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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois State chapter.

Whether you need something to watch after a long day of classes and work, or you need background noise when doing your assignments, there are many different types of media that you can consume for mindless entertainment. However, sometimes you need something with more plot than a youtube video or podcast. I’m going to break down my 5 favorite tv shows to mindlessly watch (or listen to).

Cartoon: Gravity Falls 

To me, Gravity Falls is a classic cartoon that is easy to watch and digest. This show is about two twins who explore the town of Gravity Falls, Oregon one summer. This show is a mindless watch because the episodes are short and follow a slight anthology style of episodes. While there are continuous characters and some callbacks to storylines, it wouldn’t hurt to watch the episodes out of order or watching certain episodes at one time.

Reality Show: Kitchen Nightmares 

This show has recently become one of my favorites to mindlessly watch. It is great background noise because you can easily pick up on what is happening in the episode at any point, even if you haven’t been completely watching.

Sitcom: New Girl 

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a huge New Girl fan. I have written about my favorite episodes previously, which are typically the episodes that thicken the plot heavily. However, the show has quite a few episodes that are filler episodes. With that, once you’ve seen the show all the way through, it is the perfect thing to put on in the background. The characters, episodes, and plots are funny, but don’t always need your full attention. 

Sitcom: Boy Meets World 

I also love sitcoms from the 90s-2000s. Boy Meets World is one of my favorite sitcoms. The show represents growing up and the people you meet along the way. Boy Meets World makes for a good mindless watch because it tends to focus on simple plot lines in each episode. With that, it’s similar to Gravity Falls because of the continuous plot lines and characters, but audiences could pick episodes and watch them as standalones. 

Cartoon: Bee and PuppyCat

Finally, Bee and PuppyCat is another cartoon that I love to turn on in the background. It is a fun cartoon that doesn’t really take itself too seriously. It’s the perfect background noise, but it’s also aesthetically pleasing to look at. 

The shows on this list are some of my favorite things to turn on in the background when I’m doing homework or just need an easy watch. These shows are entertaining, but they aren’t too distracting or deep. My recommendation for anyone looking for a mindless watch is to pick shows that you’ve watched in depth already, but don’t have super in depth plot lines and characters. These shows also don’t have super heavy plot lines. Instead, they are light, fun, and don’t have too many details that audiences need to pay attention to.

Sarah Knowlton

Illinois State '24

Hi I'm Sarah! I am a graduate student studying Human Development and Family Science. After I graduate, I hope to pursue a career where I can mesh my passions of writing and being creative with helping children/families. Besides writing, my hobbies include reading, cooking/baking, arts & crafts, and watching my favorite shows!