Purple Pain: A New Barney Docuseries Looks at the Darker Side of the Dinosaur

For children coming of age in the 1990s, Barney & Friends was everything. The purple dinosaur enchanted kids with life lessons and the ceaseless “I Love You, You Love Me” theme. But Barney’s charms were largely lost on adults, who loathed the feeble-minded creature. And now there’s a docuseries about it.

I Love You, You Hate Me is a two-episode series that’s due to begin streaming on Peacock October 12. According to People, the show will take a closer look at the anti-Barney sentiment that swept the country following the character’s debut in 1992. Cast members allegedly received death threats; Barney was often the subject of derision, becoming a national punchline. The series will explore how the wave of Barney animosity may have helped pave the way to the grumbling, cynical internet culture we all enjoy today.

The show originally ran from 1992 to 2009. A number of future stars appeared on Barney & Friends, including Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez. In 2019, it was reported a live-action Barney feature starring Daniel Kaluuya was in development.

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