The Pre-Friends Matthew Perry Sitcom You Can’t Watch Anywhere Today

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Matthew Perry gained global recognition as Chandler Bing from “Friends”, but prior to that show’s premiere, he had already amassed substantial acting experience. Before hitting the small screen with “Friends”, Perry made appearances in numerous TV series such as “Growing Pains”, “Silver Spoons”, and “Empty Nest”. These shows enjoyed popularity during their runs. In 1987, Perry landed his first significant role, playing Chazz Russell for an entire season on the show “Boys Will Be Boys.

Prior to receiving the casting call for “Friends” in 1994, Matthew Perry had already starred in two additional series – “Sydney” in 1990 and “Home Free” in 1993. He featured in thirteen episodes of both shows. Although he took on acting roles between “Home Free” and “Friends,” his role as Chandler, which included statistical analysis, data reconfiguration, and joke-cracking at a coffee shop, marked his final significant appearance before joining the cast of “Friends.

The show titled “Home Free” was generally unimpressive and failed to resonate with viewers, leading to its cancellation. Like numerous TV shows before it, it received poor reviews from critics and struggled to attract an audience. Once ABC decided to remove “Home Free” from their lineup, Perry swiftly returned to the pilot season and landed another project: a science-fiction sitcom called “LAX 2194,” where Perry portrayed a character working at LAX airport in the year 2194. Unfortunately, this pilot also didn’t succeed, but Perry eventually found success with “Friends,” which became a defining part of his career.

Home Free didn’t set Matthew Perry up for success like Friends did

Home Free” debuted on ABC as a mid-year substitute series in 1993, and Perry played the main character, Matt Bailey, who resided at home with his mother. When his sister returns with her children, Matt feels disturbed by the added presence. In his local newspaper job, he frequently voices his discontent with his circumstances to his colleagues.

The central conflicts in the show often revolve around Matt and his sister, Vanessa, arguing as if they were still children. This repetitive dynamic feels outdated and monotonous, making it clearer now why “Home Free” failed to resonate. Critics at the time didn’t mince words, criticizing the series for lacking originality. Variety described “Home Free” as a “dysfunctional sitcom inferior to ABC’s Wednesday Night,” and noted that Perry’s charm was strained due to the limited opportunities he had to shine (as reported by TV Obscurities).

The series marked the third consecutive one-season flop for Perry, which didn’t guarantee him a smooth path to “Friends,” although there are slight character resemblances. After “Home Free” bombed and Perry filmed the pilot for “LAX 2194,” he came very close to missing out on the Chandler role in “Friends.” Fortunately, the pilot wasn’t chosen, giving him the opportunity to star in the sitcom that eventually catapulted him into fame.

The series is almost impossible to find

If you’re a fan of Matthew Perry and are interested in watching “Home Free,” it might prove challenging as the show received negative reviews from critics, leading to its cancellation due to low viewership. Despite the potential for VHS release, ABC showed no interest in distributing a failed series. To this day, “Home Free” has not been released on DVD, Blu-ray, or any other format.

It’s possible that with digital streaming becoming common, ABC could share their archives and let people watch “Home Free”. However, this hasn’t occurred yet and it seems unlikely it ever will. Unfortunately, you won’t find an official platform where you can stream “Home Free” online. There are some unauthorized versions available though. The Internet Archive does have a copy of the pilot episode that you can download or watch in your web browser, but they only have this one episode.

As a gamer, I’ve often found myself on a quest to unearth episodes from the old-school series “Home Free,” hidden away in corners of YouTube like rare gems. The quality is usually as grainy and pixelated as an old VHS tape, but they’re better than nothing. Finding all 13 episodes online seems like an impossible mission, a challenge no one has managed to conquer yet. I can only hope that one day, fellow fans will emerge with copies of the full series, bringing this piece of television history back into the light. Until then, “Home Free” remains a tantalizing mystery, lost in time.

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2025-07-05 04:30