How you doin'? Personally, I'm doing very well considering it's the most iconic time of the year to be a Friends fan. No other sitcom delivered hilarious and memorable Thanksgiving episodes quite like NBC's classic comedy, and the full collection is the perfect binge-watch each holiday season. But this year, fans quietly received an unexpected gift from the Friends universe: New content!
Most people might not remember, but Matt LeBlanc's fan-favorite character Joey Tribbiani got his own spinoff sitcom after Friends said farewell after 10 seasons. Joey premiered on NBC in September 2004, the fall directly after Friends signed off in May 2004. The spinoff sequel series wasn't able to match the success of its predecessor and was canceled after two seasons.
However, when NBC canceled Joey in May 2006, they did so in the middle of airing the 22-episode second season, leaving eight episodes unaired and unseen (at least in an official capacity) in the United States. The last episode of Joey season 2 aired on NBC in March 2006, and while the last eight episodes were aired in other territories, they didn't get released in the US... until now!
The official Friends YouTube channel released the completely second season of Joey in November 2025, making the final eight episodes of the spinoff series available to watch for the first time in the United States. Additionally, this is the first time season 2 has been released in any capacity in the US, as the season wasn't released on DVD in the states following the now out-of-print season 1.
Joey has never been available to stream, but the Friends YouTube channel began releasing episodes of the forgotten series in March 2025. Two episodes were released weekly until the full 24-episode first season was available on May 27. Season 2 began rolling out in September, and it came as quite the surprise when the episodes that never aired were all added to YouTube.
Friends spinoff Joey available to stream in full for the first time
Apart from the reunion special that aired on HBO Max back in 2021, this is the first piece of actual new Friends content that fans have received in 20 years. There has never been a reboot or revival or any other offshoot of the sitcom that's been released since Joey ended in 2006. But finally having the opportunity to watch the spinoff, including the never-aired episodes, is quite the gift.
For those who are unfamiliar with the spinoff series, Joey followed LeBlanc's iconic character moved away from his friends in New York City and tries making it on his own as an actor in Los Angeles. After his latest TV show gets canceled (very meta!), Joey moves in with his sister Gina (Drea de Matteo) and her 20-year-old son Michael (Paulo Costanzo). The main cast also included Andrea Anders, Jennifer Coolidge, Ben Falcone, and Miguel A. Núñez Jr.
However, don't go into a binge-watch of Joey expecting to see Monica, Chandler, Ross, Rachel, or Phoebe appear in an episode. None of Joey's best friends dropped by Hollywood to visit him in any of the spinoff's 46 episodes. That's definitely a bummer! But at least for most Friends fans, this will be brand-new content from the series after more than two decades. Hopefully, the YouTube release is a precursor to an official release on HBO Max or a re-release on home video.
Start your binge-watch with the first episode in the video below!