Dropout experiments continue with first TV series licensing deal

While Netflix may have Sesame Street and Disney Plus recently aired a new The Muppet Show special, comedy streaming service Dropout is getting much weirder with its foray into puppet shows. Starting today, the web series Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is available to stream, while the longer six-episode TV series of the same name will stream every other week starting on March 20, according to a report from Variety.

Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is a “deeply unsettling” comedic puppet show, according to its official description. “Think The Muppet Show relocated to Twin Peaks.” The web series shorts were released on YouTube from 2011 to 2016, while the TV series aired in the U.K. on All 4 and Channel 4 in 2022. Creators Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling told Variety, “We are both thrilled to hear that Dropout is going to put our puppet show on their website. They have assured us the episodes will be in full HD and have both sound and visuals in sync most of the time!”

Licensing a show is a first for Dropout. The deal for Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is a three-year, non-exclusive pact. Dropout CEO Sam Reich told Variety, “This marks a careful, experimental step into selective licensing for us, driven by our admiration for the show and our strong relationship with its creators.” Reich called the puppet comedy “one of my absolute favorite weird and wonderful internet things.”

This is the latest in a line of experiments for the streaming service, home to comedic shows like Dimension 20, Very Important People, and Um, Actually. Earlier this month, Dropout announced it was releasing the first two seasons of Game Changer on Blu-ray, which quickly sold out. On Feb. 18, it started streaming a 24/7 channel on Dropout.tv, starting with all episodes of Dimension 20.

Reich has teased that if the Blu-ray and 24/7 channel prove successful with subscribers, then Dropout might experiment with other physical media releases and channels for its other programs. Variety’s report notes that the streaming deal for Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared comes “amid rising subscriber numbers and increased development at Dropout,” so we could be looking at just the beginning of Dropout’s experimental era.