Here's the tee...

It’s the age of buy as you binge. Lines from Euphoria S3 are on hoodies. Himesh Reshammiya caps are cool again. There are totes with The Pitt quotes. It’s quick, booming business too. Our toxic trait? Thinking we need all of it

- Kritika Kapoor

The AP x Swatch drama has only taught us that we, watching on our screens, are part of the drama too

Quick, how many of these references do you recognise? “That stupid Canadian wolf bird.” “It’ll pass.” “You can’t make a Tomlette without breaking some Greggs.” “Jeetu from Videocon”.

If you got even one, congratulations: Your fandom is niche enough for someone to make money off.

Merch, in the pre-internet era, was straightforward: The Metallica logo on your tee, the Backstreet Boys poster on your bedroom wall, F.R.I.E.N.D.S splashed across a cap, a lightsaber replica if you could afford it. Now, the connections run narrower, but deeper: An ultra-specific line from $5, a throwaway visual gag, a reference only binge-watchers would get. It’s on a tote, T-shirt, mug, keychain, bumper sticker, even a prayer candle. And it means everything to the right 12 people and absolutely nothing to everyone else.

Some global and Indian brands have official deals with Marvel, Disney, DC, Netflix and the like to produce themed merch. Most don’t. So, much of micro merch lives in a legal grey zone — lines of dialogue, character traits, episode titles, and set design motifs are often not copyrighted, making them easy to lift and riff on. Many manufacturers, however, keep the references just vague enough, the artwork just altered enough, to stay on the right side of a takedown notice.

When the gay hockey romance Heated Rivalry exploded online last year, official merch featured the couple’s Boston Raiders and Montreal Metros jerseys. Fun, but predictable. Etsy, meanwhile, filled up with “I am coming to the cottage” candles and air-fresheners — fans know exactly what that signals. For Bollywood, there are now small-batch tote bags, featuring a chandelier and the words: “Shanti Priya—are you there?” Those who’ve enjoyed reruns of Om Shanti Om will get it.