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Shows on the ‘yet to watch’ list include (from left) More Than This,Station Eleven and This Is Going to Hurt.

I say this,humbly and with a measure of gratitude,but there is too much television. It’s my job to watch TV and I can’t keep up. I have to triage new series,figure out which ones are worth my hours. It feels like every time I make a decision there are two more candidates to be evaluated. What a strange situation to be in.

The first family television I can remember was a stout box with four sturdy legs and a black and white image that was reliant on something called an aerial. In rural Victoria in the 1970s,there were two channels:the local commercial broadcaster and the ABC. Both shut down late at night.

Now you canbinge-watch shows back-to-back,on whatever screen you like. But having more scripted television – let alone the overworked news channels,lifestyle lures and sports extravaganzas – doesn’t appear to be satisfying people. Often when people I meet learn that I’m a television critic they ask me what they should watch,hoping for a solution to their couch crises. Have you noticed how popular the rewatch is? All those fresh options and we’re instinctively going back to an old favourite.

The shows aren’t going away,but maybe the way we grew up watching them is.

Actually,I remembered a few more titles that are impatiently tapping their toes as I dally with other contenders. I haven’t yet got toSearch Party,The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,The Cuphead Show!,Archive 81,The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window,Jeen-yuhs andJoe Pickett.

The list continues with The Marvelous Mrs Maisel,Archive 81 and Jeen-yuhs.Credit:Christopher Saunders/Amazon Studios,Clifton Prescod,Netflix

There are vast structural issues at work here. Entertainment conglomerates have decided that streaming services are their new flagships,but they also believe that a show will exhaust its subscriber potential after three seasons so it’s better to start anew. New shows are the stick and the carrot. But after the lockdown era,when watching television was the collective response,we don’t appear that enamoured with the medium. If anything,we’re anxious about the endless choice.

For some people the 21st century icebreaker,“what are you watching?“,is a source of anxiety. They worry they don’t have the right answer to a query that doesn’t actually have an answer. Personally,the more unexpected or oddball the answer the more I like it. Surely we’re better off than 25 years ago,when I was fretting over a VHS player recording an episode ofThe Larry Sanders Show that had been relegated to a post-midnight slot. Bootlegging shows,in the years before DVD box sets,was exhausting.

But I believe that too much TV is the start – not the end – of a swing in viewing habits. The next wave in television,to cut through the overwhelming glut of new shows,is TV as a collegial experience. Last year,cable sports titan ESPN added a second broadcast to some of its NFL matches,where retired stars and siblings Peyton and Eli Manning spoke over the regular telecast. Zooming from their couches,it was an informal commentary. Periodically during the game guests would log in,as if the Manning’s were also fronting a chat show.

The intended vibe,which they mostly hit because Peyton Manning has a knack for broadcasting,was a hangout. I don’t think it will be long until scripted shows offer the same alternative. You can watch season four ofBridgerton as the creator intended,or watch it with a commentary team who talk you through it. The seeds are already there in recap culture and theGogglebox franchise. You get the gist of the episode,but with in-jokes and live reviews.

Once we acknowledge too much TV we can start to think about what we actually want from the medium. The shows aren’t going away,but maybe the way we grew up watching them is. So as well as a long list of what to watch,we may have one of who to watch it with. They can’t both become a burden,right?

* Stan is owned by Nine,the owner of this masthead.

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