The rise of "comfort rewatching" — Why we keep returning to the same shows

By Ivy Kleinman

Edited by Anna Kate Mereness

@tswillow13 on Pinterest

There are two shows I will never finish watching, because I never actually stop. “Gilmore Girls” and “One Tree Hill” are on a permanent loop in my life. I know that Lorelai is going to talk her way into a pot of coffee and that the Ravens are going to win a game. I know every storyline and all of the dialogue. And yet when midterms hit, I don’t open something new. I go back to Stars Hollow.

I used to feel a little guilty about it, like I was ignoring the hundreds of new shows I’m supposed to be keeping up with. But it turns out there’s real science behind the habit.

In an article from Stylist, psychologists point to something called the mere exposure effect, which says people tend to enjoy things more simply because they’ve seen them before. Familiar shows take less work for our brains, which makes them more enjoyable. A new show asks you to learn characters, track plot lines and brace for whatever twist comes next. A rewatch asks for nothing. That’s about as good as I could ask for when finals week is approaching.

It also helps explain why comedies tend to win out. According to Stylist, Robert Kraft, a cognitive psychology professor at Otterbein University in Ohio, wrote in Psychology Today that people tend to pick comedies for repeat viewing over dramas or tragedies, since rewatching lets us predict both the story and how we’ll feel at the end. “Gilmore Girls” fits that mold neatly: low stakes, fast jokes, a town where the biggest crisis is usually a festival. 

“One Tree Hill,” on the other hand, is a teen drama with heartbreak, loss and at least a few episodes that wreck me every time. So why is it a comfort show? I think the same logic applies. When I rewatch a sad episode, I’m not surprised by it. I know it’s coming, I know how it ends, and I can cry on my own terms. It’s heartbreak with the safety on.

There’s a social piece, too. Spending an evening with Lorelai and Rory, or Lucas and Nathan, is a little like spending it with people who already know me. 

Then there’s the nostalgia. According to Shift, research links nostalgia to increased dopamine, which could explain why pressing play on an old favorite lifts your mood so quickly. It’s like slipping back into a cozy world with characters you already know.

I’ll keep reaching for the same two shows when life gets loud. Some stories are worth returning to and some days you just need to know exactly how the episode ends.