💡Thought Shares

c/binge-worthy-shows

7

avery219•6h ago

Saw a post about a show with 97% on Rotten Tomatoes that nobody watched

I was scrolling a movie forum and someone mentioned a series called 'Patriot' on Prime that has a 97% critics score but almost no one has seen it. I binged the first season in two days and the whole thing has this weird dry humor that hooked me. Anyone else stumble onto a show that's critically adored but completely under the radar like that?

2

david_jones38•9h ago

Hot take: Most streaming shows never make it past 2 seasons now and I found the stat

I was looking up why so many shows I like get cancelled and saw a breakdown that said only 30% of streaming originals get a third season. That's way lower than I thought, has anyone else noticed their favorite shows just disappearing?

22

riley_wood84•16h ago

Wasted 8 hours on "The Last Hour" - what a slog

Sat through all 8 episodes of that thriller series waiting for something to happen and the finale was a total cop out. Anyone else get fooled by a show with a good trailer but terrible payoff?

3

knight.dylan•17h ago

Got burned by a show that dropped all episodes then canceled mid-season

I bailed on a Saturday afternoon to binge a Netflix series called 1899. 8 episodes in and I was hooked on the mystery. Then they announced it was canceled after one season, no resolution at all. That was like 10 hours of my life down the drain for a story that just stops. Anyone else get caught by a show that got the ax before it could finish?

0

piper_kim•1d ago

Stuck between Game of Thrones and The Wire for a rewatch

Last month I had to pick what show to binge again during my 2 week vacation. Everyone online kept saying The Wire was the best show ever made. I tried it 3 times before and never got past episode 4. So I went with Game of Thrones despite all the hate about the final season. Honestly I had a great time rewatching seasons 1 through 4 and stopping there. That was the right call for me personally. Has anyone else just skipped the bad seasons of a show and called it a day?

7

murray.jana•2d ago

TIL why slow burn shows are better than fast paced ones

I was scrolling through reviews on my phone at lunch and someone said 'this show respects your time by not rushing'. That hit me hard. I always thought fast action was better but I burned through 3 seasons of a slow drama in 2 weeks and actually remembered character names. Has anyone else found that slower pacing makes a show stick with you longer?

25

rowan969•6d ago

Last Tuesday I binged three seasons of a show I hated and it was weirdly amazing

I sat down at 7 PM with zero intention to watch something called 'Midnight Carrot' but the main character wore an orange hat and for some reason that hooked me. By 3 AM I'd finished 26 episodes and my coffee went cold twice. Has anyone else stuck with a show they initially rolled their eyes at?

22

jennifer833•6d ago

Why does nobody talk about how show pacing has completely changed?

I was watching Lost on streaming last week, a show from 2004, and noticed how slowly it moves compared to stuff now. Back then, episodes had long quiet scenes and you'd wait episodes for a big reveal. Now shows like The Bear cram a whole character arc into 30 minutes. I think Netflix and Hulu changed the game by dropping whole seasons at once, making writers speed everything up. Does anyone else miss when shows took their time, or am I just getting old?

4

karen361•6d ago

Overheard my neighbor say she only watches shows from the 90s now

My neighbor Karen (different Karen) told me last week she gave up on new shows entirely. Said everything feels like a 10 hour movie instead of letting you breathe. Got me thinking about how different binge watching is now. Remember when shows had 22 episodes a season and you could actually sit with a story for months? Anyone else feel like streaming shows rush through plots too fast these days?

10

karen361•7d ago

PSA: started watching Severance at 9pm and finished at 5am

I used to be the type who watched one episode a night, like a normal person. But last Saturday I clicked on Severance on Apple TV and next thing I knew the sun was coming up. I didn't even pause to eat dinner, just sat there eating cold pizza straight from the fridge at 2am. Has anyone else had a show just wreck their entire sleep schedule like that?

3

the_anthony•23d ago

That episode of The Bear where Richie goes to the fancy restaurant changed my whole view of the show

I was just laying on my couch last night finishing season 2 of The Bear, and the moment where Richie gets sent to work at that upscale place in Chicago hit me way harder than I expected. At first I was annoyed cause I thought it was gonna be some boring side plot, but then when he starts actually caring about the forks and the napkins and the timing, I was like wait what is happening to me. I literally sat up and rewound the scene where he tears up during that Taylor Swift song because it just felt so real and earned. The way they showed him slowly getting it instead of having some big speech moment was so smart. Idk if it's just me but that episode felt like the whole point of the season was hiding in there the whole time. Has anyone else had a random episode of a show flip your opinion of a character like that?

2

rubyk26•23d ago

Why does everyone love The Wire? I tapped out after 8 episodes

I tried watching The Wire last month because everyone says it's the greatest show ever. I made it through 8 episodes and it just felt slow and hard to follow. Did I miss something or is it just not for me?

24

gracec16•26d ago

Changed my mind on rewatching shows after the third time through The Wire

I used to never rewatch anything. Just figured once I saw it, why bother again. But last winter I gave The Wire another shot and caught details I missed the first two times. Things like the camera work in season 4 and how a minor line in episode 1 sets up something big in episode 10. Now I keep a list of shows I want to revisit every couple years. Has anyone else found a show that got better the second or third time around?

1

wade871•27d ago

Pro tip: stop skipping the first episode just because it's slow

I used to always skip the first episode of a new show because I figured I could catch up later. For years I did this with every series, jumping straight into episode 2 or 3. Then last month I started watching this crime drama called The Missing and skipped right to episode 2. By episode 5 I was totally lost on a character's backstory and had to look it up online. That's when I realized I was missing all the setup and tone that makes a show click. Now I force myself to watch every pilot all the way through, even if it's boring for the first 20 minutes. Has anyone else had a binge ruined by skipping the opening episode like that?

21

kelly385•28d ago

Finally finished Severance after 3 tries and it clicked hard

I kept starting the first episode of Severance and falling asleep around the 20 minute mark, no joke. The pacing felt so slow to me and I couldnt get into the office vibe. But last weekend I had a rainy Saturday with nothing else to do so I forced myself through episode 3. Something just unlocked in my brain after that and I binged the whole season in one day. The way the story slowly puts these puzzle pieces together is wild, by the end I was yelling at my TV. I learned that some shows just need a specific mood or time of day to really grab you. Has anyone else had a show they had to start multiple times before it finally took off?

21

jamie940•28d ago

Hot take: Binge watching a show weekly vs. all at once changes everything

Last month I watched Severance one episode per week with my sister, and we spent hours talking about theories and noticing little details. But 3 years ago I binged the entire first season of Stranger Things in one weekend, and I honestly can't remember half of what happened because it all blurred together. The slow watch made the show stick with me longer, but the binge gave me that immediate rush of finishing a story. I'm rewatching Succession now and trying to stretch it out, but the suspense is killing me. Does taking your time actually make a show better, or does it just drag out the waiting? For me, the weekly thing felt deeper, but I also missed being able to talk about the whole season at once with friends. Which side do you fall on for a show you really love?

3

fiona_west21•1mo ago

That one show I binged in 3 days still has me questioning reality

Last week I was parked for a mandatory 34-hour reset outside of Billings, Montana, and I started watching "The Leftovers" on a whim. Three days later I had finished all 3 seasons and honestly I still don't know what happened in some episodes. Has anyone else watched something that left you more confused than when you started?

7

dakotab93•1mo ago

Hit 117 episodes in 6 days and I'm questioning my life choices

Started watching this medieval drama last Friday night at 9pm. By Sunday morning I was 47 episodes deep and hadn't eaten a real meal. By Wednesday I hit 117 episodes total and realized I'd watched 28 hours in 5 days. My sleep schedule is wrecked and I called in sick to work yesterday just to finish the season finale. Has anyone else completely lost track of reality after a hard binge like this?

6

knight.dylan•1mo ago

Hit 50 shows finished this year and it kinda messed with my head

I was scrolling my watchlist on Letterboxd last night and realized I've completed exactly 50 full series in 2024. That includes everything from an 8 season drama to a 3 episode crime doc. It made me wonder if I'm just avoiding real life or if this is normal for people who work physical jobs and just need to shut their brain off at night. Has anyone else counted their total and gotten surprised by the number?

16

joel_clark37•1mo ago

Started watching Severance last Tuesday and finished it Sunday night

I went into it totally blind, didn't know anything about the plot. My coworker just said "trust me it's good" and that was it. By Wednesday I was staying up until 2am because every episode ends on a cliffhanger. The show completely changed how I think about work life balance after seeing season 1. Has anyone else had that moment where you just can't stop watching even though you have stuff to do?

27

karen_sanchez49•1mo ago

Went from hating The Office to binging all 9 seasons in 3 weeks

I swore up and down that show was overrated and annoying. Then my roommate put on the episode where Jim pranks Dwight with the office in a box. I caught myself actually laughing out loud around midnight. Next thing I knew I was on season 3 by Friday. The awkward humor just clicked for me after that one scene. Now I'm the one trying to get everyone I know to watch it. Has anyone else flipped on a show they thought they'd never like?

14

stellaperry•1mo ago

Hit 50 episodes of Taskmaster in two weeks and I can't stop

I started watching Taskmaster on a whim because I needed background noise while cleaning my apartment. 50 episodes later, I'm obsessed with the task scoring and how Greg Davies reacts to weird solutions. It surprised me because I usually hate panel shows and competition formats. The British version just clicks for me better than the American one. Has anyone else gotten hooked on a show they thought they'd hate based on the description?

2

kelly.hannah•1mo ago

Shoutout to the person who told me to stick with 'The Bear' after the first episode

I thought the frantic kitchen chaos was just annoying stress porn, but the 'Fishes' episode in season 2 convinced me it's about family trauma. Anyone else have a show that won them over against their will?

22

jakejones•1mo ago

Found a way to actually finish a show without getting distracted halfway through

I kept starting shows and then dropping them after maybe 5 episodes. My fix was to use the 'skip intro' button on Netflix, but also skip the recap at the start. It cut out about 3 minutes per episode. Over a 10 episode season, that's like a whole extra episode of time saved, and it kept the story moving faster for me. Anyone else have a simple trick like this that keeps you locked in?

16

the_alice•1mo ago

My niece asked me what a commercial break was

We were watching an old show from the 90s on a streaming service and she got confused when the screen went black for a second. I had to explain that's where ads used to play. It made me think about how we used to plan our whole night around a show's time slot, and now we can watch ten episodes in a row. I remember waiting a whole week just to see the next part of a story. Does anyone else have shows they loved but could never binge the way we do now?