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Whether it’s Friends, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, Parks and Recreation or Schitt’s Creek, the comfort of ‘comfort shows’ comes from the persisting sense of emotional safety they provide. Each repeat watch only reinstates the notion as opposed to boring it out. The details of the plot here stand secondary to the white noise the brain stands softly hooked into. All the more reason for the shows to be exactly what people return to during burnout, heartbreak, loneliness, anxiety or even just a run-of-the-mill bad day. It’s essentially the perfect balance between minimum investment and maximum emotional pay off. Kohli seconds this: “Watching known storylines can activate feelings of comfort, stability, and even joy, helping regulate emotions in much the same way familiar music, routines, or comfort food might. It may also temporarily provide a sense of escape without requiring emotional investment in something new or potentially disappointing.”