Whether it’s a streaming service’s exclusive content, or a long-loved series that finally found a service to pony up the cash for the rights, or just some dedicated searching to find a pirate stream, the ability to drop a whole day on watching a television series without dropping $20-60 USD for a season of the DVDs has changed the way that we consume a series.
It certainly has changed for me. It used to be if I missed an episode of a show I would have to wait 4-6 months for it to be available on that season’s DVD box set, and have the money to either pick it up, or have friends who could afford and would let me borrow it after they’d finished up with it. Netflix made it a lot easier to catch up on Dexter (before it started to suck), and start watching other series that I hadn’t thought about watching.
But, time passed, more became available, services started locking down the rights for my favorite series, and I got less interested in the new content. After all, new stuff needed my constant attention, and usually Netflix is part of my “waking up” routine, something to have on in the background where I already know the course of the series, but still enjoy watching it anyway.
Eventually I, as many, many, many people come to do, developed a rotation of the shows I would watch. For me? 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation are always in the rotation, with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Leverage, White Collar, Ugly Betty, Jane the Virgin, and episodes of Hell’s Kitchen where the restaurants are still open today, all in order to mix up the cycle. Occasionally I throw in some anime, particularly Ouran High School Host Club or The Devil is a Part-Timer because they’re easy to binge in 2-3 days.
It’s obvious that most of this isn’t “challenging material”, but binge-watching is pretty much the comfort food of entertainment now. It’s not just that we can consume the media in record time, we can also keep watching the same shows in rotation, or targeted to specific moods and times of the year. If I’m having a shitty day, a new episode of Lucifer might cheer me up, but I can always put it off until tomorrow and watch the “Leslie and Ben” episode of Parks and Recreation if I want to feel that life isn’t a buffet of crushing sadness.
Is it healthy? Everything in moderation, of course. Watching 1-3 eps in the morning to wake up, or to wind down after a long day is one thing. Staying up until 4 in the morning is another. It’s another reason some people have a rotation: You won’t stay up all night because you already know how it’s all going to turn out.
At the end of the day, though, there’s something to be said for new material, and if a new season gets released, even better. It just gives you an excuse to rewatch the series, again. ;)
