--- description: The classic sitcom will be removed from the streaming service at the beginning of 2020. title: 'Friends' Won't Be There for You on Netflix Starting in 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35b7f4d74baecb19/6989ffb9096a9474166a6a1d/friends.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Friends_ Won't Be There for You on Netflix Starting in 2020  by [Tara Law](/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 9, 2019 7:33 PM CUT  Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matt Le Blanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matt Le Blanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe BuffayNBC/Getty Images  by [Tara Law](/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 9, 2019 7:33 PM CUT _Friends_ might always “be there for you,” but it won’t always be on Netflix. The iconic ’90s NBC sitcom will be removed from the streaming service at the beginning of 2020\. All 236 episodes will instead be available on [HBO Max, a new streaming service](https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2019/07/09/warnermedia-names-upcoming-direct-consumer-service-hbo-max "undefined") whose name was unveiled Tuesday by WarnerMedia. The new service will also stream other television favorites including _The Fresh Prince of Bel Air_ and _Pretty Little Liars._ Netflix confirmed they’d lost _Friends_ in a tweet Tuesday. “We’re sorry to see Friends go to Warner’s streaming service at the beginning of 2020 (in The US). Thanks for the memories, gang,” Netflix wrote. > [](https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1148643485345468417) According to _The_ Hollywood _Reporter,_ [Netflix lost _Friends_ in a bidding war](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/friends-officially-leaving-netflix-warnermedias-streaming-service-1223151 "undefined") with WarnerMedia, which agreed to pay $85 million per year for five years for the show. Netflix reportedly made a valiant effort to keep the show, spending $80 to $100 million to keep the series for 2019, according to the outlet. The news comes just two weeks after Netflix announced it’s [losing another one of its most popular shows, _The Office._](https://time.com/5614266/office-netflix-nbc-universal/ "undefined") Although it’s losing two of its biggest shows, Netflix doesn’t seem to be slowing down. The veteran streaming service is expected to spend $15 billion on content this year – an increase over the $12 billion it spent in 2018, [according to _Variety._](https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/netflix-content-spending-2019-15-billion-1203112090/ "undefined") Netflix is Losing 'Friends' in 2020 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5622979/friends-leaving-netflix-for-hbo-max/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5622979/friends-leaving-netflix-for-hbo-max/"},"headline":"Friends Won't Be There for You on Netflix Starting in 2020","datePublished":"2019-07-09T19:33:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:56:42.619Z","description":"The iconic '90s show will instead be available on HBO Max, a new streaming service","url":"https://time.com/5622979/friends-leaving-netflix-for-hbo-max/","keywords":["Television","Netflix","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35b7f4d74baecb19/6989ffb9096a9474166a6a1d/friends.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara Law","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-law/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt35b7f4d74baecb19/6989ffb9096a9474166a6a1d/friends.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Friends","caption":"Friends","creditText":"NBC/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5622979/friends-leaving-netflix-for-hbo-max/","name":"Friends Won't Be There for You on Netflix Starting in 2020"}}]}] ```