The second season of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was released on Netflix last week. Sadly for me, Mark got the stomach flu over the weekend and was here, hogging up my TV time, even more than usual. (Obviously, a stomach virus is sad for me because I love him and hate for him to be sick [and, don’t forget, I’m the Worst Nurse Ever]. I’m not a total monster. People.) But after rewatching the first season in just a few days, I was bummed to have to wait almost an entire week to start the new episodes.
So far, I’ve only watched the first two episodes of the second season, and they are just as outrageous and hilarious. The show is silly, sure, but it’s also smart and snarky with pointed asides and references. One of those jabs was having several characters rattle off detailed reports about the Kardashians and then mutter, “HOW DO I KNOW THAT?” The point, obviously, being that our news media covers ridiculous things, which results in a shared knowledge of ridiculous things that are not actually news. Or important.
Which brings me to today and my point (yes, I have one). I’ve read several Very Important news stories this past week, about serious things that are devastating, tragic, and often controversial. But what I want to talk to you about is not one of those things. I mean, it’s not the Kardashians, either. I have limits. But I do want to talk about Castle. And the fact that one of the lead actors in the show is leaving after this season.
Except, I don’t really want to talk about Castle. (Although, we could, as I have watched every single episode since the pilot.) What I want to talk about is the practice of quitting shows.
We’ve talked about what genres, tropes or themes make us shout, “Shut up and take my money!” And we’ve looked at the opposite situation, the things that make us shut a book, mark it DNF (did not finish), and walk away. Now I want to discuss the television version of this.
What makes you break up with a TV show? Are you a die-hard, in-it-till-the-end viewer? Or are you willing to pick up the remote and delete a show from your DVR at the slightest infraction? Like many of us said about the abundance of good books and our lack of free time, ain’t nobody got time for bad TV! (Unless it’s so-bad-it’s-good TV. That’s something completely different.)
Naturally, I’ve stopped watching shows when my schedule got too crowded or the show failed to keep my interest any longer. The Office was that kind of slow fade for me. I never decided that I was finished with Michael, Jim, Dwight and Pam. I just kind of fell out of love the with Dunder Mifflin crew and missed an episode here and there. Before I knew it, I had missed most of the last season. (Of course, my addiction to finales meant I tuned back in the last couple of months the show aired.)
The only shows I considered must-see favorites that I can recall full-stop QUITTING are Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Wife, Parenthood and Bones. Grey’s, Good Wife and Parenthood, in their own ways, got to be TOO MUCH for me. Too much drama, too much anxiety after watching it. So I cut them out of my viewing schedule.
But Bones? Well, I admit I stopped watching Bones because the show made me mad. Yep. I threw a TV tantrum and quit watching when the show made some changes I didn’t approve of. Because that’s what true fans do…right?
Well, yeah, based on the comment sections of articles about TV shows, that’s exactly what fans do! Two shows I’ve watched for years have major changes coming at the end of this season. Michael Weatherly (who plays Tony DiNozzo) is leaving NCIS, and — as it was just announced — Stana Katic (who plays Kate Beckett) is leaving Castle. Two major characters are leaving their shows, and fans are predictably in an uproar.
While I’m a bit weary of both shows and won’t complain if and when they’re finally cancelled, I won’t be breaking up with them over these cast changes. But the hubbub surrounding these decisions made me wonder: Would I quit other shows if certain characters left?
I don’t know. Maybe. Probably? I’m not sure, but I did think this would make a fun topic for a Friday chat. So let’s chat! Tell me: have you ever walked away from a formerly favorite show? what character is a deal breaker for you? what change would be too much or too far?
That’s so funny that you would post this today – I just broke up with Gotham and The Blacklist this week – deleted all the back episodes from the DVR and cancelled the series recording. I was SO TIRED of gruesome for gruesome’s sake. I’m over it. Now Downton Abbey, on the other hand, could’ve done whatever they wanted (and did) I would’ve still stayed with them till the end. I’m still devastated it’s over.
Haha! And I *DID* break up with Downton Abbey! :)
I intentionally broke up with Grey’s Anatomy several seasons ago (too much of the same relational drama over and over with story lines repeating. And I couldn’t handle Arizona … ugh.) and Scandal a few seasons in (it just got weird …). The Good Wife was wearing on me, but this current season is so good, so I’m glad I didn’t break up with it yet. And Bones is one of those I go back to when there’s nothing else to watch (but I remember you saying why you gave it up …).
And I still really want to watch Castle.
I recently broke up Blue Bloods. It was the same thing over and over again. Donnie Wahlburg always getting the main cases. It was story lines from the news. I just became tired of it. I broke up with The Good Wife once she became involved in politics. I like the TV show Nashville, but in some ways it is recycling it self. Interesting thing. Sometime I have a hard time with comedies, because sometimes I feel like the characters are yelling. (weird, I know)
It’s funny that I read your comment right now – while I’m watching Blue Bloods! :) Just in the last couple of weeks I’ve been telling Mark that the Reagan family kind of gets on my nerves. I mean, I still really like the show. But it also bugs me. Just a little bit. (Except for Donnie Wahlburg’s character. he bugs me MORE than just a little bit.)
We just decided this week to stop watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. We’ve been watching it since the beginning, but found ourselves not getting around to watching the episodes on our DVR. Then, we finally discussed that we were disappointed with the turns the show has taken.
Funny you should mention Castle, since that’s another that I just set my DVR to stop recording. I have noticed that I consistently do other work while watching the episodes to the point where I’m not watching them at all.
That’s exactly where I am with Castle and NCIS. It just doesn’t hold my interest like it used to!
Yes, some get the slow fade because I begin to lose interest. Sometimes, however, I feel a conviction to leave a certain show behind because it serves no good purpose in my life and only exposes me to unsavory life issues that I don’t need to give attention to in most cases. That doesn’t mean that I boycott any show that “disturbs” me but there have been some shows that cause a disturbance in my soul. One was CSI and another was Orange is the New Black. Both of those seemed to cause me some sleep disturbance. Hubby asked that we never even start Breaking Bad because of the issues they cover. Another one was Weeds. I found the storyline interesting but then began to feel disturbed by the content as time went on. Too much gore or over-the-topic issues seem to disturb me more than they used to and I don’t want to ignore that. Also, I tend to watch shows just before bedtime and have been struggling on and off with insomnia so I have been choosing lighter fare in general.
That all makes sense, Anna. I can’t watch anything super violent or creepy or R-rated in general for the same reasons!