TCA Press Tour: Matthew Perry plays ‘nicer’ in ‘Go On’

Since his days on “Friends,”Matthew Perry has been drawn toward roles with a bit of an edge.

“I’ve gravitated toward broken characters who try to be better people,” Perry said.

It’s a strategy that has not exactly worked for the actor. His last series, “Mr. Sunshine,”about the put-upon manager of a San Diego arena, flopped on ABC. And “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” where he played the intense executive producer-head writer of a network comedy-variety show, also stalled.

But he has higher hopes for his new NBC show,”Go On,” even though he’s again tackling an edgy character: a sports talk radio host who wants to go back to work not long after the sudden death of his wife. But his boss orders him to go to grief counseling before he can return to the air. He meets a set of oddball characters whom he tries to control but who wind up unexpectedly affecting him.

Said Perry, “My characters have gotten nicer, and this is a nicer, more good-intentioned guy.”

He made a lot of fun of “Mr. Sunshine,” which he co-created. He said the producers of “Go On” “created a show that was better for me than the show I created for myself.”

Of course, no Q&A; would be complete without at least one question about “Friends.”

“It was just good chemistry, good writing, good direction,” he said. “It was a little bit of magic.”

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