The Three Best Comfort Shows for Mindless Watching

After a long, tiring day that’s been overwhelming and the world feels like it’s spinning too fast, it’s normal to want some form of stress relief. A comfort show provides familiarity, emotional grounding and safety, like wrapping yourself in a warm, cozy blanket at the end of the day. If you’re looking for a comfort TV show or new ways to find comfort, these shows are timeless and lend themselves to mindless watching while you de-stress and escape the worries of reality. The best part is you can watch it alone or with friends and it shouldn’t require any stimulating activity from you.

Why Comfort Shows Matter

The primary science behind mindless watching of comfort shows is stress relief, mood boosting and escapism. 

• Stress relief: Watching your favorite show can lower cortisol levels by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, causing your body to relax. It also relieves stress by creating an environment that’s familiar to you because you understand the humor. 
• Mood-boosting: Watching your favorite show can release dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitters, making you happier. 
• Escapism: Comfort shows draw your attention to a different world. Watching a comforting show serves as a distraction. 

Mindless watching of comfort shows helps your brain consume content without much thought or engagement. It often requires watching shows with predictable endings, humor and continuous watching. 

What Makes a Show a “Comfort Show”?

A comfort show contains key ingredients of a lighthearted one, familiar characters, easy-to-follow plots and nostalgia. Comfort shows are different for each person — for some, it’s comedy and for others, it’s true crime. Comfort shows for anxiety bring calm because they know the ending. For others, comforting shows make them happy because it’s a distraction from reality. 

When searching for your comfort show, look for shows that make you happy, relax your brain and body, and leave you feeling calmer. If a show makes you feel depressed, stressed or overstimulates your brain — it’s not a comfort show. 

The Three Best Comfort Shows for Mindless Watching

1. The Office 

The Office is a mockumentary and a good comfort show because it creates a sense of familiarity and relatability. The storyline follows the lives of co-workers and their daily drama of romance, ego clashes and inappropriate behavior. Ultimately, the series’ moral is that life is more bearable when you like the people you work with. 

The Office’s humor is relatable to work issues, creating a sense of stability and connection. When people feel understood, they build stronger relationships and are protected from depression. The series’ bingeable episodes and short runtimes make it a staple for stress relief. Because of the stability in characters, the series delivers laughs and warmth and offers predictable jokes. This show is ideal for late-night watching or with co-workers you enjoy spending time with.

2.  Schitt’s Creek

Schitt’s Creek is a heartwarming series filled with positive vibes. A wealthy family is defrauded and becomes penniless overnight. The only asset they have left is a small, unsophisticated town called Schitt’s Creek. The storyline follows the family as they navigate changes, find love and stand together through trials and tribulations. It fosters personal growth and offers an escape from the hardships of reality with a reminder that even in difficult times, there’s hope. 

The show depicts the family as wealthy and smitten by worldly treasures, and they have to make instant changes to survive. The family ventures on a journey of self-acceptance, personal growth and understanding the actual value of relationships. The series is also filled with humor based on each character’s persona. If you’re keen on watching this show, sit with friends who enjoy looking for the bright side in every situation. 

3. Friends

Friends is a 90s show that follows the lives of six close friends who live in Manhattan. Friends is a feel-good series often rewatched because knowing the plot twist brings comfort. Each friend has a distinct persona and brings value to the group — a gentle reminder that you’re important and nobody is like you. The series spans over several years and covers topics like marriage, romance, partners, children, heartbreak, daily life struggles, victories, new jobs and all sorts of drama. 

Friends is relatable because it reminds you that all friends have flaws and in the busyness of life, sometimes you just need a friend to help you through the day. For most, the series is nostalgic about past relationships and when life was stress-free and fun. There’s no better group to watch this series with than your friends. 

How to Create Your Comfort Show Ritual

Self-care is crucial when you’re overwhelmed or have had a bad day and just need a moment to breathe, relax and destress. But self-care is also not an emergency tool — it’s a necessity. The nurturing behavior helps you to manage stress and anxiety, improve your mental well-being, prevent burnout, embody self-awareness and self-love and build resilience. 

Watching a series doesn’t seem to empower every aspect of nurturing behavior. However, watching comforting shows that suit you releases dopamine and reduces cortisol levels, lowering your stress level. When calmer, you can think more rationally, improving mental well-being. Resting while watching a series prevents burnout. Relating to a series and finding the bright side to the situation gives you a sense of self-awareness and love. And learning a lesson while using minimal brain activity to watch it will help build resilience. 

Embrace the Joy of Mindless Watching

Comfort shows embrace more than white noise — it embraces purpose. While it seems like mindless watching, rewatching or watching a comfort show gives you peace, purpose, relaxation and hope. Whether you need a laugh, a soft escape or a nostalgic reminder, the right show can anchor mental health. 

Think of your shows as companions after a hard day, which helps your brain relax, escape from reality and lower your stress levels. These three shows are the best for mindless watching, but you can also find shows that relax your mind because every person relaxes using different emotional tools. Make a mindful decision to enjoy mindless watching.