Comfort Shows, Ranked by How Little They Ask of You
Some evenings you have the capacity for a nine-hour Scandinavian investigation into municipal corruption. Other evenings you have the capacity for approximately none. This list is organized by effort required, ascending.
Level 1: You may fall asleep and lose nothing
The Great British Bake Off (Netflix in most regions). Nobody is cruel, the stakes are a cake, and the worst outcome anyone faces is going home to a garden they clearly love. The format is engineered to lower your heart rate.
Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix). A pleasant man eats food in a nice city and calls his family. That's the show. It works.
Level 2: You will laugh but do not need to concentrate
Schitt's Creek (Netflix and Hulu in select regions). Rich family loses everything, moves to a motel, slowly becomes decent. The first season is spiky; from season two on it's the warmest thing on television.
Bob's Burgers (Hulu, Disney+ in select regions). Twenty-two minutes, a family that likes each other, no continuity obligations. The rare animated comedy with no cruelty in it.
Level 3: Mild attention required, high reward
Taskmaster (YouTube for many series, streaming varies by region). Five comedians attempt absurd challenges and are judged arbitrarily. British, chaotic, and the single most rewatchable panel format ever devised.
Detectorists (streaming varies; often on BritBox or Prime in select regions). Two men look for treasure in fields with metal detectors. Almost nothing happens across three seasons and it's one of the most beautiful things ever made about friendship.
Level 4: An actual plot, gently applied
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu, Disney+ in select regions). A murder mystery so cozy the murders barely register. Three podcasters in a nice building.
Ted Lasso (Apple TV). Whatever you think of the later seasons, season one is a functioning antidepressant.
The criterion for this list is not quality, exactly. It's whether the show punishes you for looking at your phone. Everything here forgives you.
One warning: comfort viewing works best when it's genuinely yours. If a beloved show puts you on edge, it isn't comfort, it's homework. Turn it off.