Long before “Friends” made its official debut in China, the show was a word-of-mouth phenomenon in the country. In the wake of Matthew Perry’s death at 54, fans in China are mourning the loss of the star who felt less like a distant celebrity and more like an old friend.
Fans of the hit sit-com “Friends” gather at a cafe that pays homage to the Central Perk cafe in the series to commemorate the death of Matthew Perry who played the Chandler Bing character, in Shanghai, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Fans of the hit sit-com “Friends” gather at a cafe that pays homage to the Central Perk cafe in the series to commemorate the death of Matthew Perry who played the Chandler Bing character, in Shanghai, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023.
While “Friends” didn’t debut in China until 2012 — through Sohu, a streaming platform — the show had become popular more than a decade earlier thanks to bootleg DVD and hard drive copies. Once Chinese fans added Mandarin subtitles to the show, which ran in the U.S. from 1994 to 2004, it quickly gained a following.
Nilufar Arkin, who lives in Tianjin, says she and her boyfriend have been described by their friends as the real-life Monica and Chandler. The couple even got matching tattoos two years ago with the lyrics from the theme song “I’ll Be There For You,” performed by The Rembrandts. The artwork on their arms also depict the classicscene where Monica dances in front of Chandler wearing a turkey on her head. It was the first time Chandler told Monica that he loved her.
“I couldn’t believe it and had to verify it again and again until I found it was true, then I just cried,” Arkin said. “He’s my top one character in the show.”
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