c/binge-worthy-shows

PSA: skip episode 4 of that Nordic thriller on your first run

Watched the whole 8 episode run with my buddy in Portland and we both realized episode 4 is just 40 minutes of flashbacks that the finale re-explains anyway, so skip it and come back later, has anyone else found filler episodes in shows with under 10 parts that are better on a rewatch?

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simonbell•6d ago

Binged a 14 season show in 3 weeks and now I'm lost

So I power watched this cop drama from 2005, all 14 seasons, during a slow stretch at work last month. By season 9 I was skipping meals and dreaming in procedural jargon, my wife said I looked like a zombie. Finished the finale on a Tuesday night at like 2am and just sat there staring at the credits. Now every new show feels flat because I keep comparing it to that one. Anyone else hit a post-binge slump this bad, what did you watch next to snap out of it?

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webb.jordan•6d ago

Paid $45 for a 4K streaming stick and it ruined my cheap TV upgrade

I thought I was being smart. Got a budget 4K TV on sale, then spent 45 bucks on a streaming stick to unlock the good apps. Turns out the stick's interface is so slow it takes 20 seconds just to open Netflix. My old 1080p Fire Stick from 2019 runs circles around it. The TV itself is fine, the stick is the bottleneck. Anyone else burned money on a shiny accessory that made your setup worse instead of better?

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elizabeth_williams•7d ago

Why does everyone hype slow burn shows but I almost quit 3 episodes in?

I started The Bear last month and honestly hated the first two episodes, all that yelling and chaos felt like noise for no reason. Then episode 4 hit and suddenly I was hooked, now I think it's the best kitchen drama I've seen since I moved to Chicago. So which is it for you all, do you push through a rough start or judge a show by its pilot episode alone?

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marymorgan•15d ago

That 3 day Survivor marathon backfired hard

Binged all 42 episodes of season 46 over a long weekend in Pittsburgh and by Monday I was so sick of challenges and tribal councils that I actually muted my TV during the finale, anyone else hit that burnout wall mid-show?

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ninaross•16d ago

My binge flow broke when the episodes got 12 minutes longer

I used to knock out 6 episodes of a crime doc before bed, but after season 2 padded every episode to 58 minutes I'm lucky to finish 3, has anyone else bailed on a show because the pacing dragged like that?

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umaprice•18d ago

Used to plan whole weekends around new releases, now I wait 6 months and let reviews settle

Back in 2018 I would take Friday off work for a big drop and watch 8 episodes straight. Missed a birthday dinner for one show and my buddy still brings it up. Now with so many platforms canceling stuff after 2 seasons, I just bookmark things and check back later. Last month I finally watched a thriller that had 40 episodes out and blew through it in 4 days. Feels way better to skip the hype and avoid the cliffhanger that never gets resolved. Anyone else shift their binge style after getting burned by a cancellation too many times?

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angelaellis•18d ago

Binged 3 seasons of a show just because of one filming location

I was in Vancouver last month and walked past this old brick building that looked super familiar, then realized it was the exterior of that detective show's precinct from season 1. Has anyone else had the urge to rewatch a whole series just because you stood somewhere from the opening credits?

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bailey.sam•18d ago

Gave that animated show 2 episodes, now I'm 14 deep on a Tuesday

My coworker kept pushing it at lunch for like a month, so I finally caved and watched the pilot on Sunday night. I figured I'd hate the art style or find the humor too childish, but by episode 4 I was texting him screenshots of the same dumb jokes. Has anyone else had a show flip their opinion that fast after being so annoyed by everyone recommending it?

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seanh91•19d ago

One comment about my podcast binges made me rethink my whole queue

I used to just blast through shows like 4 or 5 episodes in a row without really paying attention, just background noise while I did other stuff. My buddy caught me doing that during a rewatch of The Leftovers and straight up said "you're not even watching, you're just listening to a radio drama with faces." That stung because he was right. So last month I started doing one episode a night, no phone, no tabs open, and man it's a totally different show. I caught little details and dialogue I completely missed before. I even started taking 5 minute breaks between episodes to sit with what happened. Now I'm wondering if I should do this with shorter seasons too, anyone else ever slowed down and regretted binging fast in the first place?

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ruby_sanchez45•19d ago

Binge subtitles vs dubbed, glad I finally tried subtitles

I used to only watch dubbed shows because I hated reading while trying to follow fight scenes. Then last month I decided to watch Dark on Netflix with subtitles instead of the dub. Big difference. The voice acting in the dub felt flat compared to the original German. Plus I caught so many little details in the dialogue that got changed or simplified in the dub. Now I'm hooked on subtitles for anything foreign. Anyone else switch and never go back?

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troy_owens•19d ago

Overheard a coworker call a show 'background TV' and it stung

At lunch Tuesday, this guy in accounting said he puts on Severance just to have noise while he does dishes. I was floored. That show is so dense with clues and tiny details, I need subtitles and my full attention. Made me realize I've been treating some shows that way too, like I missed half of The Bear because I was scrolling my phone. Has anyone else gone back for a rewatch after realizing they weren't really watching the first time?

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ryanprice•20d ago

Binge rewatches vs new shows, I think I've flipped completely

Used to be all about finding the next fresh thing, would burn through 3 new series a month. Then last winter I got sick for 2 weeks and just rewatched The Office for the 4th time. Now I mostly stick to shows I've seen before when I'm tired or stressed. There's something about knowing what happens that helps me actually relax. Maybe it's the comfort thing. Has anyone else made this switch or am I just getting old at 34?

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the_keith•24d ago

Overheard a producer say the ending of that hit show was reshot last minute

I was at a coffee shop near Sunset Blvd on Tuesday and heard two guys talking about a major streaming show, they said the final episode they shot had a completely different ending than what aired. It got me thinking, how many binge series have endings that got changed in the edit after test audiences hated them? Has anyone else ever found out a show's original ending leaked or got discussed somewhere, and did it change how you felt about the season?

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wright.drew•25d ago

Took me 4 seasons to realize I was watching on the wrong setting

Was binge rewatching The Office on my laptop with autoplay skipping the openings for a whole week until my buddy pointed out the cold opens were half the show, so now I gotta ask, does anyone else go back and rewatch episodes just for the cold opens after switching platforms?

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nathan851•1mo ago

Unpopular opinion: The Wire's first season beats Breaking Bad's entire run

I finished The Wire for the third time last month and finally have to say it. Breaking Bad is a great show, no question, but it never made me care about a corner kid like Wallace or a dock worker like Frank Sobotka the way The Wire did in just 10 episodes. The Wire builds its world slowly with real police work and real city politics, while Breaking Bad kept raising the stakes until it felt like a comic book. Am I the only one who thinks a grounded procedural with zero flashy cinematography holds up better than the whole meth empire arc?

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karenm49•1mo ago

Binged Severance in 2 days, skipped the gym the whole time

I had to pick between a rewatch of The Bear or finally starting Severance, and I went with Severance on a whim. Finished all 9 episodes by Sunday night, I barely moved off my couch except to make popcorn twice. Anyone else find it impossible to pause between episodes or am I just weak?

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hugoj86•1mo ago

Cracked 200 episodes of The Office rewatch, finally counting my sick days off work

I hit episode 201 last Saturday and realized I've spent roughly 80 hours in Scranton this year alone, which is more time than I've spent with my own brother in Tulsa. Has anyone else tracked their watch time and felt genuinely weird about the numbers, or am I the only one keeping a spreadsheet?

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simonbell•1mo ago

Is it just me or do 2-season shows hit harder than 10-season slogs?

I burned through Dark in 5 days and then spent a whole weekend trying to convince my buddy that limited series are better, but he says he needs the long build like in The Wire, so which side are you on, and has anyone else tried rewatching a long show after a tight one and felt the pacing was off?

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karenm49•1mo ago

The hype around Ted Lasso left me cold after 8 episodes

I kept hearing everyone at work say how Ted Lasso would change my outlook on life. So I gave it a solid 8 episodes last month and honestly, I was bored by the end of each one. The jokes felt forced and the positivity came across as fake rather than heartwarming. Is there a show that actually picks up after a slow start, or am I just not the target audience for this kind of thing?

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lisa_grant•1mo ago

Just realized my coworker binged a 10 season show in 2 weeks

I was chatting with Frank over coffee at the Pilot truck stop in Flagstaff and he mentioned he finished all 10 seasons of Supernatural in 14 days flat... He said he skipped every single filler episode and only watched the main plot arcs. That hit me different because I always thought you had to savor shows, but he claimed the story actually hits harder when you trim the fluff. Has anyone else tried cutting out side plots to speed through a series?

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jordan134•1mo ago

TIL a buddy told me I was skipping the boring parts of shows and missing the point

I always fast forward through slow scenes in shows like Better Call Saul to get to the action. My buddy said I was missing character building and the payoff doesn't hit as hard. Ever had someone call you out on how you watch something that made you try a different approach?

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gavine41•1mo ago

Hit 200 episodes of the same show and still don't know the main character's name

I was scrolling through my Netflix history yesterday and saw I've watched 204 episodes of this one anime, One Piece. That's like 80 hours of my life gone and I honestly can't tell you the main guy's full name. I call him Straw Hat Luffy because that's what my buddy calls him. I started watching during a slow week at work back in March and now it's just on in the background while I cook dinner or fold laundry. The weird part is I got invested in the side characters more than the plot. There's this skeleton musician named Brook who makes jokes about having no skin and it got me through a rough Monday. Has anyone else accidentally binge a show for months and then realize you missed half the details because you were multitasking?

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camerona79•1mo ago

Tried to watch The Wire for the first time and my DVD player ate disc 2

Started my binge of The Wire this weekend, got maybe 3 episodes in and my cheap DVD player just chewed up disc 2. Took me like 2 hours to find a replacement at a thrift store across town. Has anyone else had old hardware ruin a perfect watch sesh?

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river_bailey2•1mo ago

Why does nobody talk about how many episodes in The Expanse are basically filler?

I finally finished season 3 last night and was surprised that like 4 or 5 episodes in the middle could have been cut without changing the story. I never see anyone mention this online. Most people just hype the show as nonstop action but I nearly quit around episode 8. Has anyone else felt this way about a long series they binged?

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