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

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

hosted by

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

Trixie Mattel Brian Michael Firkus (born August 23, 1989), better known by the stage name Trixie Mattel, is an American drag queen, television personality, and singer-songwriter originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is known for her exaggerated, high-camp ...

and

Katya Zamolodchikova Brian Joseph McCook, known by his drag persona Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova (russian: Екатерина Петровна Замолодчикова), or mononymously as Katya (russian: Катя), is an American drag queen, actor, author ...

. The series was created by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

, and streams on the company's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

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

Netflix Original Programming Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

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, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, 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.

Episodes

Season 1 (2019–20)

Season 2 (2020–21)

Season 3 (2021)

Season 4 (2022)

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, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

'' 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 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 from the Swedish state. Absolut is one of the largest brands ...

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

PinkNews ''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community ( LGBT) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in 2005. It closely follows political progress on LGBT rights a ...

'', 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 progr ...

''. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' 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 unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

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 network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

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 thei ...

'', 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. The film stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, and Rupert Everett. The film received generally positiv ...

, 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, director and producer. Everett 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 pupi ...

says hello. When watching the Twilight Saga, Elvira addresses Katya and a skeleton Trixie. Lindsay Lohan greets Trixie and Katya before they watch her holiday film Falling For Christmas. Megan Thee Stallion, while having no affiliation with Wednesday the series, greets Trixie and Katya before they watch the show.

''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 (born 12 April 1992), better known by the stage name The Vivienne, is a Welsh drag queen, known for being appointed the first UK ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ambassador in 2015, winning the first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race U ...

from the first series 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 first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' (2019) and later the first season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World'' (2022). Baga Chipz ...

, Cheryl Hole, Lawrence Chaney and Tia Kofi, 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, b ...

'' winner

Monét X Change Monét X Change (born February 19, 1990), stage name of Kevin A. Bertin, is an American drag queen, singer, podcaster, and reality television personality. She is known for competing on the tenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' (2018), on which ...

, and television personality

Kim Woodburn Patricia Mary "Kim" Woodburn (' McKenzie; born 25 March 1942) is an English professional cleaner, television personality and writer. She is known for co-presenting the Channel 4 series ''How Clean Is Your House?'' (2003–2009), and also starre ...

. 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

{{Trixie Mattel 2019 web series debuts American comedy web series American LGBT-related web series English-language Netflix original programming Webby Award winners