Making a Hate-Watch: Netflix's Indian Matchmaking and the Stickiness of Cringe Binge TV

Netflix's 2020 release Indian Matchmaking drew a massive backlash particularly from South Asian and diasporic audiences who felt it normalized the experiences associated with arranged marriages. Audiences took to the internet to express how much they loved hating the show but at the same time also continued to obsessively watch despite their reservations. My paper takes up this paradox of simultaneously loving and hating a media product. By drawing from interviews with the showrunner, members of the production team and a close reading of the show's texts and paratexts, I argue that hatewatching or cringe-binge as a mode of spectatorship only seems an oppositional form of viewing or an act of resistance to the reification of dominant hegemonic values. Far from being a function of spectatorial agency, I demonstrate how the platforms utilize hatewatching as a lucrative form of viewership and consumer habit to cultivate stickiness for their content.

Automated summary

Netflix's 2020 release Indian Matchmaking sparked controversy among South Asian and diasporic audiences. This paper explores the paradox of simultaneously loving and hating a media product, arguing that hatewatching is not an act of resistance but a strategic move by platforms to attract viewers and cultivate consumer habits.