‘Friends’ spinoff ‘Joey’ releases final eight unaired episodes after nearly 20 years

Have you seen the Friends spinoff Joey? You can now watch its final eight unaired episodes on YouTube.

Nearly 20 years after the series was canceled, Joey fans may now get the closure as the last unaired episodes are now available on the Friends official YouTube channel.

Starring Matt LeBlanc, the sitcom aired from 2004, four months after Friends' 10-year run, until it was canceled in 2006, reportedly due to low ratings in the US. 

All episodes from seasons one to two can now be streamed on YouTube.

Created by Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan, the series follows LeBlanc’s character, Joey Tribbiani, who relocates to Los Angeles only to have his new sitcom cancelled, leading him to reconnect with his sister Gina (Drea de Matteo) and move in with his genius nephew Michael (Paulo Costanzo).

Other cast members include Jennifer Coolidge, Andrea Anders, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., and Ben Falcone.

According to a report by Deadline, Joey started with strong ratings, drawing 18.6 million viewers for its pilot while taking over Friends’ Thursday night slot. But the viewership dropped in the middle of the first season, averaging 10.2 million in season one and 7.1 million in season two.

NBC removed the show from Thursday nights in December 2005. It came back on Tuesdays in March 2006 but was pulled out again after just one episode. The network officially canceled it in May 2006 after two seasons. 

Friends executive producer and director Kevin S. Bright shared at the time the reason he believed the series flopped.

"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," he told The Age in 2006.