c/binge-worthy-shows

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

Tried to find a show to watch with my wife and it took us two whole nights

We sat down Friday ready to watch something new, but spent an hour just scrolling through Netflix and Hulu. Every time one of us picked something, the other would say 'maybe not that' after reading the description. We finally settled on a show called 'The Diplomat' on Saturday, after wasting our whole Friday evening. Has anyone else had this problem of taking forever to just pick something?

Had to pick between finishing 'Severance' or starting 'Shogun' last night

My buddy said I HAD to watch 'Shogun' right away, but I was already three episodes into 'Severance'. I chose to finish the first season of 'Severance' in one sitting, which took about five hours. The ending completely messed with my head, but now I feel behind on the 'Shogun' hype. Anyone else face a choice like this between two huge shows?

Just had to choose between finishing The Bear or starting Shogun

My wife and I had one free weekend before her travel season starts, so we had to pick one show to binge. We went with the final season of The Bear because we were already invested in the characters, and it was a great choice. The stress of the kitchen felt real, and the ending was perfect. Has anyone else had to make a tough choice between two big shows like that?

Talking to my dad about 'The Bear' made me see it differently

He's worked in kitchens his whole life and said the constant stress and yelling in the show is spot on, not just drama. It made me appreciate the show's accuracy way more. Anyone else have a show that clicked after talking to someone with real experience in that world?

My sister said my show picks were 'all vibe, no plot' after I recommended a 5-season slow burn

I started looking for shows with a clear story arc from the first episode, and honestly, it's made my weekend binges way more satisfying, so what's a show you loved that hooked you with its plot right away?

Finally caved and got the premium streaming bundle for $25 a month

My old plan was just one service, but I kept seeing clips from shows on other platforms. I signed up for the bundle last Friday, which gives me four different apps. Already binged a whole new sci-fi series over the weekend that I couldn't watch before. Anyone else find a bundle that actually gave you more to watch?

My friend swore up and down that 'The Great British Bake Off' was a thriller. I finally watched it and now I'm yelling at bread.

Remembering when my neighbor insisted I watch a show on VHS

Back in 2005, my neighbor Frank, who was about 70, knocked on my door with a tape. He said, 'You kids with your DVDs, you need to see this.' It was a recorded-off-TV copy of the original 'The Twilight Zone.' We watched three episodes on his old CRT, and he explained how waiting a week for a new one felt. It made me appreciate how immediate binging is now. Has anyone else had an older person introduce them to a classic show in a weird format?

Just learned that the first season of 'The Wire' had a budget under $50 million

I was reading an old interview with David Simon in a Baltimore newspaper from 2002. He mentioned the entire first season cost about $48 million to make, which seems tiny now for a show that good. They had to reuse locations and keep the cast smaller than they wanted. It makes you appreciate how they pulled it off without the massive budgets we see today. What other older shows do you think did a lot with a little?

My internet crapped out right before the finale of Severance

It happened last Thursday night, right as the big twist was about to land... I spent the next 45 minutes pacing and trying to reset the router. Anyone have a good offline show to download for the next time this happens?

My power was out for a whole day and I finally watched 'The Bear'

We had a bad storm here in Cleveland last Tuesday, and my internet and power were down for like 12 hours straight. I'd been putting off watching 'The Bear' because I thought it'd be stressful, but I binged the whole first season on my phone with a portable charger. Has anyone else had a show they only got into because they were stuck somewhere?

Showerthought: I just read that the 'Previously On' recaps for Breaking Bad were filmed after the whole season was done.

Found that out in a random YouTube video essay and it blew my mind, because I always assumed they were shot with the episode.

My neighbor's kid said something that made me rethink how I watch shows

I was walking my dog yesterday and overheard my neighbor's son, maybe 12, telling his friend he was watching a show 'one episode a week with my dad.' It hit me that I haven't done that since I was a kid. I just binge everything in two days now. I realized I miss the slow build and talking about each episode. Has anyone tried going back to watching a new show weekly instead of all at once?

Just saw that the first season of Stranger Things cost Netflix about $6 million per episode

I was reading an article about streaming budgets and that number really surprised me. It made me think about how much more expensive shows have gotten since then. Do you think that kind of spending is still worth it for a new series?

I finally gave in and tried that show everyone was talking about

Honestly, I thought 'The Last of Us' was just another zombie thing and skipped it for months. My friend basically forced me to watch the first episode last weekend. Ngl, I was wrong, the story and acting are actually incredible. I ended up watching the whole season in two days. Has anyone else had a show totally surprise them like that?

PSA: My Netflix 'continue watching' list hit 42 shows last night

I opened the app to finally finish a series and just stared at the number. Forty-two. That's a full work week of shows just sitting there, half-watched. I got to that point by starting something new every time I got bored, which is about every two episodes. The worst part is I can't even remember what half of them are about. There's a cooking competition show I stopped after the third challenge, a cartoon I watched one episode of with my niece, and a crime drama where I forgot who the killer was. It felt like a weird personal failure, but also kind of funny. My own laziness created a TV graveyard. Has anyone else's 'continue watching' list gotten totally out of hand like this?

So I dropped $40 on a month of that new streaming service just to watch one show, and now I'm stuck in a 12-episode hole.

It was for that new sci-fi series everyone's talking about, and now I'm three days deep with no signs of stopping, so what's a show that completely took over your life like that?