Joey ran for only two seasons ( Photo Credit – Facebook )
NBC announced Joey before Friends even ended. The network’s president, Jeff Zucker, claimed Joey had become “the character America roots for.”
Expectations were big-time, but the show never captured the Friends’ magic. It followed Joey as he left NYC for LA for acting, moving in with his nerdy nephew Michael (Paulo Costanzo) and reuniting with his sister Gina (Drea de Matteo). New city, new cast, but same ol’ Joey. On paper, it sounded like a hit.
But things started going south fast. The first hiccup? Joey wasn’t the original plan. While Zucker claimed LeBlanc was the only Friends star approached for a spin-off, executive producer Kevin Bright later revealed that wasn’t true. NBC initially pitched the idea of a Monica and Chandler spin-off (Courteney Cox and Matthew Perry declined), and even Jennifer Aniston was approached but chose movies over TV. By the time they circled back to Joey, he became the last man standing.
Then there was the issue of Joey himself. In Friends, Joey’s lovable, goofy charm worked because it was balanced by the rest of the cast. His dumb-but-sweet personality fit into the ensemble perfectly. But in Joey, the character didn’t evolve. In fact, Bright admitted, “We tried to present a Joey they didn’t know… even I don’t know what Joey was doing in that show.” Without his Friends squad to ground him, Joey’s antics started to feel stale and exaggerated.
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Another problem was that Joey didn’t have a clear setup. Throughout Friends, Joey never mentioned wanting to leave New York for LA. The sudden shift felt out of nowhere, and the fans weren’t buying it. Plus, let’s face it—Joey moving to a swanky place in LA after struggling to pay rent in New York? Big stretch.
Ultimately, Joey suffered from the same fate as most ensemble-to-solo spinoffs. It’s hard to recreate the magic of a beloved group when only one character gets the spotlight. While Frasier managed to pull it off after Cheers, Joey just couldn’t find its footing. Joey’s character lost his spark without the dynamic interactions of the original cast.
By the time Joey wrapped after just two seasons, it became a cautionary tale in the world of TV spinoffs. Fans had moved on, and the character of Joey—at least this version—became one that no one recognized.
Today, Joey isn’t available for streaming, but Friends still holds its place on Max, a reminder of the good ol’ days when Joey Tribbiani was the scene-stealing charmer we all rooted for.
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The post Did You Know Matt Leblanc’s Spinoff Joey Was Canceled After Two Seasons? Here’s The Behind-The-Scenes Drama That Led To Its Demise appeared first on Koimoi.
