''I Like to Watch'' is a 2019 American

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

hosted by

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

Trixie Mattel Brian Michael Firkus (born August 23, 1989), better known by the stage name Trixie Mattel, is an American drag queen, television personality, makeup entrepreneur, DJ and singer-songwriter originally from Silver Cliff, Wisconsin, Silver Cliff, Ma ...

and

Katya Zamolodchikova Brian Joseph McCook (born May 1, 1982), known by his drag persona Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova (), or mononymously as Katya (), is an American drag queen, actor, author, recording artist, podcaster, and comedian. is best known for placin ...

. The series was created by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, and streams on the company's

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel. ''I Like to Watch'' films its hosts as they view and react to various

Netflix Original Programming Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

and licensed films streaming on

. The first season aired from November 21, 2019, to March 21, 2020. A second season, recorded in the duo's homes during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, premiered on May 23, 2020. The third season, still recorded from home but with the hosts together in person before moving to a new set, premiered on February 20, 2021. The series won a People's Voice Webby Award in 2022. In 2023 the series won a Bronze Anthem Award in the Awareness & Media categories for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Episodes

Season 1 (2019–2020)

Season 2 (2020–2021)

Season 3 (2021)

Season 4 (2022)

Season 5 (2023)

Season 6 (2024–2025)

Season 7 (2025)

Development and release

''I Like to Watch'' was created for Netflix's queer social channel "Most". Mattel and Zamolodchikova first appeared together as contestants on the seventh season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...

'' and would go on to jointly appear in a range of projects, including the web series '' UNHhhh'' and '' The Trixie & Katya Show''. The series was first teased on Mattel's

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

on November 20, 2019, with the first episode of the series released the subsequent day.

Reception

''I Like to Watch'' was positively received by critics, with a review of the first episode for ''Pajiba'' noting that "when Trixie and Katya join forces, it's a blend of whimsy, wackiness, and raunch so intoxicating it feels like downing a pair of

Absolut Vodka Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is a part of the French group Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard bought Absolut for €5.63 billion in 2008 (equivalent to € in ) from the Swedish state. Absolut ...

cocktails." The series was also positively reviewed by ''

Out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

'', ''

PinkNews ''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning community (LGBTQ+) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in July 2005, initially released in print, b ...

'', and ''

NewNowNext Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...

''. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' cited ''I Like to Watch'' as an example of a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

series that "offer gentle escapism in a genre better known for manipulating participants for entertainment." The ''Times'' further noted the similarities between the series and the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

series ''

Gogglebox ''Gogglebox'' is a British reality television series created by Stephen Lambert, Tania Alexander and Tim Harcourt, and broadcast on Channel 4. The series documents families and groups of friends around the United Kingdom who are filmed for the ...

'', describing ''I Like to Watch'' as "extremely reminiscent of ''Gogglebox'', but with more glamour." A representative for Netflix responded that the network would "let the work speak for itself."

Awards and nominations

Celebrity appearances

In the episode featuring Trixie and Katya watching

My Best Friend's Wedding ''My Best Friend's Wedding'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by P.J. Hogan from a screenplay by Ronald Bass who also produced. The film stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, and Rupert Everett. ''My Best Friend' ...

, the 90’s rom com classic, one of the film’s stars

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public scho ...

says hello. When watching the Twilight Saga,

Elvira Elvira is a female given name. It is believed to have first been recorded in medieval Spain, while other sources claim that it is likely of Germanic ( Gothic) origin. In the Balkans, Elvira is popular among Bosniaks, Croats, and Slovenes in the ...

addresses Katya and a skeleton Trixie.

Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress, singer, producer, and businesswoman. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at age three. She appeared as a regular on the soap opera ' ...

greets Trixie and Katya before they watch her holiday film Falling For Christmas.

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Megan initially gained recognition when videos of her freestyling began to circulate widely on social me ...

, while having no affiliation with Wednesday the series, greets Trixie and Katya before they watch the show. Stars of Heartstopper Kit Connor and

Joe Locke Joe William Locke (born 24 September 2003) is a Manx actor. He is known for his lead role as high school student Charlie Spring in the Netflix teen series '' Heartstopper'' (2022–present), for which he received a nomination for the inaugural ...

, asked Trixie and Katya on social media to watch their series and "do their worst" and surprise Trixie and Katya with a greeting asking for the same.

Annie Murphy Anne Frances Murphy (born December 19, 1986) is a Canadian actress. She rose to recognition for her starring role as Alexis Rose in the sitcom ''Schitt's Creek'' (2015–2020), for which she garnered acclaim and won a Primetime Emmy Award and a ...

and Salma Hayek Pinault appeared onstage during the live episode for ''Joan is Awful''.

''I Like to Watch UK''

A British version of the show, ''I Like to Watch UK'', premiered on Netflix UK & Ireland's YouTube channel on March 25, 2020. It features

The Vivienne James Lee Williams (12 April 1992 – 5 January 2025), known professionally as The Vivienne, was a British drag queen from Colwyn Bay, Wales, and winner of the RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 1, first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' in 2019. T ...

from the

first series First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race UK ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' is a British reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name. The television series, a collaboration between the BBC and World of Wonder, premiered on 3 October 2019. T ...

'' in a similar format to the American version, joined by various guests. So far the series has also featured fellow ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' stars

Baga Chipz Leo Loren better known by the stage name Baga Chipz, is an English drag queen known for competing on the RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 1), first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' (2019) and later the RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (series ...

Cheryl Hole Cheryl, formerly known as Cheryl Hole (born 18 October 1993), is the stage name of Luke Underwood-Bleach, an English drag queen known for being one of the first contestants on the first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' (2019), as well as the ...

Lawrence Chaney Lawrence Chaney (born Lawrence Maidment; 16 October 1996) is a British Glasgow-based drag queen. They are best known for winning the RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 2), second series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', becoming the first Scottish drag q ...

and

Tia Kofi Lawrence John Bolton, better known by the stage name Tia Kofi, is a British drag queen and singer from Clapham, South London. They are best known for competing on the second series of '' RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' (2021), and winning the second se ...

, as well as ''

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, ...

'' winner

Monét X Change Monét X Change (born February 19, 1990) is the stage name of Kevin Akeem Bertin, an American and Saint Lucian drag queen, singer, podcaster, and reality television personality. She is known for competing on the tenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag R ...

, and television personality

Kim Woodburn Patricia Mary "Kim" Woodburn ( McKenzie; 25 March 1942 – 16 June 2025) was an English television personality, writer, and expert cleaner. Known as the "Queen of Clean", she came to prominence by co-presenting the Channel 4 series '' How Clean ...

. A special 'on tour' edition of I Like to Watch UK featuring Tia Kofi & Layla Zee Susan, Blu Hydrangea & Gypsy Divine, and Cheryl Hole & Stacey Rhect premiered on New Year's Eve 2021 (regular host The Vivienne did not appear in this episode).

Episodes

Notes

References

{{Netflix original current series, state=autocollapse 2019 web series debuts American comedy web series American LGBTQ-related web series British English-language television shows Netflix original programming Webby Award winners 2010s YouTube series 2020s YouTube series