an open wound in his abdomen. It was following this 2018 crisis that she began viewing his addiction as a terminal condition, while the family lived with constant uncertainty regarding his survival.

Reports differ slightly on the total financial cost of Perry's recovery efforts over the years. According to The Standard, Bowick stated in the documentary that her brother spent $7 million trying to achieve sobriety, a figure she cited to demonstrate how seriously he treated his condition. Meanwhile, Yahoo Entertainment reported that Perry spent approximately $9 million on drug-addiction treatment by the time of his passing.

The 2023 Overdose and Ketamine Investigation

Perry was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home in October 2023. Media outlets characterize the scope of the medical examiner's findings with varying levels of detail: while some coverage summarizes his passing briefly as an accidental death resulting from the acute effects of ketamine, reporting from The Independent and its related coverage notes that drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine were also listed as contributing factors alongside the acute effects of the drug.

Although Perry had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression, the medical examiner determined that the quantity of the substance in his system at the time of death could not be explained by those clinical sessions alone. In the documentary, Bowick expressed professional reservations about the regimen from the outset. "As a therapist I was always sceptical about the idea of using a substance to treat a substance use disorder," she said.

The subsequent criminal investigation led to charges against five individuals in connection with his death. Among them was Jasveen Sangha, referred to by authorities as the "Ketamine Queen," who was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors also charged Perry’s personal assistant, 60-year-old Kenneth Iwamasa, accusing him of repeatedly administering the drug without medical training or proper equipment in the weeks prior to the actor's death, including three injections on the day Perry died. Iwamasa was sentenced to 41 months in prison in May. Reflecting on the assistant's involvement, Bowick described a profound sense of betrayal, noting that Iwamasa had known Perry for 30 years and was fully aware of his addiction history. "The level of betrayal we all felt […] I felt really like I had been duped," she said.

Career Milestones and the Private Funeral

Beyond the medical and legal realities of Perry's final years, The One About Matthew Perry highlights moments of professional fulfillment during his tenure on Friends. Bowick shared that her brother occasionally felt less spotlighted in the ensemble compared to the central romance between Ross and Rachel. That dynamic shifted during the season four finale, "The One with Ross's Wedding," which introduced the surprise romantic pairing of Chandler and Courteney Cox's character, Monica.

According to Bowick, Perry made sure his family tuned in for the broadcast and was thrilled by the storyline's direction. "He was not just silly Chandler anymore. It opened up a lot of new avenues with his acting in terms of being tender and romantic and vulnerable," Bowick explained, noting how much her brother valued the opportunity to expand his range beyond standard comedic routines. The documentary also revisits his rare public outing for the 2021 unscripted Friends 25th anniversary reunion special, which drew over 5.3 million viewers in the UK alone.

There are differing descriptions in recent media coverage regarding who participates in the documentary. While a report from Page Six states that neither Perry's Friends castmates nor his other family members appear in the project, other outlets note contributions from family and close friends alongside archival material. The Standard reports that the five surviving Friends stars collectively declined to participate in the production to give Perry's family and close friends space to share their own observations.

Though the castmates do not give interviews in the series, Bowick shared an account of their presence at Perry's private funeral. Having not seen the actors in roughly 20 years, she recalled that Jennifer Aniston was the first to approach her with a warm embrace, followed by the rest of the cast. "And then, all five of them walked up to the casket holding hands and stood around him, crying," Bowick recounted.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does The One About Matthew Perry premiere on Netflix?

The three-part documentary series is scheduled to premiere globally on Netflix on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at 7:00 a.m., one day before the third anniversary of Matthew Perry's death.

Do the surviving Friends cast members appear in the documentary?

According to reporting from The Standard and Page Six, the five remaining Friends cast members did not sit for interviews in the production, allowing Perry's sister, Mia Perry Bowick, and his close friends to lead the testimonials alongside archival footage.

How does the documentary address Perry's ketamine use and death?

The series covers both his initial use of therapeutic ketamine for depression and the circumstances of his fatal October 2023 overdose. It includes commentary from Bowick—a practicing psychotherapist—regarding her skepticism of using the substance on a patient with a history of addiction, as well as the family's reaction to the criminal convictions of his personal assistant and drug suppliers.

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