What Sorts of Shows Do You Watch?

[yourlibrarian]

Welcome to our first TV Tuesday!

We thought we might run a poll that gets people sharing what sorts of TV they like to watch. We may have forgotten categories, so let us know in comments how you'd describe favorite types of shows. Let's see what we have in common!

We realize the show types are broad but tickies are our friend 🙂

Poll #29707 My Sorts of Shows

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 41

View Respondents

What sorts of shows do you watch, even occasionally?

View Answers

Family dramas
10 (24.4%)

Workplace dramas
13 (31.7%)

Historical/periodl shows
25 (61.0%)

Medical shows
12 (29.3%)

Police shows
16 (39.0%)

Mystery shows
25 (61.0%)

Legal shows
9 (22.0%)

Scifi shows
35 (85.4%)

Fantasy shows
28 (68.3%)

Superhero shows
22 (53.7%)

Adventure shows
19 (46.3%)

Spy shows
14 (34.1%)

Other dramas not mentioned
10 (24.4%)

Family comedies
14 (34.1%)

Workplace comedies
15 (36.6%)

Other comedies not mentioned
13 (31.7%)

Anime
22 (53.7%)

Animated series (all others)
24 (58.5%)

Variety shows
2 (4.9%)

Talk shows
6 (14.6%)

Game shows
11 (26.8%)

Competition shows
14 (34.1%)

Nature shows
13 (31.7%)

Travel shows
5 (12.2%)

Home & Garden shows
8 (19.5%)

Cooking shows
15 (36.6%)

Workplace nonscripted
2 (4.9%)

All other nonscripted shows
2 (4.9%)

Documentary series
16 (39.0%)

Political shows
10 (24.4%)

Book adaptations
25 (61.0%)

All other miniseries
13 (31.7%)

Which sort of show tends to be your favorite?

View Answers

Family dramas
0 (0.0%)

Workplace dramas
1 (2.4%)

Historical/periodl shows
2 (4.9%)

Medical shows
1 (2.4%)

Police shows
0 (0.0%)

Mystery shows
7 (17.1%)

Legal shows
0 (0.0%)

Scifi shows
11 (26.8%)

Fantasy shows
8 (19.5%)

Superhero shows
0 (0.0%)

Adventure shows
0 (0.0%)

Spy shows
1 (2.4%)

Other dramas not mentioned
2 (4.9%)

Family comedies
0 (0.0%)

Workplace comedies
2 (4.9%)

Other comedies not mentioned
1 (2.4%)

Anime
3 (7.3%)

Animated series (all others)
1 (2.4%)

Variety shows
0 (0.0%)

Talk shows
0 (0.0%)

Game shows
0 (0.0%)

Competition shows
1 (2.4%)

Nature shows
0 (0.0%)

Travel shows
0 (0.0%)

Home & Garden shows
0 (0.0%)

Cooking shows
0 (0.0%)

Workplace nonscripted
0 (0.0%)

All other nonscripted shows
0 (0.0%)

Documentary series
0 (0.0%)

Political shows
0 (0.0%)

Book adaptations
0 (0.0%)

All other miniseries
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[necrophilia]

Are we allowed to elaborate?

I ticked off superhero shows but I want to clarify that I'm fully on the subversive superhero train speeding toward Sin And Misery Town. I love The Boys, I love Invincible. I was a huge fan of the Netflix MCU shows because they were less epic, more grounded in day-to-day; although I am very excited for Daredevil: Born Again.

I love catty, frenetic competitive cooking shows like Chopped and Cutthroat Kitchen. I'm less interested in seeing Bobby and Giada calmly cook a casserole in rural Italy.

I was a bit surprised horror wasn't a listed category! I guess it's still widely considered more of a movie genre than a television one (and I will rant at anyone who cares to listen how disappointing it is that horror is still the one genre that's disregarded come award season). My favourite TV show of all time is probably The Haunting Of Hill House.

[yourlibrarian]

Absolutely 🙂

I've seen The Boys but not Invincible -- yes, the categories are very broad, and don't cover the sort of upbeat or comical vs darker and angsty factors. Similar to what you said about competitive cooking!

That was such a popular show, and I've seen a few horror shows in the past few years so we should have remembered it. Though my interest in them is always from a mystery standpoint rather than specifically the horror angle.

[necrophilia]

If you can handle intensely gory animation, I fully recommend Invincible. It's fantastic.

[yourlibrarian]

Ha, you just said the key word as gore is a nope 😉

[necrophilia]

Fair enough! But The Boys was really pushing it in its third season, so I'd consider the two about on par on the gore scale.

[yourlibrarian]

You're not wrong. I've only seen the first 2 seasons but they do indeed enjoy the gore!

[misbegotten]

>>I'm less interested in seeing Bobby and Giada calmly cook a casserole in rural Italy.<<

Ahahaha! Well put, though personally I do enjoy that kind of show very much.

I can't believe I didn't think of horror given that I still need to finish season 2 of The Exorcist and am currently rewatching SurrealEstate!

[necrophilia]

How did you like The Exorcist? It is so completely up my alley and yet I've not gotten around it!

[misbegotten]

I loved it! It is creepy and interesting and the characters are very well drawn. The only reason I haven't finished season two is that I always drag my feet about seeing the end of things I am really enjoying.

[facethestrange]

My two main favorite types are horror and teen drama. Even better when it's both at the same time, like Yellowjackets. :D

[yourlibrarian]

Yes, horror is definitely something we should have thought of and included!

[dhampyresa]

I was surprised not to see horror either! I finished watching s2 of Yellowjackets last weekend and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

[linky]

Yellowjackets sounds like such a interesting show from everything I've heard about it. I would like to check it out sometime!

[rodo]

I think my favourite at the moment is probably romance.

[yourlibrarian]

Oh interesting! We considered that as a genre but were having a hard time thinking of something that wasn't already another kind of show. Do you have specific shows to rec?

[rodo]

I watch a lot of Korean shows, and there's a lot of dramas that are just straight up romance. I just started King the Land, and I guess you could file that under workplace comedy, if you had no other categories, but it's primarily a romance. Or, you know, romcom. Looking at Wikipedia's list of romantic comedy TV series, Western examples would be Heartstopper and Starstuck. But in general, I prefer my romance to be a bit more serious, romantic dramas, like One Spring Night.

It's of course often mixed with other elements, but the same can be said about pretty much every other genre out there.

[yourlibrarian]

Great examples, yes. I was thinking also of Love, Simon but the genre of "teen drama" is also so broad!

And yes, I think there are a lot fewer shows these days that are mainly one thing.

[rodo]

Yeah, teen drama can also be really broad and include supernatural/fantasy elements, or even spies. Outlander is also a canon that most people watch for the romance, even if it's also historical and fantasy, and then there's stuff like Lucifer which is mostly a procedural of the cop + outsider type, only this time the outsider is the devil, not an immortal pathologist, a writer, a criminal or a private detective.

And I honestly think that's a good thing genres get mixed and matched so much. I don't like workplace drama or series about doctors much, but as it turns out, workplace drama about doctors can be very compelling.

[yourlibrarian]

I agree, I like the mix and match too. I've seen both those series and agree that they blend different elements. Overall I'd put Outlander in historical, as the scifi time travel element is a fairly small part. But you're right that the romance is the big draw.

[feurioo]

Difficult to answer, for me, because my TV taste is all over the place. Not to mention that I find it really hard to put labels on some shows. But I'll try.

Legal: Loved both The Good Wife and The Good Fight (until I didn't). Currently rewatching Boston Legal. Surprise find on Netflix: The Twelve. Watched The Practice as a kid (but my memory is hazy, only remember loving Camryn Manheim). What I really love about the majority of those shows: Long, eloquent argumentative speeches by charismatic characters combined with a healthy dose of sharp wit.

Mystery: I used to love The X-Files as a kid (my first fandom), and Yellowjackets gives me a similar 90's thrill. I also adore mystery aspects in shows of other genres (most often medical/police), even in a show like Desperate Housewives. Was a huge House fan back in the day.

Romantic comedies: I love romantic comedies and that's the main reason why I started watching a lot of K-dramas. The thing is, I usually end up disappointed because they simply don't live up to my expectations/subvert tropes in ways I enjoy. However, that's not just a thing with South-Korean content. The last romantic K-drama I thoroughly enjoyed was Be Melodramatic.

Slice-of-life: Have learned to appreciate such shows the older I get. Somebody Somewhere, for example, is absolutely wonderful and some of the most real and touching television I have seen in a long time. I also highly recommend M'entends-tu? on Netflix, even though they never bothered with uploading the third and final season. My favorite show of 2022, Koisenu Futari, also falls in that category and centers around two ace-aro protagonists finding a family in each other. Best aro-ace rep I've come across, so far.

Fantasy shows: Pretty much open to anything, especially of the mindless fun sort, though I wouldn't say that I feel particularly passionate about a lot of it. Recently enjoyed Good Omens 2.

Sci-Fi shows: Loved The Expanse and Battlestar Galactica (2004). Severance S1 was also really great. Used to watch The Outer Limits and Sliders religiously as a kid.

Horror: I like horror but I find it hard to find shows that keep me interested. Really liked certain aspects of Marianne on Netflix, even though the story and the characters were bland and predictable in several places. I enjoyed Mike Flanagan's Hill House and Bly Manor, but not Midnight Mass. Horror K-dramas I liked: Sweet Home and Strangers from Hell. Loved Ash vs Evil Dead (perfect blend of hilarious-gory with an amazing soundtrack) until I didn't. Pleasantly surprised by this year's Swarm.

Superhero: Generally interested. I loved Gotham with all its flaws. Feeling so-so about The Boys (give Starlight more to do, not a fan of anything re: Maeve) but I will definitely watch the next season. Excited for Ragnarok S3. Lost interest in Doom Patrol during S2 but that doesn't change the fact that it's a really solid show with a great cast.

Comedy: All over the place. I think Ted Lasso S1 is a perfect season of television but I also appreciate the dark depths of Chris Morris's Jam. Recently loved Shrinking and Somebody Somewhere S2.

[yourlibrarian]

I hear you about Good Fight. I haven't yet had time to watch Good Wife as it's both very long running and I have had so much else I was seeing first. But I do intend to get to it!

I had not heard of The Twelve! I don't know as I tend to have any particular interest in legal dramas, (as opposed to political ones), but I agree that smart plus funny is a killer combo for me.

I had mixed feelings about Severance, but loved Expanse and BSG. Haven't yet seen Good Omens 2.

I tend to watch more drama than comedy, so I tend to have many of the former and only a few of the latter at any given time. I finished Ted Lasso in the last month or so, and we've been enjoying Ghosts. I think that humor makes a trickier match than drama. For example I enjoy mysteries too and will generally stick with them to discover the solutions even if the series as a whole doesn't grab me that much. But I very much enjoy the ones whose characters and set up I like.

[feurioo]

I liked the first TGF seasons with some reservations but, sadly, they kind of lost me when more and more main cast members left the show. It was definitely a cathartic watch during the Trump years, but really not sure I could stomach the focus on him right now.

If you want to share your Severance thoughts, I'm all ears!

Are you watching Ghosts (US) or Ghosts (UK), and how do you like it? I've been wondering which version I should watch.

[yourlibrarian]

Yes, TGF had a pretty hard drift from S1 and it was not what I'd started watching for. I kind of wanted to see how it would end but by S3 I was ready to throw in the towel.

I'm afraid I don't have a lot to say about the show. I found the early episodes tough to stick with. The last few episodes were much more interesting to me and obviously we have a big cliffhanger for the end of the season. So I'll try out S2 to see where it's going but it seems to me it's going to have to be a bit of a shift from S1 because both the characters and audience know more about what's going on.

I tried out an episode of Ghosts UK but I can't say because shows can obviously grow and change. I've been watching Ghosts US but I gather CBS will start showing Ghosts UK due to the strike, so that should be easily contrasted. I'm wondering, though, how they're going to market it -- I could see there being audience confusion.

[feurioo]

For me, the last straw was the news about the exit of both Delroy Lindo and Cush Jumbo. I love Christine Baranski and she was always my main reason for watching (already in the TGW days) but, at that point, I felt the series had already lost too much of what, for me, had once made it special. I recently watched the first episode of s4, just to check if it could pull me in again, but I fear, those days are long gone. Still, I'm pretty hyped for the upcoming show about Elsbeth Tascioni.

I'm a sucker for big cliffhangers so that Severance S1 ending really messed me up. However, I have to agree that the second season will need to do a lot of heavy lifting to make things work and keep it interesting for the audience.

I've currently only Ghosts (US) available here but I'm hesitant to watch it in case the tone of the original would be more my style. My watching habits are a little weird, and I rarely look into different takes on the same premise, unless it's a completely distinct story. That said, I know that Rebecca Wisocky is in the US version and that's definitely a good enough reason for me to tune in.

[yourlibrarian]

For me, I felt like Baranski's character had all but stopped being a lawyer. She just seemed to be out on cloud trippy land a lot of the time and not really connecting to the other plot threads. Given how they started out I was looking for something more like Billions, I think, and it just went farther away from that.

I agree though that I liked Tascioni and was intrigued that she's getting her own series.

I can understand that because I saw Office US first. I ended up watching almost the whole series because my partner liked it, but a friend was insisting the original was great. I tried out an episode and didn't even finish it. It wasn't that I liked the US version so much but just that the characters on the US version had really developed in a way the UK ones weren't going to be able to because of the difference in show length.

[misbegotten]

The X-Files was my first online fandom! Happy memories.

I hadn't even heard of The Twelve but it looks very appealing. If you have time, maybe you could post a primer for the show or a teaser to give more people info about it! (Or do so for any of the other shows from your mentions!)

[feurioo]

Another fan! *waves* ´

Is there a template for TV show primers? I'll definitely consider writing one for anything new I'm about to watch, especially the underrated stuff.

Edit: Found a primer-template. Sorry for asking before I actually went looking myself!

[kalloway]

The second part of the poll is difficult because genre and medium have been conflated, e.g. Anime.

[yourlibrarian]

Yup, I mean that could be a poll all unto itself!

[caramarie]

I love crime dramas (preferably stuff that leans horror/thriller, although I have watched my share of lighter fare!) I watch a wider variety of shows with other people, but when it comes to watching stuff alone, I really need there to be a murder in it :P

[yourlibrarian]

You bring up a great point, which is what we choose on our own vs what we watch overall which often involves other people. And also, for that matter, access to particular content.

[feurioo]

Do you have any particular crime drama recs? I'd love some more horror in my TV life.

[caramarie]

This is all kdramas, but probably my favourite things that fall into that category are Strangers from Hell, Somebody, and White Christmas :)

[feurioo]

Ooh, I love K-dramas and Strangers from Hell was indeed an absolute pleasure. Will have to check out the other two!

[dirty_diana]

I watch a lot of dramas and not much comedy. Lots of speculative stuff and also some of the regular American network shows which I mostly just find calming. Two genres I've been into on and off that weren't on the poll are teen dramas and sports dramas. I've been digging the All American universe, which is a fun cross in between.

I also love a lot of reality shows, largely social competition stuff that I wasn't sure if they fell under competition. I binged a bunch of The Traitors in the spring, and now I am hip deep in Love Island.

[yourlibrarian]

Yes, we missed teen dramas, which could definitely be considered a separate category (though at the same time so widely varying in tone and approach). I have to admit I'd not thought of sports dramas -- certainly Friday Night Lights was hugely popular and All American has done quite well. I hadn't thought there were that many though?

[dirty_diana]

There's maybe not as many sports dramas in tv format as cop shows, but there's a decent amount I think? There's All American: Homecoming, which I think has grown on me a bit more than the original. I was watching The Game and Winning Time this year, which are both fun, and for short-lived but beloved by fandom favourites there's Pitch and A League of Their Own.

[yourlibrarian]

Oh yes! I watched Pitch and was sorry it got cancelled early. Unfortunately the same fate for League, which I haven't seen yet as I'm not using Prime right now. Of course, Ted Lasso is a sports comedy and I watched Sports Night back in the day too.

[dirty_diana]

I mostly watch Ted Lasso through gifs but it looks really cute. I also just remembered that there's a whole bunch of sports anime, but I do not know much about that area myself.

[yourlibrarian]

Oh yes, I haven't watched any but you're right that there's quite a few of them.

[misbegotten]

Oh, good point. And I think Stephen Arnell from Arrow is currently starring in a wrestling drama!

[8hyenas]

Dark comedy, or dramedy! Shows like Shrinking or Deadloch are favorites that come to mind. Another category (?) for me are non-US based shows. I like to watch a lot of foreign tv when possible and I'm always worried I'm missing out on some gems because of lack of advertising. To find a new foreign show is almost like a fated meet-cute.

[yourlibrarian]

There's definitely lots of good stuff around the globe and at least it's getting easier to access it. Speaking of comedies, I quite enjoyed Call My Agent! I heard they're going to do an American version of it, and it could be good. But it wouldn't be the same -- to me part of the charm was the fact that it wasn't in the U.S.

I haven't heard of Deadloch but I did see Shrinking's first season.

[linky]

My taste is a bit all over the place! Whatever catches my interest, but I do have genres I do tend to check out a lot. Anime and animated shows as a whole is one, but these days I'm more seeing Tokusatsu TV Shows, specifically of the Henshin Heroes variety. (Kamen Rider and Super Sentai being big ones.) Or Kyodai Heroes as well. (Like Ultraman!) Which fights right into the superhero category.

Kamen Rider also has a lot of character drama too, especially the earlier Heisei shows. Though its a constant regardless of the era. It's interesting to see how each entry has their own other genres as well they also fit into. Kamen Rider Kuuga also would fit into a Police procedural genre of show as just one example. (If I had more examples for Super Sentai and Ultraman I'd give some as well, but I need to see more from both of those series.)

Tokusatsu is such a broad genre, that has all sorts of shows outside of just superheroes even if superhero shows are what comes to mind for a lot people. There's something for everyone, which I like!

[misbegotten]

How interesting! I watch a lot of variety as well, but I'm definitely a sucker for mysteries. And Westerns, for some reason. I guess I like white hats vs black hats.

I am not really familiar with Tokusatsu, I must admit, but would love to learn more. If you're interested in expanding on your information here, maybe you could write a primer to post in the community? Or even a short teaser/plug for your favorite example(s)? I think it would be very helpful!

[linky]

I enjoy a good mystery as well! I've watched quite a bit of mystery shows with my mother, especially British ones. Rosemary & Thyme is one that while I haven't seen an episode in a long time, I am very fond of. I've seen quite a few episodes of Midsomer Murders too!

I would absolutely love to make a primer post about Tokusatsu for this comm! I already have some ideas, I would just need to write everything out. It makes me thrilled that there's interest, thank you! :D I would love to make some posts to help give knowledge and recs for those who are interested in the genre! <3

[misbegotten]

Rosemary & Thyme is a fun one! I also love Jonathan Creek and Hamish Macbeth in that cozy British mystery genre. And Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries really grew on me!

Hooray for a primer post! We even have a "primer" tag you can use! I'm looking forward to seeing it. We still need to post the revised rules for marking spoilers in contributions to the community (and will get to that quickly!), but if you have your primer ready before we do so and do post it with show-specific content, just put anything you think is spoilery under a cut tag. And of course if you have any questions, reach out to me or yourlibrarian. Thanks so much for offering to share your knowledge!

[starwatcher]

For me, it's not so much the genre as the format. I want a smallish core of main characters (6 or less), with regular or semi-regular supporting characters, who work and support each other as a team. That can happen in SciFi (Eureka, Stargate SG-1 or Atlantis), cop shows (NCIS in all its iterations, Hawaii Five-0), or mysteries (Magnum PI, Diagnosis Murder).

I tend to dislike dramas (too complicated) and can barely tolerate sit-coms; anything with a laugh-track just rubs me the wrong way.

<shrug> I'm not even sure I ticked the right genres, because I don't mentally sort them that way. Give me a couple of main characters I can empathize with, a supportive team, an adventure to embark on or a mystery/problem to solve, and I'm a happy camper.

[yourlibrarian]

I suspect that it's often a matter of what we don't like as much as what we do. For example, I've noticed I just have no patience with family dramas OR comedies. I have a similar attraction to team-type story development, and that's generally a very different dynamic from family or domestic centered stories. (Also, am just not fond of kidfic).

I've watched some quite good family-centered shows but I can't stick with them. Also, while my interest is in workplaces, as you mentioned it's the dynamics of that group that matter to me so only some of those shows work for me.