Daniel D’Addario, a chief TV critic for Variety, about all this—and he handed me the keys to freedom. “There’s so much TV that no one show is going to be a must-watch or must-discuss,” he says.
That’s right. Unburden yourself of the idea that you need to be up-to-date, because it’s now impossible to be.
“If you’re not instantly gripped by the idea of watching it or you don’t have time, just move on,” D’Addario says. Fans argue that a show “gets good in episode 4” or that “Season 2 is better than 1.” (Network TV didn’t require hours of buildup—it had to earn its keep, every episode, or risk cancellation.)
D’Addario recommends going Marie Kondo on your TV habits. If it doesn’t spark joy, zap it. If your inner dad can’t bear the idea of the drugged-out teens of Euphoria, then why bother? If you watch the first 30 minutes of The Rings of Power and it doesn’t compel you, let it go.
It was getting to the point where I had to run a spreadsheet to track what shows I was watching and what I was up to. Or I would have if I knew how to run a spreadsheet. Instead, I kept lists in my notes app.
And since I only watch two or three hours of teev a week, those lists get longer and more depressing ever week. So I’ve deleted them and decided to just rewatch Reacher (and really just the prison shower fight scene, over and over).
I cut back on my TV time last year to spend more time reading; read 60 books last year and I have finished 61 so far this year; luckily I own a used bookshop to help with my reading habit!
You also don't have to binge an entire season in one day. I'm slowly watching Sandman, think that it's better to have a few days to process an episode rather than gorging the whole thing at once.
Thanks to my wife making a commitment I have to keep I am doing the Three Capes Walk in Tasmania soon. So I am watching a lot less TV and listening to a lot more podcasts and audio books. It's a two birds , one stone deal.
I have a list running in my notes app on my phone, and I checked it only to realise I've not kept it up to date and now I've given up trying to watch everything. Apart from the tent pole series like Sandman, House of the Dragon etc, I'm just going with the mood I happen to be in at the time and whether or not a particular show is vibing with that mood.
I find semi reality semi documentary series like Amazing Interiors, The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals, Welcome to Wrexham, or How to Build a Sex Room are the wonderful equivalent of sorbet for TV for when I'm not sure what mood I'm in and can't find anything to watch.
I cut back on my TV time last year to spend more time reading; read 60 books last year and I have finished 61 so far this year; luckily I own a used bookshop to help with my reading habit!
You also don't have to binge an entire season in one day. I'm slowly watching Sandman, think that it's better to have a few days to process an episode rather than gorging the whole thing at once.
I was so pleased to hear that Reacher is getting a second series . . . . . . . please nobody burst that bubble if the news has changed.
Thanks to my wife making a commitment I have to keep I am doing the Three Capes Walk in Tasmania soon. So I am watching a lot less TV and listening to a lot more podcasts and audio books. It's a two birds , one stone deal.
Reacher good.
I have a list running in my notes app on my phone, and I checked it only to realise I've not kept it up to date and now I've given up trying to watch everything. Apart from the tent pole series like Sandman, House of the Dragon etc, I'm just going with the mood I happen to be in at the time and whether or not a particular show is vibing with that mood.
I find semi reality semi documentary series like Amazing Interiors, The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals, Welcome to Wrexham, or How to Build a Sex Room are the wonderful equivalent of sorbet for TV for when I'm not sure what mood I'm in and can't find anything to watch.
Now help me deal with my enormous to be read book pile. (According to Goodreads currently stands at 535).