By: Natasha Archary
Discussions around the office or social settings with friends usually revolve around the latest episodes of trending and bingeworthy shows.
With the change in times for one of the most popular drama series, Skeem Saam, Thomas and Skhumba took a nostalgic trip down memory lane recounting some of their most-watched TV shows.
It’s no longer a case of having the time to watch a web-series, but rather a matter of watching it the minute it releases on streaming platforms, and watching it before anyone else does.
A few addictive web-series achieves this response from viewers who swear they were hooked from the first episode.
The most recent being the prequel to the Bridgerton series, Queen Charlotte, which had women re-enacting scenes from the show in TikTok skits.
@randomshitig1 after all his memory loss the thing he remembers is when he fell in love with her #queencharlotte #kinggeorge #bridgerton cr: @ᴀᴇʀᴇɪɢɴɴɴ ♬ original sound – Delrey
The appeal of the British regency era show all started with The Duke in Season 1, and the historical romance served as an escape for millions of women.
It does help that the Bridgerton series is produced by executive producer, Shonda Rhimes. Although she didn’t write the books that inspired the hit Bridgerton series, Queen Charlotte is entirely her brainchild.
But does good writing, acting and story matter? Not really, as many viewers will watch a TV show because it has been recommended by a friend, colleague or family member.
The most popular series includes:
- Narcos
- House of Cards
- Orange is the New Black
- Game of Thrones
- Suits
- Black Mirror
- Money Heist
- Breaking Bad
- Vikings
- Ozark
- Queen of the South
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Drive:
What’s peer pressure got to do with your TV show preferences?
With the rise of other streaming platforms, the options are endless, and yet most people still only watch a show because it’s trending on social media.
Jumping on the streaming bandwagon, for many, it’s the peer pressure that influences our interests in TV shows.
Peer pressure is a factor with a lot of choices people make, including brands, food outlets and yes, even TV shows.
Because we don’t want to lag behind or feel left out of the conversations that are taking place around us, we follow suggestions and viewing recommendations, even if a show doesn’t fall under the genre we enjoy.
As long as a series manages to grab our attention for the first 20-minutes, most of us would watch the full 45-minutes episode, without caring about whether it really appeals to us.
Basically content does not matter anymore, as long as something is trending, and there’s hype around it, we’ll watch it.
Case in point, the Fast and Furious movies.
