I remember turning the TV on when I was a kid and just sitting down to watch whatever was playing on Disney or Nick at the time. I could switch back and forth between the two channels, but those were my only two options and that was okay. I was happy to pick and channel and watch reruns all day, or until my mom yelled up to tell me to go outside.
As I sit down to write this I no longer have cable; instead, I have 11 streaming services. That feels like a lifetime of content to get through that is just continually growing. I could literally never watch another rerun again. However, this isn’t what I do.
On most nights I still find myself watching the same handful of sitcoms over and over again. I go through Friends, How I Met Your Mother, 30 Rock, The Office, Parks and Rec, Community, and Brooklyn 99, just to start again with Friends. There are nights when my partner and I will debate what new show to start, but more often than not, we just end up turning on our current sitcom.
This doesn’t mean that we don’t watch new shows. Occasionally a new show will break through our rewatch habit. We have been keeping up with The Mandalorian and we just spent last weekend bingeing Netflix’s Bridgerton, which was a really fun escape, but those are special occasions. Tonight, as we make dinner, we will turn on the TV and continue where we left off in The Office.
Why weren’t we taking advantage of living during a time when new entertainment was limitless? Why do we ever watch the same thing twice? I think, at least for me personally, that there are two big reasons. These reasons are really going to make me sound like an old lady but stick with me.
First of all, it is overwhelming. The sheer amount of content to go through is a mountain in and of itself. The idea of taking the time to find something new is exhausting and most of the time hitting ‘resume’ on Parks and Rec is just much more appealing. I make so many choices throughout the day that I don’t want to make another choice about what show I am going to watch. There are times when I miss the days of only having to choose between Nick and Disney.
Second, I like knowing what is going to happen. Heads up, this is where I definitely start to sound like an old lady. As I get older, I have less and less emotional bandwidth to give to investing in new shows, especially dramas. I have enough drama of my own, thank you 2020, and I don’t need any more coming from my TV.
I like knowing that I am going to turn on the TV and laugh. Ross is going to say Rachel’s name, but it’s going to be fine. Jim is going to move to Stamford, but it’s going to be fine. Tracy Jordan is going to have another mental breakdown, but it’s going to be fine. Everything will work out and I will get a good laugh or two in the process. I need to know what’s going to happen and I need that certainty—especially during such an unstable time.
Rewatching shows just makes my life easier. I know I love them and they have become a constant, which is something we all need after last year. I love just curling up on the couch and watching Leslie Knope spend 5 seasons fighting for her park. I know what’s going to happen and I think that’s okay, I think I need it.