We all know the process – we get hooked on a show, we proceed to watch endlessly until either the show ends or an event occurs that makes us hate the show. And after reaching that point, we search for our next addiction.
Yet what is it about these shows that make us desire them so incredibly much? What is it about television shows that just makes us want to binge-watch? Is it the acting? Is it the scores of hours that can be wasted with a good series? Is it being “in the know” and understanding references people make?
While all of that assuredly plays a factor, I believe the biggest reason we love the shows we do is because of the stories they tell; more specifically, the fact that the shows fulfill our longing for stories. What makes us pursue the next episode is the desire to know what happens next, to discover the fates of the characters that we fall in love (or hate) with.
We gain the opportunity to live vicariously through the characters on the screen, imaging ourselves as characters like the sacrificial leader Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead or the brilliant observer Patrick Jane from The Mentalist. However, a more powerful effect that these stories from television have on us are uniting us through the story. We are able to relate to the sacrificial love, the moral dilemmas, the incomparable highs and despairing lows that characters face. We see how the characters act, and it draws out of us feelings of approval or dismay.
These stories are more than just tales on a screen. They are, at their core, stories that speak to us about us, reflecting some truth about us. Any comedy we watch is a testament to what we find humorous or reveals a reality of life in a comical twist. Dramatic crime shows give us a glimpse into how dark human nature can become and the spectacular feeling of good overcoming evil. Post-apocalyptic storylines present us with dilemmas, forcing us to consider what decision we would make and what it means to live, to be moral, and to be human.
Our longing for stories draws us repeatedly back to television series. Yet it is these television series that show us what we really long for is not the stories found in them, but the stories we find in our own lives.
