Matthew Perry Memoir’s Success Shows Staying Power of ‘Friends’

“Streaming is playing a big part in keeping older TV shows alive,” said Jon Yaged, the interim head of Macmillan Publishers U.S. who is set to become chief executive next year. “We thought his book would appeal to the show’s original audience, those who followed, and today’s high school kids.” 

The book, which was released earlier this month and is also a No. 1 bestseller in the U.K., got plenty of media buzz from its many gossipy revelations. Mr. Perry wrote that he made out with Valerie Bertinelli as her then-husband, Eddie Van Halen, slept nearby. He also recounted courting Julia Roberts via fax, and asking Jennifer Aniston on a date (she declined). The actors couldn’t be reached for comment. 

Mr. Perry starred as Chandler Bing in “Friends,” an ensemble comedy that aired on NBC from 1994 through 2004, followed by reruns on local broadcast TV stations and cable networks. The show attracted a fresh, younger generation of fans when it was streamed on Netflix in the U.S. from 2015 through 2019. “Friends” subsequently moved to rival HBO Max, where it is currently available.

Sophia Ollila, a 17-year-old high-school student in Nashville, Tenn., said she has watched all 10 seasons of “Friends” at least four times in recent years, first on Netflix and then on HBO Max. The book is on her Christmas list. She said she wants to read it because the memoir shows that “celebrities have problems of their own and are human like the rest of us.” 

Celebrity titles are largely hit or miss, depending on how committed the authors are to their projects, how much they choose to reveal, and whether they have a larger message or mission. Macmillan’s Flatiron Books thought Mr. Perry checked all three boxes and bought world rights from literary agent Cait Hoyt before it went to auction. 

“Two things were true,” Ms. Hoyt said. “It delivered everything you wanted to know about the cast of ‘Friends,’ and it is the greatest addiction memoir ever written. If you know anyone who struggles with drug abuse you’ll have a new sense of empathy.” Mr. Perry was unavailable for comment. 

There are some skeptics. Arsen Kashkashian, lead buyer of the Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Colo., said he has sold only a handful of copies. “Nothing like finding a celebrity addiction memoir under the Christmas tree,” said Mr. Kashkashian.

After two consecutive years of strong growth, book publishing has had a bumpy 2022 as consumers re-emerged from the pandemic and embraced live entertainment. Sales of nonfiction books in particular have been struggling—down 10% so far this year in terms of print copies sold compared with a year earlier, according to book tracker NPD BookScan.

“This has been a year where consumer tastes have been much more oriented to fiction as a rule,” said Kristen McLean, a book analyst with NPD BookScan. 

Mr. Perry’s book has been an exception. It was published on Nov. 1, the same day as U2 frontman Bono’s memoir “Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.” Through Nov. 5, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” sold nearly 96,000 print copies—more than twice as many copies as Bono’s memoir, according to NPD BookScan.

Mr. Perry’s book made its debut at No. 1 on the

New York Times

hardcover nonfiction bestseller list dated Nov. 20, while Bono’s memoir made its debut at No. 2. Both maintained their rankings on the list dated Nov. 27. 

By means of comparison, the top-selling memoir in the U.S. so far this year—Jennette McCurdy’s “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” which went on sale in early August—sold 41,000 hardcover copies in its first week. 

In the U.K., Mr. Perry’s memoir ranked No. 1 on the Sunday Times of London bestseller list dated Nov. 13 and Nov. 20. 

At a time when publishers are still grappling with manufacturing and distribution concerns, demand for the book has created a challenge. Macmillan has already printed more than 600,000 hardcover copies and is now deciding how many more copies it can order that it knows will hit bookshelves in time for the late holiday rush.

Megan Lynch, Flatiron’s publisher and the editor of “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” said Mr. Perry welcomed editing and was always quick to reach out by phone and text to discuss his work.

“There has been so much speculation as to what was going on with him for many years,” she said. “Now he’s filled in those blanks himself.” 

Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at Jeffrey.Trachtenberg@wsj.com

“Streaming is playing a big part in keeping older TV shows alive,” said Jon Yaged, the interim head of Macmillan Publishers U.S. who is set to become chief executive next year. “We thought his book would appeal to the show’s original audience, those who followed, and today’s high school kids.” 

The book, which was released earlier this month and is also a No. 1 bestseller in the U.K., got plenty of media buzz from its many gossipy revelations. Mr. Perry wrote that he made out with Valerie Bertinelli as her then-husband, Eddie Van Halen, slept nearby. He also recounted courting Julia Roberts via fax, and asking Jennifer Aniston on a date (she declined). The actors couldn’t be reached for comment. 

Mr. Perry starred as Chandler Bing in “Friends,” an ensemble comedy that aired on NBC from 1994 through 2004, followed by reruns on local broadcast TV stations and cable networks. The show attracted a fresh, younger generation of fans when it was streamed on Netflix in the U.S. from 2015 through 2019. “Friends” subsequently moved to rival HBO Max, where it is currently available.

Sophia Ollila, a 17-year-old high-school student in Nashville, Tenn., said she has watched all 10 seasons of “Friends” at least four times in recent years, first on Netflix and then on HBO Max. The book is on her Christmas list. She said she wants to read it because the memoir shows that “celebrities have problems of their own and are human like the rest of us.” 

Celebrity titles are largely hit or miss, depending on how committed the authors are to their projects, how much they choose to reveal, and whether they have a larger message or mission. Macmillan’s Flatiron Books thought Mr. Perry checked all three boxes and bought world rights from literary agent Cait Hoyt before it went to auction. 

“Two things were true,” Ms. Hoyt said. “It delivered everything you wanted to know about the cast of ‘Friends,’ and it is the greatest addiction memoir ever written. If you know anyone who struggles with drug abuse you’ll have a new sense of empathy.” Mr. Perry was unavailable for comment. 

There are some skeptics. Arsen Kashkashian, lead buyer of the Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Colo., said he has sold only a handful of copies. “Nothing like finding a celebrity addiction memoir under the Christmas tree,” said Mr. Kashkashian.

After two consecutive years of strong growth, book publishing has had a bumpy 2022 as consumers re-emerged from the pandemic and embraced live entertainment. Sales of nonfiction books in particular have been struggling—down 10% so far this year in terms of print copies sold compared with a year earlier, according to book tracker NPD BookScan.

“This has been a year where consumer tastes have been much more oriented to fiction as a rule,” said Kristen McLean, a book analyst with NPD BookScan. 

Mr. Perry’s book has been an exception. It was published on Nov. 1, the same day as U2 frontman Bono’s memoir “Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.” Through Nov. 5, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” sold nearly 96,000 print copies—more than twice as many copies as Bono’s memoir, according to NPD BookScan.

Mr. Perry’s book made its debut at No. 1 on the

New York Times

hardcover nonfiction bestseller list dated Nov. 20, while Bono’s memoir made its debut at No. 2. Both maintained their rankings on the list dated Nov. 27. 

By means of comparison, the top-selling memoir in the U.S. so far this year—Jennette McCurdy’s “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” which went on sale in early August—sold 41,000 hardcover copies in its first week. 

In the U.K., Mr. Perry’s memoir ranked No. 1 on the Sunday Times of London bestseller list dated Nov. 13 and Nov. 20. 

At a time when publishers are still grappling with manufacturing and distribution concerns, demand for the book has created a challenge. Macmillan has already printed more than 600,000 hardcover copies and is now deciding how many more copies it can order that it knows will hit bookshelves in time for the late holiday rush.

Megan Lynch, Flatiron’s publisher and the editor of “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” said Mr. Perry welcomed editing and was always quick to reach out by phone and text to discuss his work.

“There has been so much speculation as to what was going on with him for many years,” she said. “Now he’s filled in those blanks himself.” 

Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at Jeffrey.Trachtenberg@wsj.com