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With the cold fronts rolling in, exam season amongst us, the first semester ending, and the usual surge of seasonal depression, it becomes super important for students to keep themselves comforted. From personal experience, the best way to comfort yourself is to watch a comfort TV show. These are a few key elements that I find make the perfect comfort show.
The TV show must have some form of relatability. The show must have certain elements that remind the viewer of something that they enjoy in their real life. The TV show needs to be relatable, with elements that remind you of things you enjoy in your own life. When a show provides this element of relatability, you can find particular aspects of the show endearing, leading to a sense of comfort and enjoyment.
Another aspect of comfort shows is the complete opposite of relatability. When a show provides elements that you cannot relate to at all, it allows for an element of escapism. You become captivated into this world that has removed the worst parts of reality and instead portrays the most endearing parts of it.
Comfort shows should be something that you find yourself relying on, always. If it truly is a good comfort show, you will never get tired of it. You should be able to watch the same TV show on a loop without becoming bored.
Finally, comfort shows need to be easy to watch. The best comfort shows have plotlines that are easy to follow but keep you entertained. Comfort shows also need to prevent dealing with heavy subjects in a dramatic way, instead, it should portray these subjects in a light-hearted manner. Remember, a good comfort show will always leave you feeling lighter than when you first hit play.
Once I had discovered these elements it made it a lot easier for me to identify what I consider the best comfort TV shows. Here are my recommendations:
Modern Family
Modern Family is one of the best sitcoms produced. The show has won many awards and has a devout fanbase. Modern Family allows you to experience the highs and lows of common family issues and gives the viewer the opportunity to celebrate family-based triumphs. During this exam season, it could be very difficult to be away from your family and not be able to engage in the regular antics. If this is an issue that you are experiencing, I recommend giving Modern Family a watch.
Community
If you are a humanities student, this is the sitcom for you. A rag-tag group of misfits join together to form a Spanish study group in Dan Harmon’s Community. However, very little studying actually happens. Instead, we see the diverse group form a solid friendship whilst battling with mental health issues and the trouble of figuring out what they will do with their lives. If you are someone struggling with your mental health and the effect that university is having on it, I highly recommend Community to bring you some comfort and assurance.
Ted Lasso
For all the UCT athletes and football fans out there, I have got the TV show for you. At the beginning of Jason Sudeikis’ Ted Lasso, one may think that it is just a show about football, but it is so much more. The show makes an effort to showcase the mental health issues associated with athletics all whilst proving that there is a lot more to an athlete than what meets the eye. Instead of showcasing athletes as forms of entertainment, Ted Lasso shows athletes as individual characters with their own views, opinions and plotlines. Ted Lasso has by far one of the most beautiful portrayals of character development and does an excellent job of rejecting the stereotype of athletes being egotistical, masculine jerks who do not care about their communities.
American Dad!
This animated comedy is something that I would recommend to every university student, no matter what you are going through. American Dad! is a witty and fun show to watch when you are just looking for some chuckles. Think of The Simpsons but edgier. American Dad! takes adult topics and portrays them in a fun and outrageous way. With characters representing all walks of life, I’m sure you would find one who you could relate to. Perhaps you relate to Hailey, the community college goer who likes to get stoned or maybe you relate more so with Roger, the pansexual alien who likes to adorn costumes so that he may live out his multiple personas (he has over 100 personas btw). No matter who you are, you will find a character that you identify with in American Dad! and the show is bound to bring you some laughs.
Whether your comfort show is Modern Family or American Dad! it does not matter, the most important thing is that you find a show that will bring you comfort in this cold season. Life can get very hard so make sure to go easy on yourself, and sometimes something as simple as watching a TV show is all you need.