"Five great actors doing ensemble work": When the late Matthew Perry appreciated his Friends co-stars for their performance in this iconic episode

Friends, the American sitcom that aired on NBC for ten seasons from 1994 to 2004, became one of the biggest shows in history. Even two decades after it last aired, audiences still rewatch the episodes. However, like any other show, the cast, or at least one cast member, took time to believe that the show was a success.

In 2025, we can and do consider Friends a classic sitcom. To be honest, very few other sitcoms like Seinfeld or The Office are considered as good as Friends. But back during filming season one of the show, not everyone was confident that the show would be a hit.

Matthew Perry, who tragically passed away in 2023, played Chandler Bing on the show. He realized that the cast was doing something great only after he watched his co-stars film season one's episode seven.

When did Matthew Perry appreciate his fellow co-stars on Friends?

Friends is a sitcom that revolves around six friends who live in Manhattan, New York, in their 20s and 30s. The six friends are Chandler Bing, played by Matthew Perry; Monica Geller, played by Courteney Cox; Ross Geller, played by David Schwimmer; Rachel Green, played by Jennifer Aniston; Joey Tribbiani, played by Matt LeBlanc; and Phoebe Buffay by Lisa Kudrow.

As People reports, Matthew Perry told Entertainment Weekly in 2004 that while filming the seventh episode, The One with the Blackout, of season one, he got to see his castmates act and realized how well they performed.

In The One with the Blackout, there is a blackout in the city, and while Monica, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey are at Monica's apartment, Chandler is stuck in an ATM. However, his night is not as bad as it must have been for others stuck in the blackout, as he is stuck in the ATM vestibule with Victoria's Secret model Jill Goodacre.

In that episode, Perry had filmed his scenes separately and thus did not film with the rest of the main cast. As he told Entertainment Weekly,

"The interesting thing about that episode was I didn’t speak much; it was mostly in voiceover,"

He explained,

"We prerecorded what I said, and I had to react.”

Despite not filming the scenes together for that episode, Perry did watch the others do their scenes. While Chandler was stuck in an ATM with Jill Goodacre, a lot was going on at the apartment building.

At Monica’s, the group discusses strange places they’ve had sex, which leads to Rachel telling Ross how much she wants excitement in her life. Ross has feelings for Rachel and contemplates confessing his feelings to her. However, his plans are ruined when a cat attacks him.

The group looks for the cat's owner, which leads them to Paolo, a new Italian neighbor. Rachel is soon enamored by this new man, and Ross doesn't get to confess his feelings. At the end of the night, as the last candle goes out, the group plays a game. However, before Ross's turn comes, the light comes back on, and we see Rachel and Paolo kissing, leaving Ross heartbroken.

Matthew Perry was not in the building in this episode and thus saw his co-stars' performances. He said to Entertainment Weekly (via People),

"What was great about that night was that I was also able to watch the other three quarters of the show, which was these five great actors doing ensemble work that was amazing. This was the first time I realized, ‘Gee, this is really clicking.’”

Perry was right. The cast did an amazing job, and as the show went on, the characters got to know each other, evolved as individuals, and gave us a story to cherish for decades to come.

Friends is now streaming on Max.

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