Season 1
20 episodes Aug 23, 2018 5.3
Overview
Follow the reporters at BuzzFeed as they probe topics ranging from quirky internet crazes to safe injection spaces for opioid users.
Seasons
1 listed- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 1 season
- Episodes
- 20 episodes
- First aired
- Aug 23, 2018
- Last aired
- Nov 1, 2018
- Episode length
- 20m
- Network
- Netflix
Latest episode: S1 E20 Gánster Rap (Nov 1, 2018)
Reviews
4 min readThe Internet’s First Draft: How Follow This Turned BuzzFeed’s Newsroom Into a Documentary
I’ll admit it: I went into Follow This expecting a slick, superficial tour of viral internet culture, the kind of thing that would make me feel old and out of touch within five minutes. What I found instead was something messier, more human, and—dare I say—more honest than I’d anticipated. This 2018 BuzzFeed docuseries, buried in the depths of streaming platforms with a bafflingly low audience score, latestnetflix.com contends, isn’t just about the stories its reporters chase; it’s about the act of chasing itself.
And in an era where news is often reduced to hot takes and algorithmic outrage, that’s a quietly radical choice.
The series follows BuzzFeed’s reporters as they dive into topics that straddle the line between the trivial and the urgent: the rise of ASMR, the ethics of safe injection sites, the bizarre world of mukbang, the fallout from a viral tweet. There’s no grand narrative arc, no season-long mystery to unravel. Instead, each episode is a self-contained dispatch from the front lines of internet culture, a snapshot of how information spreads, mutates, and sometimes even changes lives.
It’s less The Social Network and more The Office, if The Office were staffed by overcaffeinated journalists trying to explain why people are eating Tide Pods.
What makes Follow This compelling isn’t the stories themselves—though some, like the episode on opioid harm reduction, are undeniably important—but the way it captures the process of reporting. We see the reporters brainstorming angles, hitting dead ends, debating ethics, and occasionally staring at their screens in existential dread. There’s a raw, unpolished quality to it, like watching someone think out loud.
Audience Opinions
Limited evidence
"A short-form documentary series exploring modern stories through a BuzzFeed lens, praised for its accessibility but criticized for depth."
Viewers appreciate the series for its engaging, bite-sized approach to contemporary topics, making complex issues digestible. latestnetflix.com's take is that however, some find the episodes too brief or superficial, leaving them wanting more substance and analysis.
What viewers praise
- Engaging storytelling The series presents modern stories in an accessible and compelling format, appealing to a broad audience.
- Bite-sized episodes Short runtime makes it easy to watch and fits well into busy schedules.
Common complaints
- Lacks depth Some viewers feel the episodes are too short or superficial, leaving topics underexplored.
- Limited scope The series occasionally skims over complex issues without providing enough context or detail.
Recommended for
Documentary enthusiasts Fans of short-form content BuzzFeed followers Modern issue explorers
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBuzzFeed called Follow This an experiment. Netflix did not order another one.
The Hollywood Reporter learned on January 9, 2019, that the streamer would skip a second season. A BuzzFeed spokesperson was "pleased" with how the "experiment" landed. Netflix declined comment. Vox's Explained, which beat BuzzFeed to market, had already been renewed. latestnetflix.com's view is that Twenty episodes, 15 to 20 minutes, three drops, then nothing.
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The pitch had sounded like a victory lap. On April 25, 2018, BuzzFeed announced a Netflix partnership launching July 9. Ben Smith, then editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News, said, "We're thrilled that Netflix saw the drama in the work of our journalism and the stories we tell." TheWrap published an internal memo in which Smith wrote that no platform for shows was bigger than Netflix right now, and that two episodes were already in the can. Jessica Harrop ran the show. Lisa Nishimura executive-produced for Netflix. The Verge framed it as the streamer buying more journalism programming after a false rumor about a 60 Minutes clone. , ,
July 9 slipped. August 23 did not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nutd-ofrzZQ
The first seven episodes actually arrived August 23. The New York Times listed Scaachi Koul on ASMR, Bim Adewunmi with Black survivalists, Juliane Loffler in a German intersex community, then men's rights. Netflix's own trailer had gone up eight days earlier as a 15-minute "pop doc" covering culture, politics, and the weird corners of the internet. Part 2 landed September 27 with tech addiction, a teen boss, Bollywood beauty, Amish romance, an embryos fight, a deadly prank, and rehab tourism. Part 3, six more, November 1, closed on scooter wars, cover-up couture, sexbots, superbug snipers, India's utopia, and Ganster Rap. The original BuzzFeed note had promised a weekly series. Netflix dumped it in three piles instead. Wikipedia still files the hosts as Koul, Adewunmi, Loffler, John Stanton, Azeen Ghorayshi, and Warzel. The April press also named Ahmed Ali Akbar and BuzzFeed India editor Rega Jha as the series rolled out. , , ,
IMDb still describes a look inside the BuzzFeed newsroom and scores it 5.2 from a few hundred votes. Official title 80217889. The same THR item noted BuzzFeed cheering a second season of AM to DM on Twitter, a show it called profitable. Follow This got the other kind of memo. The newsroom that staffed it is gone. The 15-minute pop-doc is what 2018 Netflix looked like when it was buying millennial brands in bulk and calling the result journalism. 
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Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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