We cut back to basic cable over a year ago and I can honestly say, I don't miss it. My only must-have television channels are the local CBS, ABC, NBC stations because I do enjoy listening to the news. Since Andi and I became parents, we rarely watch any television show in real time. The 7:00pm time slot falls directly over Tory's bedtime and the time I sit down to relax in the evenings varies by day. Gone are the days I set my calendar around tv air times. Now, we have a subscription to Netflix and an Apple TV device which allows us to watch television shows on our time.
Andi's tends to favor more violent, shoot-'em-up type shows which have a hard time gaining my interest. He's watched Justfied, Burn Notice, Dexter, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Oz and Sons of Anarchy.
Some of our favorite shows to watch together have been / are Gossip Girl, Mad Men, Friday Night Lights, Tudors, Weeds, How I Met Your Mother and most recently, New Girl. We tried to watch Parenthood together but Andi said it reminded him too much of real life. Apparently kids screaming and life drama for Andi is like prison blood and guts for me.
We do have an issue with starting a television series together and one of us watching ahead of the other person (read also: Andi watching ahead of me). This is really the plague of death in marital entertainment. We've started together and he's finished alone Nurse Jackie, The Kennedy's, Suits and Hell on Wheels. I will admit to committing this felony while watching Revenge. However, I completely justify my action because Andi was traveling for eight days straight and I was lonely and bored. I had to watch ahead, you see, or I might have withered up and died. I'm also watching Downton Abbey and Pretty Little Liars solo because Andi didn't care for either one.
It's funny how television shows have become a pretty big deal in our thirty-something lives. For us, it's how we relax together at the end of the day. What are some other television shows to add to our must-watch list?
The one-person-watching-ahead thing happens with us a lot. My husband gets into a show, say The West Wing. 'You should watch it!' he says. Meanwhile, he's on season five and I still haven't started, so I'm not sure if I'm ever going to be able to. Things I really want to watch I've forbidden him to start because I'll never see them then. (he works from home, so he lets things run while he works a lot)
ReplyDeleteLOVE New Girl! We watch a lot of comedy sitcoms...shows in which we can really let our brains relax :) Some that I HIGHLY recommend are: Modern Family, Ben and Kate, Cougar Town, and The Mindy Project.
ReplyDeleteNew Girl and Grey's are our go-to shows. A also refuses Parenthood on the basis of it being far, far too much like real life :)
ReplyDeleteWhat IS it with men and Parenthood?? Ben can't stand it either - he says it's "all the yelling". I really enjoy it though, so I'm watching it myself. We haven't had a good show together for awhile. We tried Downton Abbey but never got into it. Ben watches all the same shows as Andi. I don't watch too much TV, maybe 3 hours a week max, so it takes me awhile to get through shows since I typically start them when there are already 5 seasons on netflix!
ReplyDeleteI love The Walking Dead as does my hubby. It is so much more then blood and zombies as I don't care for that much but its so good! ( it is on cable tho but easily accessible) I just got into the Red Widow and The following on fox. Okay all those are pretty odd suggestions but I love them!!
ReplyDeleteWe enjoy our tv time right before bed too, except I can barely stay awake once I actually sit down. Thank goodness for DVR or we wouldn't be able to find anything we both can watch! We are both into mind numbing shows before bed that we can just shut off our brains and watch - our favs are Duck Dynasty, Pawn Stars, and The Big Bang.
ReplyDeleteGo On! It's the Matthew Perry show on NBC (? I think) right now and we LOVE it. So funny. We watch it on Hulu, which is why I'm not even entirely sure what network it's on.
ReplyDeleteI also watch Top Chef and Downton, both of which just ended, leaving me bereft of TV options. (Top Chef I have to buy on Amazon, due to the no-cable situation.)
I have to side with your hubs on Sons of Anarchy - Nick had me start it when I was preggo and I'm addicted!! It's soooo good! Maybe because I would secretly like to be an old lady some day...
ReplyDeleteWe also love Modern Family, Shark Tank (I promise you I will invent something someday) and he's been trying to get me into Americans, but I'm not really in the mood to start a new show yet. Though he loves it. I'm more in the mood for endless reruns of Friends and SATC for the time being.
My husband also has an aversion to Parenthood. He'll come in the room to watch TV with me, but then will turn right around when it's that show... sort of happened with Downton Abbey as well. We do have a few shows that we will watch together (Game of Thrones, Sons of Anarchy), but there have been a fair amount of shows that I have seen little bits here and there that he watches because I can't commit to them: Mad Men, West Wing, etc.
ReplyDeleteSitcoms aren't really my hubby's thing, but I will watch them in passing. We also got rid of cable a long time ago and mostly watch everything via Netflix. I sometimes miss HGTV, but otherwise am so glad it is gone. So much wasted time watching nothing in particular.