Throughout the last year, with many of us feeling stressed and overwhelmed by the impact of the pandemic, we turned to memories of the past for comfort. This involved revisiting old favourite TV shows, films and music as this brought a sense of nostalgia during such an uncertain time.
According to a Nielsen study conducted with Billboard in the USA, which explored the impact of the pandemic on entertainment consumption, it showed that more the half of consumers sought comfort in familiar music and TV shows – with 54% recently rewatching episodes of an old favourite TV show. This trend was also observed in the UK where according to a survey by Uswitch, 45% of Brits rewatched the sitcom Friends.
Looking at what is driving this trend, an article by Stylist discussed how when rewatching old favourites, or listening to old music we are remembering the good memories that are associated with them, whilst also longing for those “better” times.
To accompany this, there as also been a rise of TV recap podcasts. Although not a new trend, it is something that has certainly picked up pace during the pandemic with revisiting of old favourite TV shows. These podcasts are hosted by former stars of the show, such as The Office, where they provide listeners first-hand experience of their production.
One example is the popular podcast called; Fake Doctors, Real Friends, which features Scrubs co-stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison, who relive the hit TV show, discussing an episode of the show each week. In an interview with The Ringer, Braff explained that the podcast happened to appear at a time when people were more likely to revisit Scrubs, as it offers their audience an excuse to focus on something other than the pandemic.
They are not the only ones who have taken advantage of this trend. ‘Talking Sopranos’, debuted last year hosted by former Sopranos stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa, and the upcoming launch of “Welcome To The OC, Bitches!” in April with Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarkes, comes nearly 18 years after the show’s premiere.
Going back to our favourite TV shows and / or accompanying them with a recap podcast, has offered comfort and escapism from the situation we have been navigating this past year. It will therefore be interesting to see whether this trend will continue and offer opportunities, especially as we start to ease out of lockdown.
