The Psychology Behind Comfort Shows

There’s a saying that you need 10,000 hours to truly master a skill – and in the aftermath of a global pandemic, it’s safe to say that I’ve surpassed that in the skill of watching TV. Whether or not it qualifies as a skill is debatable, but something that I believe reigns true for everyone is that we all have comfort shows. Definition wise, a comfort show is a show that provides a source of escapism or can make someone feel better about their circumstances. Looking back on 2020, I’ve realized that during stressful times, I never indulged in anything new. Even though I might’ve tried out potential hobbies or TV shows, I found myself reaching back to the same shows. New Girl, Friends, Gilmore Girls, all shows that I rewatched during the pandemic. 

Everyone rewatches shows, and there’s a scientific explanation behind it. In an interview with Medium, Psychologist Pamela Rutledge explains that rewatching reaffirms order in the world, creating a sense of safety and comfort on a primal level. In the midst of a global pandemic when the numbers of television consumption rose, the television was a source of comfort for most. It was something that many could still enjoy from their homes, something easy and familiar –an escape from reality. Escapism, as defined by the dictionary, is the avoidance of reality by absorption of the mind in entertainment or in an imaginative situation. A concept popularized by TikTok and seen by the multitudes of lists titled “20 TV shows to watch to escape reality”, escapism has seemed like the solution to all problems. In a journal article written by Leonard I. Pearlin, titled “Social and Personal Stress and Escape Television Viewing”, Pearlin discusses the relief people get from watching television, relieving the anxieties present in the current world. The vulnerability humans have in real life is shielded with entertainment, with escape becoming the emotional path that people tend to take. Escapism gives us a break from the horrors of reality and, compared with fresher shows, it’s not as cognitively demanding. Psychologist Barry Schwartz’s paradox of the choice theory is applicable to this. When presented with multiple options, the brain can become overwhelmed and, as a result, humans are more susceptible to choose either nothing at all or something familiar, like a favorite TV series. 

Although rewatching TV shows is a new phenomenon, human instinct to turn towards the same stories again and again is part of what makes us human. In an interview with Time magazine, Shira Gabriel, a professor of psychology at the University of Buffalo who has researched this topic, explains how watching television increases senses of belonging. Going back in time, it’s been proven that humans have an innate sense of needing to belong to larger groups for survival and we are biologically programmed to find solace in stories. Gabriel states that “there’s a strong, very old evolutionary system in us that pulls us towards wanting these comforting narratives”. Throughout human history, humans have lived in a collective state. With tribes such as the Mayans or even infamous cults such as The Manson Family, people have evolved to have a survival mechanism that draws them to others. Despite living in independent societies, people often band together for mutual protection. These relationships were stunted during the pandemic, with the social aspect of life slowly waning. Fictional characters such as Chandler in Friends or Phil in Modern Family became all the social interaction people had. There was no need to differentiate real and fictional as the fictional counterpart gave people just as much fulfillment in belonging by feeling connected to others through rose colored glasses. Shows almost always give a “happy ending”, which can provide us solace in not finding our own happy ending. When watching a TV show, we don’t have to work for the happy ending, we simply just have to watch. In the real world, we have to work for a happy ending, it’s not just handed to us. The thought of not having a happy ending scares us, which is why we resort to television, where happiness is almost always guaranteed. 

With television being a more popular form these days, more and more directors are exploiting it. The sense of nostalgia overpowering the need for new material, new shows. Think of the reruns that are being filmed right now. The Little Mermaid, That 90’s Show, etc. Certain episodes or movies are often time capsules for some, taking us back to happy memories from the past, making reruns of classics higher in demand during the pandemic. Nostalgia is the link between stored memories in the brain and emotions. Diving deeper into the brain, it’s been shown that the neural activity activated by rewatching a TV show causes the release of dopamine, leaving us with that warm, fuzzy feeling in our bodies. In an interview with Vogue, Lucy Spicer iterates the fact that the brain makes paired associations, meaning that when we watch something specific, it can awaken our emotions we felt at that point. Nostalgia is an easy way to travel back in time, but the effects of it can be addicting and be used excessively. Nostalgia can serve as a substitute for living in current reality when real life situations are too much to bear. 

There’s a certain magic to rewatching films that you can’t find anywhere else. In recent years, it’s been proven that humans learn through repetition and our brains form connections between these patterns, giving us a sense of security when we rewatch. We lean on fictional characters to fulfill our social needs, helping us feel more connected to others. The next time you find yourself reaching for a favorite show, know that you’re not alone. 

Works cited:

Pearlin, L. I. (1959). Social and personal stress and escape television viewing. Public Opinion Quarterly, 23(2), 255. https://doi.org/10.1086/266870

Goldfarb, A. (2022, May 17). Why rewatching your favorite TV show is good for you. Time. https://time.com/6177365/why-do-i-rewatch-tv-shows/

Khatib, H. (2021, June 20). Here’s the reason why you find comfort in rewatching your favourite TV shows over and over again. Vogue India. https://www.vogue.in/culture-and-living/content/why-do-you-find-comfort-in-rewatching-your-favourite-tv-shows-over-and-over-again

Rocha, M. (2019, October 22). Why do we watch the same films and tv shows over and over again? Medium. https://malu-rocha.medium.com/why-do-we-watch-the-same-films-and-tv-shows-over-and-over-again-fbecfc67f3f0

Evans, O. G. (2022, November 3). Repetition compulsion: Why do we repeat the past? Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/repetition-compulsion.html