Picking a TV series to watch
Picking a TV series to watch can be borderline stressful these days. Between Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Peacock, and the dozens of other streaming platforms all producing content, it’s hard to know where to even start looking for a new show to watch. Some people spend their entire evenings scrolling through the lists of available options until their eyes glaze over, and it’s time to go to sleep.
With the overwhelming amount of choices, it’d be easy enough to put down the remote and pick up your phone for a quick game of spin casino, but you’d also be missing out. People are calling this the “golden age of TV series” because there’s no shortage of high-quality shows that pair great actors with unbelievable production budgets. Luckily, there are some criteria you can use to narrow down your options.
Production team
Take a look back at some of the shows you’ve most enjoyed in the past, and look for names that you keep seeing over & over. You probably already have favorite actors that you’re following, but sometimes it’s the team behind a particular show that really makes it great. Try to find the writers & directors who’s shows you’ve fallen in love with.
Often, you’ll notice that a particular writer or director really speaks to you. From there, it’s easy enough to take a look at what other shows they’ve worked on. Sometimes writers will only handle an episode or two on a series, so make sure that you also take a look at what showrunners keep you coming back for more.
Genre
The next thing you should pay attention to is the genre of whatever show you’re thinking of watching. Do you have a love of police procedurals, medical dramas, or mind-bending science fiction epics? Most streaming platforms let you browse their content by genre, so you can narrow down your options to a certain degree.
By keeping your list of favorite writers, directors, and showrunners in mind, you can see if any of them have worked with a genre you particularly enjoy. To mix things up, see who’s worked across multiple genres. Maybe your favorite mystery writer has a new horror series for you to check out.
Reviews
Finally, when you’ve got two or three shows on your “maybe” list, it’s time to check out the reviews. There are more TV series out there than you could ever hope to watch, so why waste your time with something that’s terrible if you can avoid it? All reviews are subjective, but if you notice that there are extreme opinions on a show, one way or another, that can tell you quite a lot.
Using reviews as a starting point isn’t very helpful because there are just so many TV series being released every month that by going to a review site, you’re just landing in front of another endless list of options. However, using reviews to make your final decision can help you land on an excellent new series to watch every single time.
