Peacock Announces October 12th Start Date For Two-Part Series ‘I Love You, You Hate Me’

If you are of a certain age, you will certainly remember those endless days of your preschoolers fixated on that lovable, but grating singing and dancing purple dinosaur on Barney & Friends. It aired on PBS from 1992 to 2010 (and in repeats for another eight years on the former cable network Sprout and its successor, Universal Kids).

Admit it…you too hired a someone in an oversized dinosaur costume to entertain at your child’s birthday party! And, of course, there was the endless merchandising around your home. Remember Baby Bop and BJ?

Now, with your preschoolers adults, many of whom remember those early “Barney days”, comes two-part limited series I Love You, You Hate Me, which tells the other side of Barney the Dinosaur. It premieres on streamer Peacock on Wednesday, October 12th.

“I Love You, You Hate Me unpacks how a children’s character who stood for inclusion, understanding, and kindness birthed a movement of anger and criticism that threatened the show, its creators, and their futures,” said Joel Chiodi, Head of Documentaries and SVP of Strategic Development at Scout Productions in a statement. “As it spotlights the beginnings of modern-day hate culture, this documentary traces the creation of the character and how it took a toll on the people closest to it, examining the surprising and lingering impact the ‘Big Purple Dinosaur’ left on American society.”

“Barney came out on television when I was just 10 years old, and I admittedly didn’t understand him,” said director Tommy Avallone. “As a teenager, for one of my birthdays I asked my aunt to make me a Barney costume, so my friends and I could beat him up on camera. Several years later, creating this docuseries, it feels good to be on the other side and no longer a Barney hater. Now having children of my own, I understand all the love that went into making the purple dinosaur.”

Created by Sheryl Leach, a mother in Dallas, Texas in search of ways to entertain her son, over 100 children appeared as regulars through the course of the run of Barney & Friends (including Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez). Each episode concluded with Barney crooning his “I Love You” song before dissolving into his original stuffed form (hence the title of this limited series).

“From Barney-bashing to frat parties to homicidal video games, something in American society broke into a million pieces, and it’s never been put together again,” reads the official logline of I Love You, You Hate Me. “Or is this just who we were all along?,” it asks.

Quote from Joel Chiodi, Head of Documentaries and SVP of Strategic Development at Scout Productions

Quote from Director, Tommy Avallone

“Barney came out on television when I was just 10 years old, and I admittedly didn’t understand him. As a teenager, for one of my birthdays

I asked my aunt to make me a Barney costume, so my friends and I could beat him up on camera. Several years later, creating this docu-series, it feels good to be on the other side and no longer a Barney hater. Now having children of my own, I understand all the love that went into making the purple dinosaur.”