When some people feel stressed, they decide to go to a cozy little town in Connecticut called Stars Hollow where they sip coffee at Luke’s Diner, shop at Kim’s Antiques and buy groceries at Doose’s Market. While there, they work at the Dragonfly Inn with Lorelai and go to classes at Yale University with Rory.
This place and these people aren’t real, but they feel real to many people. It’s the fictional world of “Gilmore Girls”. It’s a comfort show that is loved by many.
A “comfort show” is a television series that people enjoy rewatching for the feelings of nostalgia and happiness it brings them.
When people watch “Gilmore Girls”, they often fall in love with the characters, the setting and the cozy, nostalgic feelings it brings. Each episode feels like a fall day in the early 2000s, when life seemed simpler.
“When we are in times of uncertainty — and right now in our country, there’s a lot of uncertainty — we don’t feel safe,” Dr. Mary Pritchard, professor and associate chair of the Department of Psychological Science said. “We seek things that are comforting and familiar because they give us a safe haven.”
Whatever your comfort show is, you probably enjoy it because it serves as a distraction from your daily life.
“Part of it is emotional escapism,” Pritchard said. “You’re returning to a time that felt safer, and it’s somebody else’s reality. It may have been our reality in the past, but it’s not what’s happening right now. Returning mentally to a time when we did feel safer or more certain can be very comforting.”
Comfort shows can also connect to our own past. They can remind us of loved ones and happy memories, bringing back those positive emotions.
“My comfort show is ‘Supernatural,’” sophomore Graci Huffman said. “I got super into it during the pandemic with my sister. I like to re-watch it, because it reminds me of my relationship with my sister, and it makes me feel happy and comforted.”
Those reminders of family, friends and positive memories can come from other kinds of media, too.
“Music can be the same way, right?” Pritchard said. “If you grew up listening to 80s music because that’s what your parents listened to, it can be really comforting. TV shows from our childhood can make us feel connected to the memories and people from back then.”
On the other hand, some people enjoy shows that remind them of harder times in their life because they show how much they’ve grown.
“My comfort show is a little embarrassing,” sophomore Benina Cinac said. “It’s ‘13 Reasons Why’. I watched it when I was younger and during that time, I felt like I had nothing to do, and I felt very alone in that time period. Now that I’m in a good spot in my life, I like to revisit that and be like, ‘wow, I’ve come a long way.’”
This isn’t uncommon. For many, comfort shows don’t always have a lighthearted tone like “Gilmore Girls.” Sometimes watching intense, dramatic shows make them feel like their own lives aren’t as bad as they thought — they could always be worse, like the lives of the characters on screen.
“There’s two kinds of social comparison,” Pritchard said. “There’s upward social comparison, where we compare ourselves to someone that we feel like is doing better than we are. There’s also downward social comparison, and I think this is where most comforting TV shows fit in. You’re comparing yourself to someone you feel like is worse off than you are.”
While escaping in comforting media can be a positive way to get through challenging times, there should always be a healthy balance.
“Emotional coping is great, and when we’re going through uncertainty, dealing with those emotions is really important, but it doesn’t solve the problem,” Pritchard said. “Sometimes you can’t solve the problem, and the only thing that you can do is called ‘emotion focused coping.’ It’s when the only thing you can do is deal with the emotions by finding things that are comforting.
“But if you’re using that comfort show to avoid writing a paper that’s due tomorrow, that isn’t helpful, because that episode isn’t going to write the paper for you,” Pritchard said. “This is when you need ‘problem focused coping’ — doing something to actually fix the problem. In situations where we have control and can fix the problem, you’re better off doing that. If you just get lost in your emotions and don’t write the paper, now you’ve got a bigger problem.”
It’s easy to lose track of time while binge-watching a show. We’ve all been there: watching a show we love and saying to ourselves “just one more episode”, until it’s 3 a.m. and we realize we should have gone to bed hours ago.
That’s why balance is crucial. Escaping in a show is much more fun than doing homework, going to class or washing the dishes. However, those tasks are important, and it’s better to unwind with an episode or two after you’ve gotten everything else done.
“We’re in uncertain times. If you have a favorite TV show, watch it, but just don’t let it interfere with your life,” Pritchard said. “It can be a great escape, but we also have to deal with the things that are actually happening in our world right now, as much as we may not want to deal with them. Balance is always important. Do the things that you love and that make you feel okay, and at the end of the day, also, you’ve got to write the paper.”
Take care of your responsibilities and prioritize what really matters. However, if watching your comfort show makes you happy, then you can and should make the time for it. It might help you get through a long day if you know that an episode of “Gilmore Girls” is waiting for you.
