Matthew Perry's family is offering a deeply personal look at the actor's funeral, including a moment his sister says made her laugh through the pain of losing her brother.
In Netflix's upcoming three-part documentary, The One About Matthew Perry, Mia Perry Bowick recalls feeling her brother's presence during the private memorial following his death in October 2023.
Adele stops her show to pay heartfelt tribute to Matthew PerryParker Johnson
The experience, as she describes it, was unmistakably in keeping with the humor that made Perry famous as Chandler Bing on Friends.
“He showed up right behind my right shoulder and goes, ‘How f–ked up is this?'” his sister recalls in the doc.
Bowick said the imagined remark arrived at the worst possible moment, yet it made her laugh uncontrollably.
“And I started laughing so hard. I was like, ‘Oh my god — there he is!’ Making me laugh at the most horrible moment, and also incredibly inappropriate for me to start laughing … But I just started cracking up. And I was like, ‘Yeah man, this is pretty f–ked up,'” she says.
Her account is one of the most intimate moments in the documentary, which aims to show the person behind the beloved sitcom character. The series is directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Mary Robertson, who described Bowick's recollection as “wrenching and harrowing.”
A funeral memory that brought laughter into grief
For Robertson, the humor in Bowick's story does not diminish the sadness surrounding Perry's death. Instead, it captures how memories of someone's personality can remain vivid even during the most painful moments.
“I think that is true to Matthew’s lived experience, true to Mathews’s legacy, and true to our experience as humans,” The Emmy-winning director said.
The documentary's account also reflects Perry's reputation for using humor to navigate difficult experiences.
Although millions knew him for his quick-witted portrayal of Chandler, Perry spoke openly about his struggles with addiction and the complicated reality behind his public success.
The new series explores his rise to fame, his relationships, his battle with addiction and the impact his death had on those closest to him. Netflix says it draws on testimony from people who knew him personally, alongside photographs and videos from the Perry family's private archive.
Bowick's recollection offers a different perspective from the usual accounts of celebrity funerals. Rather than focusing only on the solemnity of the occasion, she describes a fleeting moment when the brother she knew seemed present through the irreverent humor that defined their relationship.
The Friends cast's emotional farewell
Bowick also remembers the arrival of Perry's Friends co-stars at the funeral, describing the reunion as a powerful moment after years without seeing some of them.
“I hadn’t seen them in easily 20 years. [Jennifer] Aniston was the first one of them to come up to me and give me a huge hug. But, they all did,” Bowick says of the cast, which includes Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc.
She continued: “And then, all five of them walked up to the casket holding hands and stood around him, crying.”
The account underscores the bond that remained between the actors after the sitcom ended in 2004. Although their careers moved in different directions, Perry's death brought the cast together to mourn their friend and former colleague.
None of the five actors appears in the new documentary, and other family members, including Perry's stepfather, Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison, also chose not to participate.
“I know the ‘Friends’ actors love Matthew, and grieve Matthew. We did ask them if they would participate, and they decided not to,” Robertson told Page Six.
The director emphasized that she understood the decision, adding: “I think everyone grieves in their own way. And I understand why someone might feel that this isn’t the moment to talk.”
She also praised Bowick for choosing to share such a personal memory, describing it as a raw and vulnerable account of loving her brother.
Remembering Matthew Perry beyond his fame
Perry died on October 28, 2023, at age 54. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death was the acute effects of ketamine, with drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine listed as contributing factors. His death was ruled accidental.
His struggles with addiction had been a significant part of his life, and he discussed them candidly in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
The documentary revisits those difficulties while also exploring his humor, relationships and efforts to help others facing addiction.
The One About Matthew Perry is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on October 27, 2026.
Through Bowick's account of the funeral, the series offers a reminder that grief can contain contradictory emotions: heartbreak, disbelief and even laughter.
Her story does not erase the tragedy of losing her brother. Instead, it preserves a moment in which she felt connected to the person she loved.
For Perry's fans, the anecdote is also a poignant reflection of the humor that made him unforgettable. Even in a story defined by loss, his sister's memory brings the focus back to the mischievous wit that helped make Matthew Perry so beloved.