And Just Like That has become more than a hate-watch

[TMC]

https://slate.com/culture/2025/07/an...ate-watch.html

And Just Like That (AJLT) continues to exist due to a peculiar audience dynamic where viewers, despite critical disapproval of the show's quality, feel compelled to watch it, sometimes described as a form of "Stockholm syndrome" or "hate-watching," which is the show's unlikely lifeline.

This phenomenon is not about genuine enjoyment but rather a complex engagement with a series that consistently elicits strong, often negative, reactions, yet maintains viewership through a sense of obligation or an inability to look away.