Common Sense Media Review
Docuseries dissects violence and backlash toward kids' show.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
I Love You, You Hate Me
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Barney's journey in I LOVE YOU, YOU HATE ME starts with Sheryl Leach creating the fictional purple dinosaur in the 1980s. As a stay-at-home mom, she needed something to hold the attention of her two-year-old son, Patrick. "Hopefully the world will be a better place someday because of Barney," she said. But what started as a children's show highlighting positivity, love, and acceptance, turned into a surprising societal backlash of violence, hate, controversy, and public scrutiny.
Is It Any Good?
This docuseries balances the love/hate relationship that the public seems to have around this fictional purple dinosaur. I Love You, You Hate Me is an engaging, enlightening, heartfelt, and heartbreaking show about the media response to Barney. This is a thorough deep dive, from the history to the successes and failures, the cultural backlash, the cast, crew, and expert interviews. It's entertaining, thought-provoking, and shocking, and viewing the original Barney & Friends isn't even necessary. Parents will want to be mindful of the violence and graphic discussions.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about I Love You, You Hate Me analyzes the amount of negativity that followed the success of Barney. How do you feel about people's reactions to disliking Barney? How do you react when you strongly dislike things?
Barney was originally made to promote love and acceptance, but many people, reacted the opposite of that and felt that he was even harming people. Does a show's audience reaction outweigh the intention? With it being a children's show, how do you feel about the adult response to it versus children's response?
Are there any media that you dislike that everyone else likes? Or vice versa? How do people voice their likes/dislikes for it? Do you think the way people voice their opinions about media is healthy in today's landscape?
TV Details
- Premiere date : October 12, 2022
- Cast : Bob West , Steve Burns , Bill Nye , Pia Manalo Hamilton
- Network : Peacock
- Genre : Reality TV
- TV rating :
- Last updated : December 8, 2025
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