Friends fans, it’s time to get excited as the Joey spin-off is now available to stream online for the first time ever.
The series, focusing on Matt LeBlanc’s iconic character, first aired in 2004 and ran for two seasons – attempting to fill the huge void after the original sitcom came to an end.
It followed the loveable soap actor leaving New York for LA, reuniting with his sister and attempting to crack Hollywood once and for all.
The Sopranos’ Drea de Matteo, Andrea Anders, Paulo Costanzo and Jennifer Coolidge completed the cast.
Despite the pilot boating more than 18million viewers, the show failed to impress and was axed by NBC in 2006, due to low ratings.
In a huge move, the first two episodes of the first season were uploaded to the official Friends YouTube channel this week, completely for free.
This marks the first time that the program has been available to watch since premiering 20 years ago – but it is not clear whether the other 44 instalments will follow suit.
The series currently commands a 50% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics, compared to a 72% ranking from the audience.
Despite the poor response, YouTube users were clearly thrilled to dive back into the Friends universe, and insisted that the episodes are actually ‘better than some shows today’.
Saranissen6210 wrote: ‘Cool to finally be able to watch this again. I remember watching this when it came out in around 2006 or so, and remember enjoying it for what it was.’
Eastervolkening3568 agreed: ‘Wow I’m so surprised this show is really good! If they released this today it would be such a hit.’
‘This episode is… not bad? It’s pretty funny what the hell?,’ Kykris posted.
Rickyrichreacts9667 said: ‘This is a lot funnier than I remember.’
Plasmichoneytrip penned: ‘This show felt like a little sister trying hard to follow the footsteps of a huge Hollywood actress sibling. Friends was a very tough act to follow. However, if I look back at the episodes, they still were funny.
‘Still better than some shows today. And c’mon, who doesn’t like Joey in any scenario??’
As Modo1095 added: ‘I watched both seasons and it was really not as bad as people said it was. It was obviously not as great as FRIENDS but as good as some other sitcoms around that time.’
Matt was the only one of the Friends stars to land a spin-off, with none of the main gang – made up of Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer – reprising their roles for the program.
Although Joey started with strong ratings, the numbers quickly dwindled before NBC pulled the plug in 2006.
Speaking to Digital Spy about the axing in 2018, executive producer and director Kevin S Bright explained that he would have dealt with some things differently.
‘It didn’t allow Matt to have this carefree kind of lifestyle, and it tried to make Joey grow up – and I think that was a huge mistake,’ he said.
‘Joey, in my mind, should have been a kid for life, until he found the right woman that was willing to take care of this kid – and accept him as who he was.
‘I think the transformation of Joey into a guy who doesn’t know how to get a date, who doesn’t have any friends – I think that made the audience go away.’
Kevin also conceded that there was a ‘tremendous amount of pressure for the show to succeed on a Friends level’.
‘If the show was on today, I’d bet you we’re in the top 10… with the ratings that we were cancelled with at that time,’ he added. ‘But yes, [looking back], I would have definitely done it differently.’
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