I n his final years, the late Matthew Perry described his hopes that Friends wouldn’t make up the entirety of his legacy. It was a big ask. Chandler Bing was a magnificent ball and chain, whose rhythms, phrasing and neuroses became a shared language across all of culture. Turn on any television set in any country in the world at any time of day and you’ll likely see him, sarcastic and in sweater vests.

Still, and unlike the bulk of superstars, Perry had hoped to be best remembered for his personal life – his demons and how he faced up to them – and how hard he tried not only to stay sober but to help others in a similar position to him.

A new Netflix documentary series , The One About Matthew Perry , makes some effort to re-position Perry as a committed advocate for drug reform, whose decades of addiction informed a late-in-life shift in priorities and focus. Talking heads (including that of his younger sister Mia, though none of his Friends co-stars ) discuss how much he cared, and how much he fought.…