Watch Again? YES!
Illustration by Meghan Zhang.
As the leaves begin to decorate the ground and we start cosying up in the cold weather, our favourite things return as well. There’s that one favourite sweater that was way too warm for summer, the Fall and Winter menu at Starbucks making its return with our favourite treats, and, of course, the rewatching of our favourite shows. Many will agree that there is one or a few shows that return to the “continue watching” tab. I may not be like Lizzie McGuire in my outfits, but I definitely am a show repeater. For some and myself, Gilmore Girls is a constant rerun at this time of year. Others turn to The Office, Grey’s Anatomy, or their favourite reality show. Everyone has one, the show that would devastate them if it ever left streaming platforms. We become territorial over our favourites, defending them against anyone who didn’t immediately love the show as well.
So, why do we return to the same show again and again? What is so alluring about the “comfort” show?
One of the simpler reasons is attributed to our attention spans. Sometimes it’s just easier to watch something we’ve already seen. We let it play in the background while we’re cooking or doing homework. Rewatching TV shows allows us to take a mental load off. We get the same enjoyment while not having to give them our undivided attention.
When we dive deeper, however, it all boils down to comfort and our craving for security. These are characters and storylines that we know well; they’re predictable and safe. TV shows allow us to embed ourselves into every aspect of these characters’ lives, and in turn, they slip into ours. We’re overcome with a sense of nostalgia, almost as if the characters are our friends and the stories we watch are real. Rewatching them almost feels like visiting a memory. We crave that emotional reassurance, the small dopamine boost tied to scenes we’ve already seen. For my psychology majors: yes, it’s basically classical conditioning.
Even further, TV shows serve as a place of stability and grounding. Oftentimes, rewatches come with new seasons, literally. Most people start their rewatches as the seasons change, and it gets colder. For most, especially those who return to favourite shows, this time falls in line with life’s changes, like new school years. Essentially, rewatches accompany change and chaos. New seasons always come with uncertainty. “What will this new year look like? What “canon event” is coming?” As we get older, the changes become bigger, the uncertainty grows as we try to get our lives together. When so many things are uncertain, it’s nice to have something so dependable as TV shows. All our energy is spent navigating these new situations we find ourselves in. There is always a certain amount of anxiety that accompanies these. They help ground us and our emotions, and make us feel as though we still have a sense of control. When reality differs, TV shows stabilise. These constant characters can feel like the most stable relationships in our lives. No anxiety, effort, or attention, just comfort. Some can argue that shows are one of the few things that can remain constant. The first time I watched Friends, I was an awkward thirteen-year-old whose biggest concern was hiding who I was crushing on from my friends. I just recently finished rewatching it as a now almost twenty-year-old, who, while less awkward, has a new set of fears like getting older. I’m a completely different person; a different time of my life, yet the same show. Shows are the one thing that is guaranteed to be stable. They're anchors that last a lifetime, and we, subconsciously, know it.
That is what is so comforting about our favourite shows and why we return to them. People leave, schools change, we get older and more uncertain of what to do, but the shows and good feelings remain. The TV shows and their presence show us that not everything needs to change; we can find comfort in things that are constant when all else doesn’t seem to be. As the seasons change and we all avoid falling into the Winter scaries, one click on a laptop makes it all seem a little less scary.