Spotify’s Discovery Weekly trained us to expect personalization. Netflix’s autoplay trailers trained us to have the attention span of a hummingbird. TikTok’s forced-feed trained us to resent having to choose anything at all.

It’s a scene so universally painful it has become its own genre of meme. The clock reads 10:47 PM. You are settled under the perfect weight of blankets. Your snack is optimally positioned. You open Netflix, Max, or Hulu.

These are shows you don't need to watch ; you simply need them to be on . Friends , The Office , Grey’s Anatomy , Parks and Rec , Gilmore Girls .