New docuseries about Barney the Dinosaur explores the dark side to the beloved children’s icon

Barney the Dinosaur was loved by little kids everywhere, however the beloved children's icon also sparked waves of hate.

A new Peacock docuseries will be diving into the dark and seedy underbelly of everyone's favourite dinosaur.

The TV channel has dropped a trailer for I Love You, You Hate Me and it looks like we're about to see a completely different side Barney.

In the upcoming two-part documentary series, well-known media personalities like Bill Nye the Science Guy and NBC’s Al Roker, as well as the cast and crew, share the real story of how the world turned against Barney and Friends. 

The official synopsis for the two part series reads: "I Love You, You Hate Me is a limited doc series chronicling the rise and fall of Barney the Dinosaur's furious backlash and what it says about the human need to hate."

"From Barney-bashing to frat parties to homicidal video games, something in American society broke into a million pieces, and it's never been put together again… or is this just who we were all along?"

Barney performer and voice of the purple children's icon, Bob West, revealed in the trailer that he and his entire family received death threats in the wake of the show.

"They were violent and explicit, death and dismemberment of my family. They were gonna come and find me, and they were going to kill me," he said in the trailer.

But being close to Barney took a toll on more than just Bob Leach.

Everett Collection Inc / Alamy

A big chunk of the trailer’s dialogue also focuses on the show’s creator, Sheryl Leach, and how she handled her character hitting stratospheric heights, only to be torn down by the world.

"That must have devastated Sheryl," one cast member said.

While Barney was a smash hit with his intended audience - small children - the purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex drew ire from pop culture and teens and adults alike.

Barney was mocked in song parodies and comedy routines, including a sketch on Saturday Night Live that saw the character beaten up by NBA star Charles Barkley.

The docuseries is produced by Scout Productions - the company behind the Queer Eye reboot.

Scout Productions Senior Vice-President of Strategic Development Joel Chiodi told Collider that the two-part documentary will look at 'the beginnings of modern-day hate culture'.

I Love You, You Hate Me will air on Peacock on Wednesday, October 12.