c/binge-worthy-shows

Why does nobody talk about how streaming killed the shared viewing experience

Honestly, I still think about my old Sunday night ritual of watching The Sopranos with my roommate back in 2007. We'd order pizza, argue about Tony's choices, and actually wait a whole week for the next episode. Now my girlfriend and I binged Severance in two nights and barely said a word to each other between episodes. Has anyone else felt like streaming made TV watching more isolated than it used to be?

Picked The Wire over Breaking Bad for my first watch through... not sure I made the right call

I finally had time to commit to a long series and went back and forth for a week on which to start. Ended up choosing The Wire because everyone says it's the most realistic cop show ever made. I'm 12 episodes in now and honestly I'm struggling. The pacing is so slow and there are like 50 characters to keep track of. My friend who pushed me to watch it says stick with it until season 3. Has anyone else had a hard time getting into The Wire at first, or should I just switch to Breaking Bad now?

I finally stopped watching shows on my laptop

Used to binge everything hunched over my 13 inch Dell in bed. My neck was killing me for months. Then I picked up a cheap 32 inch TCL Roku TV on Black Friday for $180 and put it on my dresser. Now I just chill in my chair with the remote and my posture is way better. Has anyone else switched their setup like this?

My Saturday morning ritual has flipped completely in 5 years

I used to spend Saturday mornings flipping through Netflix for an hour before settling on some show I'd already seen. Now I wake up at 7am, make coffee, and dive straight into a series my buddy in Chicago recommended called Severance. What changed was having a kid last year, suddenly I only have that 6 to 8 window before chaos starts. Anyone else find their binge habits got totally reshaped by a life change?

I finally finished The Wire after 3 failed attempts

Started it 4 years ago on a plane to Denver. Kept getting lost with all the characters. Tried again last summer but fell asleep every episode. Third time I finally got through the first 4 episodes and it clicked. Anyone else have a show you had to restart multiple times before you got into it?

My wife and I finished The Wire in 3 weeks flat

We started season 1 on a rainy Tuesday night back in February and by the end of the third week we had blown through all 5 seasons. I think the biggest change for me was how my view of Baltimore shifted completely after seeing the whole thing through. Has anyone else had a show totally change how you see a city or a place you thought you knew?

Rant: Tried to binge 'The Leftovers' and gave up after 5 episodes

I heard so many people rave about The Leftovers being a hidden gem. So last month I finally started it. I made it through 5 episodes and I just couldn't keep going. The whole show felt so slow and depressing, like nothing really happened. I kept waiting for something exciting to kick in but it just dragged on. My friend told me to stick with it because season 2 gets better. But I don't have the patience to sit through more episodes that feel like a chore. Has anyone else bailed on this show early or does it actually get good later?

Binged The Wire in 2 weeks and now nothing else feels worth starting

I picked The Wire over watching the new season of some Netflix crime drama, and now I'm stuck comparing every show to it, has anyone else ruined their watchlist by starting with the best first?

I finally stopped skipping the first episode of a show after what happened with that new Netflix series

I was at my buddy's place in Phoenix last Friday and he put on that new crime drama everyone's talking about. He told me I had to watch the first episode and not skip it like I always do, turns out the whole season setup is in that first 20 minutes. Has anyone else ruined a show for themselves by jumping ahead?

Ran into an old coworker at a coffee shop who binged the same show I did

I was grabbing a latte at this little spot in Austin last Saturday and bumped into a guy I used to work with like 5 years ago. We got to talking and somehow landed on how we both just finished watching Dark Matter on Apple TV. He said he binged the whole thing in two days, which is wild because I took almost a week with it. He told me he skipped the second episode because he thought it was slow, but I told him he missed a key plot point that ties into the ending. We stood there for like 20 minutes arguing about whether the alternate reality stuff made sense or not. It got me wondering, do you guys ever rewind or skip episodes when you binge, or do you force yourself to watch everything in order?

Tried to speed-run a 4-season show in one weekend

I decided to binge all 8 seasons of a show my friends kept talking about. Thought I could knock out the first 4 seasons in one weekend, but that was wishful thinking. Ended up watching 12 episodes Friday, passed out Saturday afternoon, and only finished season 3 by Sunday night. Took me two whole weekends to actually get through 4 seasons, not one. Has anyone else severely underestimated how long a whole series takes to watch?

Bought the complete box set of The Wire for $80. Still haven't opened it.

Silo on Apple TV+ is the slow burn nobody warned me about

I started watching Silo three weeks ago during my night shifts at the hospital. Man, I thought I was getting into a simple dystopian show but it's way deeper. The first two episodes crawl like molasses, I almost quit. Then around episode 4, the mystery about why people can't go outside just hooks you hard. The sets are incredible, that huge spiral staircase in the silo gives me chills. Rebecca Ferguson carries the whole thing on her back. I binge watched 8 episodes in one night after my shift last Tuesday. Has anyone else found the pacing makes it harder to get into but totally worth it?

Gave The Bear a shot after avoiding it for a year

Everyone at work kept telling me to watch The Bear but I thought it was just another overhyped kitchen drama. Finally caved last weekend when I was sick on the couch and binged 8 episodes in one sitting. The episode where they do the to-go order chaos at the end of season 1 had me literally stressed out. Has anyone else here written off a show then got completely hooked after giving it a real try?

Finished 'Dark' in one weekend. Now I'm questioning everything.

Hit 100 shows watched this year and it messed with my sleep schedule

I crossed the 100 show mark last night finishing S4 of The Crown at 2 am. Turns out watching 4 episodes a night since January adds up fast. Has anyone else noticed their watch count creeping up and then had to actually adjust their bedtime?

Showerthought: My friend said my binge choices were all too heavy last year

She told me to mix in a comedy between every dark drama, and now after 12 shows I actually enjoy the lighter ones more than the gut punches.

Finally gave The Bear a shot after ignoring it for a year

I couldn't get past all the yelling in the first episode but my cousin kept telling me to stick with it, so I watched 4 episodes in a row last night and now I totally get the hype. Has anyone else had a show that took a few episodes to click?

Caught me off guard - The Office has 201 episodes but only 9 seasons?

I was just browsing Wikipedia the other day and found out The Office (US) has 201 episodes across just 9 seasons. That blew my mind because I always thought it was like 10 or 11 seasons. Meanwhile, shows like Grey's Anatomy are pushing 20 seasons with 400+ episodes and still going. Some people say longer runs ruin the quality because they stretch stories thin. But others argue more episodes give you more time with characters you love. Which side do you fall on - do you prefer a tight run like The Office or a long haul like Grey's? I'm curious what makes you keep watching or tap out.

Just found out one show had 47 different writers across 8 seasons

I was reading through the IMDB trivia for The X-Files last night and got curious how many people worked on it over the years. Turns out after season 5 the writing team got totally swapped out like 3 times. I counted 47 different names in the writing credits across all 8 seasons I finished last month. Some episodes only had one writer, others had a whole room of 6 people. It kind of explains why some seasons felt totally different from others. Did anyone else notice a big drop or shift in quality around season 6 or was it just me?

Debate: were the first 4 seasons of The Walking Dead actually better than the later seasons or is it just nostalgia?

I just finished rewatching the whole series from Atlanta to the Commonwealth and I'm torn between thinking the early seasons had better character development or if the later seasons just had too many filler episodes, what's your take?

Hot take: turning on subtitles actually made me watch MORE shows, not less

I used to think subtitles were only for people who didn't speak English or had bad hearing. But last month I was watching Dark on Netflix and couldn't follow the timeline jumps at all. So I turned on the English subtitles just to test it out. Turns out I was missing like 30% of the dialogue because I'd zone out or look at my phone. Now I keep subtitles on for everything, even shows in English. It's weird because I thought it would slow me down but I actually finish episodes faster since I don't rewind as much. Has anyone else had this shift where you realized subtitles make shows easier to binge?

Started watching The Bear last Saturday... stopped after 4 episodes

I get that it's supposed to be stressful, but I already live with enough anxiety cleaning houses for people who judge my every move. Does the pacing ever chill out, or is it just panic mode the whole way through?

Is it worth finishing a show that falls off hard after season 3, or do you just drop it?

I stuck with The 100 through all seven seasons even after the plot went sideways around season 4, but my buddy quit after three seasons and says he doesn't regret it one bit, so how do you decide when to call it quits on a binge?

A comment about my pacing made me rethink how I watch shows

I was talking to a buddy about how I can't seem to finish a season of anything lately. He flat out said I was stuffing too many episodes in one sitting and burning out. He pointed out that I treat binge watching like a race instead of a marathon. So I switched things up last month and started capping myself at three episodes max per night. It sounds simple but it actually let me savor the story more instead of just plowing through to the end. Now I'm actually remembering character names and plot details better. Has anyone else gotten feedback that messed with their viewing habits?