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Has anyone seen this show Heated Rivalry<\/em>? I\u2019M KIDDING. It\u2019s peak season for indoor activities, like TV binging and movie nights (and ice hockey, and\u2026other things). Since we love chatting about favorite shows<\/a>, old and new, we thought we\u2019d share a few fun reader comments on TV\u2026<\/p>\n On family-friendly viewing:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cOur whole household loves Family Feud<\/em> with Steve Harvey. We don\u2019t have cable at home, so whenever we go on a trip, we\u2019re all like, \u2018WE CAN WATCH FAMILY FEUD<\/em>!!!\u2019 Last year, we visited my husband\u2019s family, and they are not Family Feud<\/em> people \u2014\u00a0or so they thought. We turned it on one night, and sloooowly, like moths to a flame, everyone in the house came over one by one until we were all piled out the couch together, literally crying with laughter.\u201d \u2014 Susannah<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up, whenever my dad worked late, my mum would make my sister and me a \u2018telly tea,\u2019 and we\u2019d get to stay up and watch shows. The telly tea always had the same four components: crisps, a few pieces of chocolate, half a banana, and Jelly Tots gummy candy. I always ate each bit in a particular order. It was such an important ritual that my mum told my husband about it just before we got married, so he could make me telly tea now and again.\u201d \u2014 Mags<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI watch I Love Lucy<\/em> every morning as I\u2019m getting ready. I grew up watching it, and everyone in my family has seen each episode one million times. We now live far apart, but if it\u2019s on when we\u2019re together, we\u2019ll stop what we\u2019re doing and watch it. It\u2019s a comforting family tradition. Watching it alone in the mornings feels like a way to bring them into my daily routine, even when they\u2019re not there.\u201d \u2014 Jessica<\/a><\/p>\n On relating to characters:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMy boyfriend and I watched Friends<\/em> during the pandemic, and he said that Monica helped him better understand me. I must admit, she helps me understand myself, too. There\u2019s an expectation that women should be apologetic about their goals, or for being \u2018high maintenance,\u2019 but I love that Monica is unapologetically fully herself.\u201d \u2014 Shanti<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cMy family and friends always compare me to the \u2018old man\u2019 characters on TV shows. In particular, the dad from Frasier<\/em>; Nick from New Girl<\/em>; and Gene from Bob\u2019s Burgers<\/em>. I also once took a psychometric quiz that matches you with fictional characters, and my top three were Gandalf, Dumbledore, and the old man from Jurassic Park<\/em>. I am a young, brown woman but I\u2019m clearly giving off old-white-man energy!\u201d \u2014 Amanda<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA gorgeous, confusing thing is that I was attracted to many male characters as a youth (Newsies, and also Josh Hartnett in Pearl Harbor) but also knew from an early age that I was a lesbian. I didn\u2019t know HOW I knew, just that I was and that, even still, I liked Josh Hartnett. Decades later I recognized I was attracted to masculinity not men, and now I have a hot wife who actually looks quite a lot like Josh Hartnett in his Pearl Harbor era.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Sarah<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Gomez from The Addams Family<\/em> \u2014 whimsical, looks cute in a stripe, and ardently devoted to his wife. I could probably even grow a mustache like his if I didn\u2019t Sally-Hansen mine away every three weeks.\u201d \u2014 Chiara<\/a><\/p>\n On feel-good shows:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI re-watched Arrested Development<\/em> when I was going through postpartum depression\/anxiety. I re-watched it again when my mother died. When I\u2019m in a particularly dark place, I find the familiarity of the show helps me cope. Plus, even if I cry through a big portion, I\u2019ll still know the plot; and its ridiculousness helps me to not take life too seriously.\u201d \u2014 Kat<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOur Flag Means Death<\/em> is the queer pirate rom-com I didn\u2019t know I needed. If a delightful show about Blackbeard falling in love with another pirate can make it to mainstream TV, the world is \u2014\u00a0at least in one way \u2014\u00a0moving in a better direction.\u201d \u2014 Stacey<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cCooking shows are my go-to. It\u2019s so comforting to watch someone talk about crust and whisking. There\u2019s enough drama in real life, so I like TV shows that have none at all.\u201d \u2014 LL<\/a><\/p>\n On \u201cI\u2019ve swapped \u2018guilty pleasure\u2019 for \u2018secret pleasure\u2019 and it\u2019s done me a world of good. Not every person in the world will get us! And let\u2019s revel in that moment when a dinner party compatriot whispers, \u2018Ohmigod, I\u2019ve just finished watching that, too; what are your THOUGHTS?\u2019\u201d \u2014 Katharine<\/a><\/p>\nguilty<\/del> secret pleasures:<\/strong><\/p>\n