AceShowbiz - As the beloved sitcom "Friends" marks its 30th anniversary, the loss of star Matthew Perry casts a shadow over the milestone. Creators and castmates reflect on Perry's legacy and share ways to honor his memory.

As Friends celebrates its 30th anniversary, the show's creators and castmates are mourning the loss of Matthew Perry, who played the unforgettable Chandler Bing. Perry passed away in October 2023 due to the "acute effects" of ketamine.

"It's a huge loss and it does make the 30th a little fraught," said Marta Kauffman, one of the show's creators. "He made us laugh every day."

Executive producer Kevin Bright recalled Perry's long-standing battles with addiction, noting that the 2021 reunion had given them hope for his recovery. "He'd been fighting the good fight for so long, and it really did feel like, from the reunion, that he had finally found some peace," Bright said.

Kauffman and David Crane, "Friends"' other creator, spoke about Perry's unwavering dedication to the show. "By the time we became aware of [his struggles], we were already a family on a lot of levels," Crane said. "We asked him, 'Do you want to stop [being in the show]?' And he was adamantly like, 'No, this is really important to me.'"

In the wake of Perry's death, the creators suggested ways to honor his memory. Kauffman urged fans to donate to drug treatment centers to combat the disease of addiction. "And the second way is to watch Friends and remember him not as a man who died like that but as a man who was hilariously funny and brought joy to everybody," she said.