24 TV Shows To Turn On In The Background When You Just Need Some Comfort
For when you need some much-needed relaxation.
Here’s are some of the top-voted responses:
1. Golden Girls
Touchstone Television/Courtesy Everett Collection
“The Golden Girls theme song is such a comfort! Instantly lowers your blood pressure and puts a smile on your face. It triggers all the memories from watching it as a kid.”
2. Malcolm in the Middle
20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
“The best show of all time. Except I wouldn’t turn it on just for background noise because then I’d miss all of the little golden nuggets — the directors missed NOTHING — although I suppose you could if you’ve seen it enough times.”
3. The Joy of Painting
4. Parks and Recreation
NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
5. Bob’s Burgers
20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
“I’m pretty sure I’ve watched Bob’s Burgers at least 50 times now. I love the animation and colors, and it’s so soothing.”
6. Antiques Roadshow
PBS / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Have you discovered Roadshow on YouTube yet? I watch it almost every day.”
7. How It’s Made
Greenlight Films / Via youtube.com
“I like watching How It’s Made and Modern Marvels, stuff like that. Vaguely informative stuff that isn’t super serious, so if I miss something, no biggie, but also it contains subjects that are endlessly fascinating to me.”
8. The Great British Bake Off
Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
“I like watching the last couple of seasons with Mary Berry and Mel and Sue, but now that those are off Netflix, it’s the season where Giuseppe wins.”
9. Top Gear
BBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
“I have all 22 seasons on my Plex server and I just put it on whenever I need something to watch or just play in the background.”
10. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
20th Century Fox Licensing / Everett Collection
“The only thing that prevents me from watching this show before bed is the loud trumpets in the opening.”
11. Modern Family
ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection
“We’ve watched it through probably close to 20 times. We just keep looping back to Season 1, going, ‘Aww, look! It’s baby Luke!'”
12. Planet Earth
13. Futurama
Hulu/Courtesy Everett Collection
“I’ve re-watched it so many times, just the audio is enough. My memory can fill out the rest. It’s the perfect show for background noise for me.”
14. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
“I could watch entire marathons of it, back to back, and still never get tired of it.”
15. King of the Hill
20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
“I love King of the Hill. I fall asleep to it all the time. But that damn opening music wakes me up sometimes.”
16. The Office
NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
“My husband: ‘Are you watching The Office again?’ Me: ‘I never stop watching.'”
17. Schitt’s Creek
CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corp.) / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I’ve seen it enough I don’t need to pay attention. The dialog always puts me in a good mood.”
18. Superstore
NBC / Everett Collection
19. Frasier
NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
20. Friends
Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Friends got me through unhappiness in college being on the TV in the background. It will always be my go-to.”
21. Gilmore Girls
CW Network/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Especially in the fall. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched it. I love how every time I watch the show, I catch a new reference.”
22. Seinfeld
Castle Rock Entertainment/Courtesy Everett Collection
“I put it on every night when I’m trying to fall asleep. I like that it doesn’t have a theme song, so I don’t have to worry about it waking me back up.”
23. Star Trek
Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Pick your Star Trek. TV, comfort food, with a dash of hope for the future on top.”
24. The Simpsons
20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
“I had a sleep study done, and my specialist told me that 1/3 of his patients fall asleep to The Simpsons.”
What other comfort shows do you think should be on this list? Let us know in the comments below!
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
