On Feb. 23, 2026, the subscription streaming service Dropout announced that the dark comedy web series “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared” was now available on the platform. This is the first time Dropout has licensed outside content, after seven years of creating and streaming originals, gaining popularity for unscripted, creative shows like “Game Changer” and “Dimension 20.” The agreement with “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared” is a three year, non-exclusive deal, and the web series is still also available for free on YouTube and on the show’s website, dhmis.tv.
However, this deal is also a big one for “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared.” The absurd, at times gruesome puppet show made waves on the internet with its six short, musical episodes about concepts like creativity, time, and technology, released from 2011 to 2016. In 2022, a six-episode TV series of the same name and featuring the same characters and style was released on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Starting on March 20, 2026, episodes of the TV series will release biweekly on Dropout, the first time this content will be streaming on a global platform.
Dropout’s CEO, Sam Reich, told Variety that this deal is “a careful, experimental step into selective licensing for us, driven by our admiration for the show and our strong relationship with its creators.” In the same article, Reich and the show’s creators, Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling, expressed pride and excitement for their collaboration. Reich posted an additional announcement of the deal on his social media, teasing at the possibility of Dropout licensing more “uniquely great” and “perhaps even underexposed” shows in the future should this venture with “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared” be successful. He also promised that a potential increase in licensed content does not mean Dropout will be creating less of the original content for which it is now known and loved.
While Dropout and “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared” may at first be a surprising collaboration, a rewatch of the iconic web series proves it is right at home on the platform. What sets Dropout apart from other streaming services is not only its content and regular cast of incredible comedians, but its uniqueness and creativity. What, then, could be a better fit than a genuinely funny and unsettling surrealist puppet show? The deal is also an exciting opportunity for the TV series to gain more exposure and perhaps open Dropout as a door for similarly one-of-a-kind projects to be made more visible going forward.
Image credit: IMDb
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