Why did Friends have Chandler go to Tulsa? Reasons explored

Chandler Muriel Bing (portrayed by Matthew Perry) moved to Tulsa for work on Friends, and the reason was linked to Matthew's personal life troubles. Matthew was dealing with health and addiction issues, and he had been seeking help.

For the entirety of the 236 episodes of the NBC sitcom, Matthew Perry aced the sardonic and cynical character. Throughout its ten-year run, Friends managed to remarkably retain all six of its main characters, but it didn't stop the casts' personal and professional lives from periodically seeping into the program.

In "The One Where Emma Cries," the second episode of season 9, Chandler slept off at a crucial meeting at work and unintentionally accepted an offer to go to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to oversee a branch of the company. Chandler was forced to travel back and forth from Tulsa to New York City. He ended up leaving his job after the ninth episode of the season.

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Friends: Matthew's personal life interfering with his character Chandler Bing

In the second episode of the ninth season of Friends, Chandler found himself in a major dilemma. He had been so anxious about the whole business meeting situation that he couldn't sleep, and he ended up nodding off during the meeting.

When his boss called and woke him up, the situation became more problematic. He was half-asleep and didn't know what the question was, so he just nodded in fear that they would discover he had fallen asleep. As it happens, he agreed to be transferred hundreds of miles, from New York to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to oversee a business division.

Despite his best efforts, he was unable to clean up the mess, and although Monica came dangerously close to moving in with him, they ultimately decided that he would go alone and frequently return to New York, where she was offered a great job.

This modification ended in having Matthew Perry appear in significantly fewer scenes than usual, even though it did not last long, given that he decided to retire in the eleventh episode and return to his home in New York.

The reason behind Chandler's departure to Tulsa was about the actor's personal life, and it was a sad one. Perry had been vocal about his problems with drugs and alcohol while filming the finale of Friends.

Although Matthew Perry had already battled alcoholism, a 1997 jet ski accident made his problems worse. Perry had a brief stay in rehab after developing a painkiller addiction. Matthew Perry's weight fluctuated a lot, and his co-stars tried to encourage him.

Perry asked his family for assistance in 2001, which resulted in yet another phase of therapy. He finally went back to performing but finding happiness in his life evolved into a long-term goal. He didn't miss any Friends episodes, but he was given a less important plot so that his health could come first.

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Perry talked candidly about his health issues during the filming of the show, but he also talked about how he overcame them. Chandler's trip to Tulsa allowed Friends to continue supporting Perry while maintaining an emphasis on his recuperation; this kind of camaraderie has always existed among the cast members.

Actors who have worked with Perry in the past have been nothing but encouraging to the gifted co-star; some have even managed to discover the bright side of his circumstances.