Hate-watching

Hate-watching is the activity of consuming media, usually a television show or a film with the intention of acquiring amusement from the mockery of its content or subject. Closely related to anti-fan behaviours, viewers who partake in hate-watching derive pleasure and entertainment from a show's absurdities or failures. The act of hate-watching is premised on the audience engaging with media through a satirical lens. Driven by the rise of streaming platforms and social media, hate-watching is rooted in a set of psychological and social motivations and cannot entirely prevent excesses despite its harmless origin.

History

Theorisation

Early online hate-watching communities emerged with sites like Television Without Pity in 1998, which gleefully criticised every new episode of the teen series ''Dawson's Creek'', before ''New Yorker'' critique Emily Nussbaum theorised the phenomenon in 2012. She described in an article the short-lived ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' as a show people loved to hate-watch, as "it was bad in a truly spectacular way—you could learn something from it, about self-righteous TV speechifying and failed satire and the dangers of letting a brilliant showrunner like aronSorkin run loose to settle all his grudges in fictional form".

''Entertainment Weekly'' and other publications noted the difference between hate-watching and watching as a guilty pleasure. "You wouldn't tune in every week to hate-watch a really bad reality show. Generally speaking, hate-watching requires a TV series with high ambitions and features a certain amount of aesthetic perfection".

While guilty pleasures are shows enjoyed despite acknowledged flaws, hate-watching involves actively seeking out and criticizing those flaws. Shows like ''Emily in Paris'', which have high production value but are considered poorly written or unrealistic and ultimately fall short of expectations, are prime examples. That is also why some initially well-received shows, like ''The Bold Type'', can become objects of hate-watching as their quality declines.

However, some, like Andrew Fleming, producer of ''Emily in Paris'', doubt the existence of genuine hate-watching, suggesting that viewers are simply driven by a desire to mock popular entertainment.

Evolution

The rise of social media significantly popularized hate-watching, and streaming services, with their binge-watching model, further contributed to the phenomenon. The ability to binge-watch entire seasons at once made it easier to consume and interact with large amounts of content, even if it is disliked.

The popularity of hate-watching on social media can make poorly received shows trending topics. This can lead to increased viewership and ultimately benefit the show. As the term gained popularity, many anti-fans have asked others to not hate-watch, as they believe doing so will have the unintended effect of making the media they dislike seem more popular than if they had not hate-watched. '' Velma'' is one such example of this phenomenon, where hate-watching is supposedly the lead cause of the show being renewed for a second season.

Hate-watching, because of the streaming algorithms focused on viewership metrics, can indeed contribute to a show's success even if viewers dislike it. This can create a self-perpetuating cycle of hate-watching and ultimately encourage the production of "hate-watchable" content, potentially lowering the overall quality of programming.

In a ''Los Angeles Times'' article describing the complexity of effects of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's appearance on ''Saturday Night Live'' as host, writer Mary McNamara references the hate-watching phenomenon as a reason that ratings alone are not an indication of support. An article from ''The New York Times'' also pointed out the successful ratings for Trump's presidency.

Motivations

Some viewers may hate-watch to assert their good taste and cultural superiority by criticizing supposedly inferior programs. In a February 2020 article, Spanish television reviewer Borja Terán described the reason behind the success of Telecinco and its reality show-based lineup (specifically mentioning '' Supervivientes'', the nineteenth season of which had premiered the night prior to the post): "the viewer feels superior to the guinea pigs taking part in the televised competition. They feel better with themselves and evade from personal problems by spending energy torpedoing a mere entertainment they follow through a screen."

Social aspects of hate-watching

Hate-watching can be a shared experience, allowing viewers to achieve a sense of community and validation among those who share the same negative opinions about a show or a film. Viewers often share their critiques online, with their friends and followers on social media and forums.

Eventually, some hate-watching communities can demonstrate an even stronger engagement for a piece of media than traditional fandoms through a genuine, albeit negative, attachment.

Relationship with anti-fan culture

Contrary to typical fan behaviour where audience members consume a piece of media with the intent to acquire pleasure from its contents, the pleasure anti-fans derive from a piece of media is rooted in its perceived shortcomings. Viewers engage in hate-watching for the amusement derived from mocking its content or subject.

In a study conducted in 2005 on Television Without Pity, a since-defunct website that hosted discussions about television shows, Gray points out the patterns of anti-fan behaviours exhibited by its users. Unlike individuals who participate in fandom culture out of love for a particular piece of media, anti-fans engage with a piece of media out of dislike for it. The forums hosted on Television Without Pity expressed anti-fan sentiments where users would watch a television show, often critiquing and pointing out its perceived shortcomings.

Psychological explanations

Hate is more intense and morally charged than dislike. The person is more likely to simply change the channel if said person dislikes the show. Watching something that elicits negative emotions like hate, disgust, or contempt allows viewers to release aggressive impulses without guilt or harm. Experiencing such strong emotions, even negative ones, can trigger the release of "happy hormones" like oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin.

Hated shows feel personally offensive and encourange a desire to take action, such as by commenting or tweeting. Hate-watching can also be a way for viewers to explore their limits of tolerance for bad content, pushing boundaries of discomfort and challenging themselves.

Risks

Even though hate-watching is mostly lighthearted and humor-oriented, it can sometimes mask genuine hate speech, particularly targeting marginalized groups. It can desensitize viewers to such criticism and attacks, making them more prone to hate speech in other areas of their life. The negative emotional release and social validation associated with hate-watching can become excessive and even addictive.

Examples of hate-watching shows

*''13 Reasons Why''
*''Adolescence''"Why does Owen Cooper hate watching himself on screen? The ‘Adolescence’ star reveals all"
mathrubhumi. 12 April 2025.
*''American Horror Story''
*''Away''
*'' The Bachelor''FOMO? Rage? Pleasure? How and why we hate-watch, Connecticut Public
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*''Barney & Friends''
*''The Big Bang Theory''
*'' Bluey''
*''The Bold Type''
*''Castlevania''Fans Hate Netflix’s Castlevania: Nocturne
Cosmic Book.News
*'' Castlevania: Nocturne''
*'' Chrisley Knows Best''10 TV Shows You Love To Hate Watch, If You're Anything Like Us
HuffPost.
*''Dawson's Creek''
*''Devil May Cry''
*''Elite''
*''Emily in Paris''
*''Entourage''
*''Euphoria''
*''Fallout''
*''Family Guy''Viral Video of the Day: ‘The Simpsons’ Meet ‘Family Guy’
The Daily Beast.
*''Flavor of Love''
*''Full House''
*''Game of Thrones''
*''Girls''
*''Glee''
*''Gossip Girl''11 Movies and TV Shows I Hate-Watched
CordCutting
*''Grey's Anatomy''
*''Gypsy''
*'' Hemlock Grove''
*''Here Comes Honey Boo Boo''
*''Heroes''
*'' The Hills''
*''Hollywood''20 Netflix shows and movies that critics hated, from Emily in Paris to Secret Obsession, The Independent
/ref>
*''House Hunters''
*''How to Get Away With Murder''
*'' The Idol''
*'' Insatiable''
*''The Jerry Springer Show''Dixon, Mary
Trash TV?
''Salt Lake City Weekly'', May 26, 1998
*''Keeping Up with the Kardashians''
*''The Last of Us''
*'' Love Island''
*''Lunatics''
*'' The Magic Hour''
*''Marco Polo''
*''Marseille''
*''The Millionaire Matchmaker''
*'' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic''
*''New Girl''
*'' The Newsroom''
*''Once Upon a Time''
*''Pretty Little Liars''
*'' Real Housewives''
*''Revenge''
*''Rick and Morty''
*'' Riverdale''
*''Say Yes to the Dress''
*''Selling Sunset'' s hate-watching TV shows something you love? Here are 10 of our faves to binge on - 07-22-2023/ref>
*''Sex and the City''
*'' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law''
*''The Simpsons''
*''Singapore Social''
*'' Smash''
*''South Park
*''Space Force''
*'' Star Trek: The Next Generation''
*'' Star Trek: Picard''‘Picard’ Showrunner Expected Unhappy Fans & Explains How He “Hate-Watched” ‘The Next Generation’
The PlaylistDo 'Star Trek' Fans Really Hate 'Picard'?
TheThings
*''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip''
*'' Survivor Spain (Supervivientes)''
*''Toddlers & Tiaras''
*'' Too Hot to Handle''
*''True Blood''
*''The Vampire Diaries''
*'' Velma''It's Official: Everyone Loves to Hate-Watch TV Dramas - PRIMETIMER
/ref>
*''Vinyl''
*'' The Walking Dead''
*''Watchmen''Some Watchmen fans are mad that HBO’s version is political. But Watchmen has always been political.
Vox Media
*''What/If''

Examples of hate-watching films

*''Brain on Fire''
*''The Cloverfield Paradox''
*''Death Note''
*''Magic Mike XXL''
*''The Kissing Booth''
*''Persuasion''
*''Polar''
*''Rebecca''
*'' The Ridiculous 6''
*'' Secret Obsession''
*the ''Sharknado'' series
*''The Silence''

See also

*Anti-fan
*Binge-watching
*Cinephilia
*Doomscrolling
*List of television shows notable for negative reception
*List of films considered the worst
*Quality television
* Television addiction

References

{{Reflist

External links

Hate Watching Is Still Watching: How Shock Value Changes TVHope-watching vs. hate-watching in TV's new golden ageData Proves TV Viewers Love to Hate-Watch Shows — Variety

American English words
Popular culture neologisms
2010s neologisms
2020s neologisms
Television terminology
Film and video terminology
Television fandom
Film fandom
Hatred
Media studies
1990s in television
2000s in television
2010s in television
2020s in television