Joey, the short-lived Friends spin-off, can now be seen in its entirety after eight of the unreleased episodes are now made available
When a continuation spin-off series like Frasier was able to not only successfully follow up its original show, Cheers, but also become its own phenomenon, it’s natural to assume lightning might be able to strike again with a show like Joey when the juggernaut 90s sitcom Friends ended its ten-year run. But alas, it was not in the cards for that universe. Matt LeBlanc would return to his lovable character of Joey Tribbiani after Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler and Monica had moved onto the next chapter of their lives away from the iconic apartment and Central Perk.
Being the sequel to one of NBC’s most successful sitcoms, the network would order a full first season for Joey in 2004, but unfortunately, the show would be canceled in the midst of its second season, and the final eight episodes would not air. Those final episodes are lost no more, as Variety reports that they have been uploaded onto the official Friends channel on YouTube, along with the first season and the early part of the second season. Joey had been given a DVD release in the past, but this will be the first time that the show can be seen in its entirety.
In the series, Joey Tribbiani decides to move to Los Angeles to pursue a bigger acting career. He is reunited with one of his many sisters, Gina, played here by Drea de Mateo of HBO’s The Sopranos, who also has a son, played by Paulo Costanzo. Michael, Gina’s son, would eventually become Joey’s roommate at their new apartment. Andrea Anders plays one of Joey’s neighbors, who was also serving as a possible love interest. And Jennifer Coolidge would play Joey’s new quirky Hollywood agent.
Kevin S. Bright, who was a producer and director on Friends, once gave his impression on why Joey failed to take off. He explained, “On Friends Joey was a womaniser but we enjoyed his exploits. He was a solid friend, a guy you knew you could count on. Joey was deconstructed to be a guy who couldn’t get a job, couldn’t ask a girl out. He became a pathetic, mopey character. I felt he was moving in the wrong direction, but I was not heard.”
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