'Social Surrogacy': Reseachers Think They Know Why We Keep Rewatching Comfort Shows

“Familiar people, situations, landscapes, and events become intimate and comfortable”.

I’ve often wondered what my usual comfort watches – The Thick of It, Ugly Betty, Blackadder, Derry Girls, Peep Show – say about me (aside from the fact that I had most of them on DVD as a teen).

I mean, they’re not all soothing, are they? A screaming Malcolm Tucker isn’t exactly what springs to mind when you picture a relaxing rewatch.

But according to the “social surrogacy” theory, the shows we come back to time and time again might offer a type of comfort that isn’t as straightforward as gentle voiceovers or calming scenes.

According to research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, the one-sided relationships we........

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