'Go On': Matthew Perry Talks New NBC Show And 'Friends' Similarities

NBC is hosting a "Friends" reunion of sorts, with Matthew Perry reteaming with writer Scott Silveri for their new comedy "Go On."

"[With] 'Friends,' it was just great chemistry," Perry said, trying to explain the iconic show's success at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour on Tuesday. "It had great writing, it had great directing, it had really great acting -- a little bit of magic happened there. You never know when that’s going to happen, you just want to surround yourself with funny, talented people, which we definitely did here."

Silveri created the show and always had Perry in mind. "Writing for him back then [on 'Friends'] was a joy because we have a lot of overlap in our sensibilities," he explained. "It was always very easy to write for [Chandler], now we get to do it with different subject matter that we never could’ve done on 'Friends.'"

When asked what he considers the best role he's ever had, Perry had a typically witty response. "It’d just be stupid to not say this one," he said. "But that is potentially true about this part, because I get to do a bunch of things all at one time. I really like doing comedy and I really like doing drama … It’s a really funny show but one of the scenes in this show gave me one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever had dramatically." He then quipped: "It’s either this or 'The Whole Ten Yards' ..."

"Go On" focuses on Perry's character, a sportscaster who is forced to go to group therapy to deal with his issues after the death of his wife. The show certainly has similarities with "Community" thanks to its quirky ensemble cast, and the HuffPost TV team was generally positive about the pilot during our first impression viewing.

Though the main character will deal with overcoming his grief, the writers want to avoid making the show too dark and depressing.

"We’re not writing a show about grief, we’re writing a show about people moving on and getting better," Silveri said. "People are going through all kinds of change in the group –- from the loss of a spouse, to a lady whose cat died. They find some commonality together. It’s not so much exploring that grief as it is coming together and moving on. The worst thing that could happen to [Matt's character] happens, and he picks himself back up and puts himself back together and, in so doing, becomes a better person."

A sneak peek of the "Go On" pilot will air August 8, before it makes its timeslot premiere on Tues., Sept. 11, 9 p.m. ET on NBC.