‘Friends’ spinoff ‘Joey’ releases final eight unaired episodes

“Friends” diehards can finally watch the conclusion of the short-lived spinoff series “Joey.”

The final eight episodes of the 2004 NBC sitcom, starring Matt LeBlanc as the funnyman Joey Tribbiani, never aired in the US after the show was canceled in 2006 during its second season. But now those eight episodes are available to watch on the “Friends” YouTube channel, along with the 38 others that make up the complete series.

Besides LeBlanc, other cast members included Drea de Matteo, Paulo Costanzo, Jennifer Coolidge and Andrea Anders. The series followed Joey as he “left New York for Hollywood to take his acting career to the next level.” While in Los Angeles, he is reunited with “his uptight sister Gina (Matteo)” and “Michael (Costanzo), his 20-year-old genius nephew,” according to an official description.

The show’s pilot, created by “Friends” producers Shana Goldberg-Meehan and Scott Silveri, debuted to an impressive 18.6 million viewers. However, the hype quickly died down during the remainder of Season 1 and Season 2.

After “Joey” came to an end, “Friends” executive producer and director Kevin S. Bright gave his thoughts on why the spinoff failed to find an audience. He told it The era in 2006: “In ‘Friends,’ Joey was a womanizer, but we enjoyed his exploits. He was a solid friend, a guy you knew you could count on. Joey was deconstructed into a guy who couldn’t get a job, couldn’t ask a girl out. He became a pathetic, mopey character. I felt like he was going in the wrong direction, but I wasn’t heard.”