c/binge-worthy-shows

Just found out Netflix paid $100 million to keep Friends for one more year

My brother swore the 10 minute rule would save me from bad shows and he was dead right

Last month my brother told me to give any new show exactly 10 minutes before I decide to keep watching or ditch it. I thought that was way too short like how can you judge a whole series off 10 minutes right? But I tried it on The Bear gave it 10 minutes and was hooked immediately. Then I tried it on a few other shows and it saved me hours of boring stuff I would have pushed through. Now I use the 10 minute rule every time I start a new binge. Anyone else got a quick rule for deciding if a show is worth it?

Was team rolling credits after every episode for years until I found the 'skip intro' and 'next episode' auto-play button on Netflix during a Stranger Things marathon last summer

That auto-play feature cut my 8 season rewatch of The Office down to 3 days instead of 5, has anyone else switched to binging with no pauses between episodes?

Hit 23 episodes in one weekend and my brain short-circuited

I crushed 23 episodes of some random crime drama over a long weekend. My body clock is wrecked and I forgot to eat dinner twice. Has anyone else hit a crazy binge number like that?

I was wrong about slow burn dramas after watching Dark Winds

I always thought slow burn shows were boring and a waste of time. But I gave Dark Winds a shot last weekend and the way they built tension episode by episode had me hooked by episode 3. Has anyone else changed their mind on a genre after one good show?

Still thinking about that bartender who called me out on my pour

I was at this whiskey bar in Austin last month, sitting at the counter, and I asked for a $30 glass of something aged. The bartender looked at me and said "you don't even like this, you're just showing off." She was right, I was trying to impress someone on a date and she saw right through it. She poured me a $12 rye instead and it was way better. Has anyone else had a stranger just completely read you like that?

Dropped $60 on a year of a streaming tracker app and it paid off way too fast

I kept losing track of what shows were on what service and wasting half my evening scrolling. So I bought this app called Reelgood that just lists everything available on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, all of them. It cost me $60 for the year but I saved that in like 2 months because I actually found stuff to watch instead of giving up. The real win was it showed me a hidden gem on a platform I almost canceled. Has anyone else used one of those tracker apps or did it just burn your cash too?

Overheard a guy at a coffee shop say he watched ALL of The Wire in 4 days and I had questions

I was getting a latte last Tuesday in Portland and this dude next to me told his friend he 'ripped through the whole Wire series in 4 days flat.' Like 60 episodes, over 50 hours of TV. That's basically 12 hours a day minimum. I wanted to ask him if he even remembered what happened or if he just heard words and saw blurry faces by day 3. Has anyone here actually tried to binge a whole long series that fast and not ended up mixing up plotlines? I feel like shows under 3 seasons are fine but The Wire is dense.

Just noticed I watched 43 episodes of one show in two weeks

I started watching The Great British Baking Show last month and somehow hit 43 episodes before I even realized it. That's almost 30 hours of bread and handshakes in 14 days. Has anyone else had a show creep up on them like that without noticing the number?

Just realized I've watched 12 seasons of trash reality TV this year alone

I was cleaning out my Netflix history and counted 12 full seasons of those ridiculous housewife shows I binged in 2024. Never thought I'd hit double digits on something so mindless but here we are. Anyone else accidentally track how much time you've sunk into guilty pleasures?

A buddy told me my crime show picks were all surface level... he was right

I used to just watch whatever crime show was on Netflix trending, usually stuff like CSI or Law and Order reruns. Then a buddy who's really into the genre sat me down and said I was only watching the stuff with big car chases and not the ones that actually make you think. He gave me three specific shows: The Fall, Unbelievable, and Mindhunter. After watching those, I finally got why he said my picks were shallow. Now I look for shows that focus on the psychology of the case instead of just the action. Has anyone else had a friend call out their taste and totally change their watchlist?

Spent $60 on a streaming service for one show and cancelled after 3 days

I signed up for BritBox on a whim because everyone kept raving about this British crime drama called Shetland. Figured I'd give it a shot, $60 for the whole year seemed like a deal. Binge watched two seasons in like two days and realized I hated the main character. He makes so many dumb choices. Now I'm stuck with this subscription for 11 more months and I haven't opened the app since. Anyone else impulse buy a whole streaming service for one show and instantly regret it?

My coworker told me I was overthinking Season 2 of Dark... she was totally right

I spent like 6 episodes taking notes and pausing to look up character trees online. Finally my coworker Jenny said 'stop trying to solve it and just watch it.' She was 100% correct. Once I relaxed and stopped treating it like homework I actually followed the story way better. Has anyone else ruined a show by trying too hard to figure it out early?

Used to skip everything but the main character's POV episodes, now I watch them all

I was that person who would fast forward through any side plot (honestly, anything without the main character). Then I tried watching Dark on Netflix last month and got so lost by episode 3 I had to restart. What changed me was realizing the side stories are what make the world feel real, they're not just filler. Now I watch everything in order even if it's boring at first. Has anyone else had a show force them to change how they binge?

Hot take: I think The Office is totally overrated and here's why

Honestly, I tried watching it three times over the last five years and I barely got through season 2. My buddy at work kept saying I was missing out but I found the cringe humor just made me uncomfortable, not laugh. I spent a whole weekend once forcing myself through 10 episodes and by Sunday night I was just annoyed. Does anyone else just not get the hype around this show or am I the only one?

I finally binged The Bear in one weekend and now I can't watch cooking shows the same way

After 3 episodes I noticed the editing style completely changed how I feel about kitchen chaos, has anyone else had a show totally shift your perception of a whole profession?

Just finished season 3 of The Expanse and everyone says it gets better but I'm bored

I pushed through to season 4 after a friend swore it picks up around episode 7, but I'm still waiting for something interesting to happen. Am I missing something or should I just drop it for another show?

Hit 100 episodes of The Office reruns and still caught something new

I was bored last month and decided to track how many times I've watched The Office through. Turns out I'm at 100 full episodes on rewatch number 5, not counting the ones I skip. What caught me off guard was that I still noticed a background gag I'd missed before, something with Kevin eating chili in season 5. It made me wonder if there's a show you can truly exhaust or if these little details keep it fresh forever. Anyone else hit a big number on a comfort show and find new stuff?

Binged all 6 seasons of The Expanse in 10 days and now I feel lost

I was at my buddy's cabin up near Lake Tahoe last month and we started season 1 on a boring rainy afternoon. Before I knew it I was staying up till 3am every night and finished the whole series in like 10 days flat. Now I'm back home and nothing else on Netflix hits the same. Anyone else get that empty feeling after finishing a really long show?

Burned 30 hours on a show that got cancelled after 1 season

I got hooked on this sci-fi series called The Outpost last month. Binged the whole thing over two weeks, like 4am nights, the works. Then I look it up and it got cancelled after 13 episodes. Just dead. No ending, nothing. I wasted 30 hours of my life on a story that goes nowhere. Anyone else fall for a show that just stopped mid story?

Friend told me my show picks were all too slow, so I gave up on pacing rules

My buddy Dave said I only watch shows that take 4 episodes to get going, and he was right about me sitting through 3 hours of a slow drama before anything happened. I cut out anything that doesn't hook me by the end of episode 2 now, and it totally changed what I binge. Anyone else have someone call out their viewing habits and actually take the advice?

That one weekend I tried to watch Dark and tapped out after 4 episodes

I kept hearing how Dark was this masterpiece of time travel storytelling so I figured I'd give it a shot last Saturday. Made it through the first two episodes and felt like I needed a flowchart just to keep track of who was who. By episode 4 I had no idea what was happening with the family trees and the 1953 and 2019 stuff blending together. My wife walked in and asked if I was watching a show about a missing kid or a sci-fi thing and I couldn't even give her a straight answer. I get that people love the puzzle box approach but I just wanted a story I could follow without taking notes. Ended up switching to a documentary about concrete trucks which was way more relaxing. Has anyone else bounced off a critically acclaimed show because it felt like homework?

It bugs me when people call The Wire a slow burn like that's a bad thing

I mean, I get that not everyone wants to sit through 13 episodes of setup before things really pop off, but calling it slow feels like missing the whole point. I rewatched season 4 last month and the way they build up the school system storyline over like 6 episodes is honestly masterful pacing. Has anyone else noticed that younger viewers seem to check out after the first 3 episodes and never come back?

Binged Black Mirror all wrong for years - found out last week

I always watched Black Mirror one episode a day. Told myself it was to savor it. But last week I realized I was missing so many details. A friend on Reddit mentioned how episodes connect in subtle ways. Stuff like background screens or news clips from other episodes. I went back and rewatched "White Christmas" after "USS Callister." Spotted like 3 references I never caught before. It's a totally different show when you binge the whole thing fast. Anyone else have a show that got better after changing how you watched it?

Why nobody talks about bingeing a show in 4K vs HD on a slow connection

I tried to binge watch the new season of The Last of Us in 4K on my standard 25 Mbps internet. By episode 3, the buffering every 10 minutes was driving me crazy. I swapped to HD and it played smooth the whole rest of the night. Learned that if your download speed is under 50 Mbps, 4K is gonna choke hard. Anyone else get burned by this or is it just my crappy rural internet?