I wanted to write this because I watch a lot of TV. You probably think you watch a lot of TV too (and maybe you do, I don’t know your life). But here are some times I watch TV:
when I’m getting ready for work
before falling asleep
while I’m doing the dishes
when I should be doing laundry
Occasionally, I take the laptop into the bathroom and listen to a show while I’m in the shower like it’s a podcast. Weird? Who cares. You don’t know my life!
When I was little, I used to sneak-watch TV while my parents were out. They would often leave me home alone because that’s what you do with responsible only children and because I was supposed to be studying or practicing the piano. To them, TV was “a waste of time.” (Get it?) But what I actually did when left to my own devices was watch hours and hours of TV. I’d make sure to turn it off about 15-20 minutes before I knew they were coming home though. Why so specific? Because that’s about how long it would take for our TV set to cool down. And what’s that for? Well, knowing how much I loved TV and how easily I could waste valuable studying time watching whatever was on, my parents would actually CHECK the back of the TV to see if it was still hot. #ImmigrantParentProblems are real.
In high school, my parents decided to get rid of our cable subscription so I could “focus on studying.” But having fewer channels did nothing to shorten the time I spent watching TV. I just had to get creative with my content choices. This is how my love of '80s blockbusters that used to rerun on UPN and British period dramas that aired on PBS was born.
So yes, I’ve always loved TV and sometimes it got me in trouble. Now I get to spend my life covering entertainment. Lesson of the day: it pays to lie to your parents. (Not really. Don’t do that. But do follow your heart.)
And if you’re wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into by subscribing, this little newsletter is going to be an amalgam of the Grub Street Diary and Refinery29’s Money Diaries. I’m basically just going to document what I watch each week, diary style, and inevitably tell you what I thought about it.
I hope you’ll also tell me what you watch, what you think about what you watch, what you love to watch, what you’re watching but aren’t really sure why because it’s not very good, etc.
Let’s begin!
Sticker art by World Famous Original