c/binge-worthy-shows

Downloading the first 3 episodes before a flight saved my sanity

Had a 6 hour flight to Phoenix last month and figured I'd catch up on that new crime drama everyone's talking about. Problem was the plane wifi is trash and costs like $25. So I downloaded the first 3 episodes at home on my tablet before I left. Watched all of them on the plane without buffering or paying a dime. Now I do this for every trip longer than 2 hours. Anyone else have a go to show they save for flights?

Had to choose between watching The Wire and Breaking Bad first

I finally had a week off in January and wanted to start a new long show. My buddy kept telling me The Wire was the greatest thing ever, but my sister swore Breaking Bad was the one. I went with Breaking Bad first because she said it hooks you faster, and she was right. I burned through the first 3 seasons in like 10 days, couldn't stop. Just finished the whole thing last week and now I'm worried The Wire will feel too slow after that. Anyone else have a similar toss-up that worked out or totally backfired?

I tried watching a 90s show my coworker raved about and it felt slower than I expected

Last weekend I finally sat down to watch that show my guy Mark has been pushing for months. It's a crime drama from the mid 90s that everyone says is a classic. But I got through three episodes and I kept checking my phone. The pacing was just really slow compared to what I'm used to now. Each scene would drag on for minutes without much happening. I figured maybe I'm just spoiled by modern shows that cut to the point faster. Has anyone else gone back to an old favorite and found it hard to get through?

TIL the first episode of a show doesnt always hook you

I almost quit The Leftovers after 3 episodes cause it was so slow and confusing. But my buddy swore it gets insane by episode 6, so I stuck with it and yeah, that twist in season 1 totally changed everything for me. Has anyone else given up on a show too early and regretted it later?

Bought a $20 streaming stick and it saved my weekend road trip

I grabbed a cheap Roku stick for my hotel TV last month and it turned a boring room into a mini movie marathon setup. The remote didn't even pair right at first, but after 10 minutes of fiddling it worked fine. Anybody else ever toss money at a gadget that just barely works but totally pays off in the end?

Binged 8 episodes of a show and realized I wasted 6 hours

I spent last Saturday glued to a Netflix series that had great reviews, but by episode 8 I realized nothing had happened and the plot was going nowhere. Lost a whole Saturday afternoon and felt super annoyed at myself for not checking out sooner. Anyone else fall for a show with a good trailer but zero payoff?

Overheard someone at a coffee shop raving about Dark and now I'm 8 episodes in

I was grabbing a latte last Tuesday and this guy at the next table was telling his friend that Dark was the only show that made him rewatch episodes immediately after finishing them. I'd heard of it before but never gave it a shot, so I figured why not. Eight episodes later and I'm completely hooked on the family tree stuff and time travel loops. It's a lot to keep track of with all the characters at different ages though. Has anyone else had to pause and look up a guide just to figure out who's who?

Finally binged through all of The Terror in 3 days flat

I used to watch new shows one episode a week, taking it slow with breaks in between. But last weekend I caught a cold and just clicked play on episode 1 of The Terror season 1 around 2pm Friday. By Sunday night I had finished all 10 episodes, barely stopping for food or sleep. The way the tension builds with the ships stuck in the ice just hooked me completely. Has anyone else had a show grab them like that where you physically could not stop pushing play?

That weekend I flew through all 6 seasons of The Expanse

Last month I had a nasty cold and couldn't move from the couch for a whole Saturday and Sunday. My buddy kept telling me to watch The Expanse for like a year and I finally caved. I started on a Saturday morning and by Sunday night I had finished season 2 and started season 3. The world building is just INSANE with all the politics between Earth, Mars, and the Belt. I loved how they handle space physics like gravity and air, it felt so real compared to other sci-fi. By Tuesday I had called in sick to finish seasons 4 through 6 because I couldn't stop. Has anyone else gotten completely wrecked by a show like this where you just lose a whole week of your life?

Spent 9 hours tracking down a 5-minute plot hole in Dark

Ngl, I was super into Dark on Netflix but something about the 1986 timeline wasn't adding up for me. I paused the show at like episode 5 and went down a rabbit hole of fan wikis and episode recaps to figure out if I missed a scene. Turns out the issue was just a single line of dialogue early on that I zoned out during. Has anyone else ever wasted an entire evening re-analyzing a show just because you thought something was off?

I finally get why people rave about Dark now

My buddy Mike kept telling me to watch Dark on Netflix for like a year and I kept brushing it off because German subtitles sounded like homework. Then I gave it 3 episodes last Sunday and realized I was a complete idiot - the casting across timelines is insane and now I'm 8 episodes deep. Has anyone else been this stubborn about a show and then had to eat their words?

I used to skip the 'Previously On' recaps for The Bear, but now I always watch them

Honestly, I used to think they were just filler and would skip straight to the new episode. But after getting confused about a major plot point in season 2, I went back and watched the recap for that episode. It actually highlighted specific, tense moments from past episodes that directly set up the new conflict. Now I watch the 90-second recap every time and it makes the show way more intense. Does anyone else have a show where the recap is actually essential?

Appreciation post: Found a whole wall of old TV guides at my local library in Tacoma

I was dropping off some books and saw they had a display of TV guides from the 90s, which really hit me how we used to plan our whole week around what was on. Now I can watch an entire show's season in a weekend if I want, but there was something fun about that old way of waiting. Do you ever miss that feeling of having to wait for the next episode?

Just realized my whole show-watching style changed after a trip to my friend's cabin in Michigan

We were stuck there for a weekend with a bad storm and the internet went out. All we had was this old box set of a show called 'The Wire' that my friend's dad left there. We started it just to pass the time and ended up watching the whole first season in one go, talking about each episode after. Now I can't stand watching just one episode of a good show at a time, I have to save them up and do a whole story arc. Does anyone else find they need to watch shows in big chunks now, or is it just me?

Just read that the final season of 'The Expanse' cost over $10 million per episode to make, found that in a random article on my phone last night.

Explains why the space scenes looked so insane, but man, I wish they'd spent a bit more on the writers for that last arc, anyone else feel like the ending was rushed?

I was watching shows on my phone for years and didn't get the hype

Honestly, I always thought people with big TVs were just being extra. I'd watch everything on my phone, even big shows like 'Stranger Things' or 'The Last of Us'. Then I stayed at my brother's place in Phoenix for a week and he has this 65-inch screen. We watched the first episode of 'Dune: Prophecy' on it. Tbh, it was a totally different thing. I finally saw all the details in the costumes and the huge desert scenes actually felt huge. I realized I was missing half the picture and the whole mood of these shows by squinting at a tiny screen. It made me feel like I wasn't even watching the same shows everyone was talking about. Has anyone else made a switch like that and had a show completely change for them?

My wife said my show picks are 'emotionally flatlining'

She called my favorite gritty crime dramas 'a parade of sad men in the rain', so I finally watched Ted Lasso last month. Anyone got a show that's the perfect mix of funny AND has some actual stakes?

My brother said he binged 'The Bear' in one sitting and it changed his mind about cooking shows

We were at his place in Chicago and he told me he watched all of season 2 in a single night. He said he used to think cooking shows were just calm background noise, but the stress and yelling in that show felt real, like his old kitchen job. Has anyone else had a show totally flip their view on a whole type of TV?

I was watching shows all wrong for years and a friend's comment last night made it click.

I always watched one episode a night, like clockwork, for my 'me time'. My buddy came over and saw my queue for 'Severance' and said 'Dude, you're doing it wrong, that show is a one-sitting thing.' So I tried it. I watched four episodes in a row and it was a totally different experience. The tension and mystery actually built up like they were supposed to. I felt way more into the story. Has anyone else had a show completely change for you when you switched from weekly to binge watching?

I bought a whole streaming service for one show and it was a total bust

Signed up for that new Starz add-on just to watch 'The Serpent Queen'. Cost me $8.99 a month. Watched the first three episodes and it was so slow. Kept the subscription for two full months thinking it would get better. Never did. Wasted almost eighteen bucks on nothing. Anyone have a good historical drama that actually picks up the pace?

Just finished a show in two days using a weird trick my friend told me.

I was stuck on a long, slow drama for weeks. My friend said to try watching it at 1.25x speed for the boring parts. I did it for the first season of 'The Crown'. Got through six hours of setup in about five. It kept the story moving without losing the plot. Now I'm hooked and finished the whole thing. Anyone else use speed settings to get into a tough show?

Honestly just learned that the first season of Stranger Things cost about $6 million per episode. Saw it in a Netflix documentary about making the show. That's a crazy amount for a new show back in 2016, right?

Just hit 100 shows logged on my watchlist app and it made me realize how much TV I've actually watched.

Just finished a show I've been putting off for years

Three years ago, my friend in Chicago would not stop telling me to watch 'The Expanse'. I kept saying I would, but I never did. Last month, I finally started it during a rainy weekend and got totally hooked. I just watched the final episode last night and it felt like closing a really good book. Has anyone else had a show they waited way too long to start?

I just found out The Office was almost cancelled after season 2, saw it on a random YouTube doc about NBC in the 2000s