What kinds of TV shows turn us into weekend-plan-throwing-out binge-watching zombies?
TV shows with zombies, as it turns out. And serial killers. And covens.
Netflix has just released the results of a study that reveals which genres of TV shows people are more likely to binge watch, and which types of shows people are likely to savor over a long period; their findings form the just-released Netflix Bing Scale.
The study looked at more than 100 serialized TV series and the viewing habits of Netflix subscribers in more than 190 countries, tracking patterns between October 2015 and May 2016. Any series viewed for more than two hours per day was considered "devoured"; less than that and Netflix has termed it "savored."
Photograph: Courtesy Netflix
According to the study, anything layered—irreverent comedies with thickets of jokes and social commentary (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Bojack Horseman); complex political dramas (House of Cards, The Good Wife); and historical dramas (The Americans)—tended to be savored.
At the other end of the spectrum, serialized thrillers like Bates Motel, Dexter and Breaking Bad were the most quickly devoured, followed by horror shows like The Walking Dead, American Horror Story and MTV's Scream.
In a report on the scale, Netflix explained its theory as to why dramatized comedies like Orange is the New Black are more bingeable than more irreverent fare like Bojack Horseman (aside: get on that horsey bandwagon immediately if you aren't already).
"Series like Sense8, Orphan Black and The 100 grab you, assault your senses, and as The Binge Scale shows, make it hard to pull away. The classic elements of horror and thrillers go straight for the gut, pushing the placement of series like The Walking Dead, American Horror Story and The Fall towards the devour end of the scale. Likewise, comedies with a dramatic bent, like Orange is the New Black, Nurse Jackie and Grace and Frankie, seem to tickle our fancy and make it easy to say 'just one more.'"
The study also found that the median number of days it took to watch a complete first season was just five, while across the planet we spent a median of two hours and ten minutes in front of the TV, laptop, iPad or whatever we used when we started watching a Netflix show.
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