While these types articles have been done over and over again, after binge-watching various TV shows myself, I started to relate more and more to these articles. However, they never really captured exactly how I felt about this phenomenon, so I decided to write my own so I could put my own spin on it.

1. Discovery

You are about to go out and you’re all set to go, but your friend still isn’t here to pick you up yet, so you decide to casually browse Netflix to find something to keep you entertained for maybe a half hour or so. You pick something random, something that you’ve probably flipped through a million times but never gave a second thought to.

“Hmm…'Portlandia,' why does that sound familiar? Well, everybody keeps talking about it, I’ll check it out.” You think “Oh, I’m just gonna watch the first one.” Oh, if only you knew the slippery slope you are about to embark on. Twenty-two minutes later, just when you start getting attached to the show, your friend is here but you can’t seem to tear yourself away from your TV, longing to watch the next episode.

2. Experimentation

When you finally get the chance to watch the next episode you find yourself in a constant state of ambivalence and confusion, always asking yourself, “I don’t know, do I really like this show?” Yet, for some reason, you cannot stop watching, because while you are not yet fully committed to it, you’re also still not ready to give it up altogether because if you give it up you feel like you gave up many hours of your life, so you continue watching hoping that it will pay off!

3. The Point Of No Return

You just finished the first season and, “Noooo, it wasn’t supposed to be like this! It was just supposed to be one episode,” you think fondly of that night waiting for your friend as you slowly drift off to sleep to "Portlandia." You are now deeply engaged with the show. This is a pretty incredible feeling which I can only relate to opening gifts on Christmas morning but in a way a little bit better, because you always have something to look forward to: the next episode!

4. Game Over...Or Not

After all of these weeks (or days) of endless watching, you’ve finally done the impossible: you’ve exhausted Netflix’s supply of episodes of the show. You thought this day would never come. Now, what will be your bedtime ritual? Just shutting the lights and lying in bed until I fall asleep? How boring! But, then you realize isn’t this what I used to do before this show? Furthermore, you realize that you had a different life before you watched this show, it has changed your behavior and routine, you had your pre-show life and post-show life. In a way the show has deeply changed you as a person because you will always remember these weeks of watching, they will always be intricately sewn into your life and your being. You never forget it, similar to a vacation that you take with your family or friends. After all, these two entities are pretty similar as the show was essentially a “vacation” that you have taken to escape reality with fictional characters rather than family or friends.

Now, either comes the excruciating waiting game for next season, which seems like the longest year of your life. Or worse, there is no next season (gasp)! This was the last season of the show. However, this does not need to be looked at in a negative light, because often season finales are the best episodes of a series. This is especially true in serialized shows (cue "Breaking Bad" finale), because everything you have watched up until now, and all your emotions, attention, and speculation have led up to this moment, which lends itself to great satisfaction, and nobody can ever take that away from you!