IT’S time to get into a new TV series. Here are five tactics to help you choose that are guaranteed to leave you disappointed:
Ask a friend
Just because you’re close to someone it doesn’t mean you share the same taste, but you’ll feel obliged to follow their advice. Ahead lie exhausting nights figuring out what’s funny about a subtitled French comedy or trying to convince yourself that the unremitting misery of The Handmaid’s Tale is a good way to relax.
Ask Facebook
You’d think multiple opinions would help open your mind, right? Wrong. You’ll come away with a hundred possibilities, including Aunt Sandra’s favourite Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em on BritBox and your brother’s psychotic friend’s suggestion of serial killer drama Mindhunter. You’ll quickly give up and mindlessly watch ancient episodes of Come Dine With Me. Again.
Follow the streaming service’s suggestions
Just because a show is similar to something you’ve already watched it doesn’t mean it’s good. And algorithms don’t realise Nicole Kidman is no mark of quality. Frankly you’ve got to question the algorithm’s taste if they’re pushing things like Emily in Paris, which made you wonder if evolution has started going backwards when you accidentally watched five minutes of it.
Look at review websites
If you’re in desperate need of guidance it might be worth trawling the reviews on Amazon Prime. However, if the popularity of the aforementioned Emily in Paris is anything to go by, most people are incapable of judging whether a show is worth watching or will make you want to poke your eyeballs out, so you’ll end up watching absolute shite.
Watch something you’ve seen multiple times already
After an hour or so of trying to decide, you’ll give up on finding an amazing new show and turn to an old favourite instead. You don’t actually need to watch Red Dwarf because you’ve seen every episode nine times and can recite the script word for word, but at least you know it’s not The Wheel of Time.
