Peacock has debuted the first trailer for its upcoming Barney & Friends docuseries, which promises to explore how the show became an intense target of hate.
Entitled I Love You, You Hate Me, the docuseries explores how the world came to turn against the show’s message of spreading love and kindness. Featuring interviews with the likes of Bill Nye the Science Guy, and NBC’s Al Roker, the trailer shows that not everyone was on-board with Barney’s values.
Bob West, who was one of the performers who played the purple dinosaur, said that he received death threats for his involvement. “They were violent and explicit, death and dismemberment of my family,” he said in the trailer. “They were gonna come and find me, and they were going to kill me.” The show’s huge popularity in the early ‘90s led to a wave of backlash, with plenty of dark humor directed at the Sheryl Leach-created character.
Directed by Tommy Avallone, the two-part documentary is set to premiere on Peacock on Oct. 12. "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," said Avallone in a comment provided to People Magazine. "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."
Watch the documentary trailer above.
