Christmas came early this week to millions of “Friends” fans when Netflix announced it will stream the mega-popular series through 2019. The company had previously planned to drop the series from its lineup on Jan. 1, but the outcry from fans led Netflix to make the surprise deal.
That means there’s now plenty of time to binge-watch all 10 seasons of “Friends,” which is especially important if you have young adults in your family.
In the spirit of the season, mutterhood recently watched all 10 holiday episodes of “Friends,” and rated the best five below. Why do these stand out? Well, first of all they’re funny, but the best ones feature the entire ensemble and in many cases include a sweet twist – which is why streaming a few episodes while you’re, say, wrapping presents isn’t the worst approach to tackling a holiday task.
Here, in descending order, are our picks for the best episodes of holiday “Friends”:
No. 1: “The one one with the routine.” Season 6, episode 10. Monica and Ross fulfill a lifelong dream to dance on Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve, and Joey shares a sweet moment with a new love. The dance sequence is hilarious.
No. 2: “The one with the holiday armadillo.” Season 7, episode 10. To explain Hanukkah to his son Ben, Ross first tries persuasion but ends up wearing an armadillo costume. The second half of the episode is the best, as is the secondary story about Phoebe buying Joey drums.
No. 3: “The one where Rachel quits.” Season 3, episode 10. Phoebe and Joey sell Christmas trees, Rachel quits Central Perk and Ross sells cookies for a young girl scout whose leg he’s responsible for breaking. The episode ends with a very sweet scene about Space Camp.
No. 4: “The one with the monkey.” Season 1, episode 10. Remember Marcel the monkey? He makes his debut in the very first holiday episode, but that’s not the best part. Everyone is featured in this one: Joey gets demoted to Elf from Santa; Phoebe sings a Christmas song and meets Hank Azaria; and Monica hosts a New Year’s Eve party where the friends end up dateless but together. Again.
No. 5: “The one with the late Thanksgiving.” Season 10, episode 8. Technically not a Christmas episode, but still one of the better holiday ones. Chandler and Monica reluctantly host Thanksgiving but everybody’s late; Phoebe and Rachel enter Emma in a baby pageant; the Bings get a wonderful surprise. Lots of good feels.
Look for “Friends” on cable TV on TBS and on-demand. As for streaming services, Netflix is the only one that offers all 10 seasons.