‘Joey’ Returns: Unaired ‘Friends’ Spinoff Episodes Finally Released After 20 Years

The final eight episodes of the NBC sitcom, which starred Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, never aired in the U.S. after the show was canceled in 2006 during its second season.

All eight of these episodes are now available on the official Friends YouTube channel, alongside the 38 other episodes that make up the complete series.

Joey followed the character as he left New York for Hollywood to pursue his acting career. In Los Angeles, he reconnects with his high-strung sister Gina, played by Drea de Matteo, and his 20-year-old genius nephew Michael, played by Paulo Costanzo. Other cast members included Jennifer Coolidge and Andrea Anders.

The show was created by Friends producers Shana Goldberg-Meehan and Scott Silveri. Its pilot drew an impressive 18.6 million viewers, but the ratings dropped throughout the rest of the first season and into the second.

Kevin S. Bright, a Friends executive producer and director, shared his thoughts on why the series struggled.

He told The Age in 2006, “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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