New Delhi, Oct. 11 -- Every few months, a show arrives that everyone knows will be terrible, yet some people watch anyway. It starts making an appearance in group chats through memes. When you ask for context, they insist you watch it, too, arguing, "it's so bad it's good". Every time someone uses that phrase, I hold back from saying, "No, it's not. Pick a lane, please."

It's hard to claim that everything one watches is top-notch. But walking into something knowing it's going to be bad, or worse, watching it because it's bad, is a struggle. I can't say I have never hate-watched anything: you can't write about internet culture without knowing where half its references come from. And a lot of them come from shows and movies people watch to...