And above all others, there’s the crown jewel in my personal pop culture rotation: Parks and Recration. I could go on for days about the show’s wonderful depiction of female friendships, its warm humor, the bonkers inhabitants of Pawnee or the inspirational modeling of public service on multiple levels.
All of those attributes listed above are absolutely wonderful, but the thing that keeps me coming back to Parks and Recreation over and over again is its genuine affection for each and every character on the show (even the jerks, like Councilman Jamm). This quality of affection for all characters is present in other shows produced by Mike Shur like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place.
But there’s something special about the grounded humanity of Parks and Recreation that’s unbelievably reassuring. Characters experience realistic setbacks like breakups or missing out on their dream jobs, but then they pick themselves up and find something even more interesting or dynamic in the future. By the series finale, which I have watched approximately eleventy billion times, each character we care about has their own fulfilling happy ending with a bright future ahead.
I’m not ashamed to say that in some of my personal darkest moments I’ve turned to Parks and Recreation for the inspiration to remember that sometimes life is tough, but with the right people around you and a clear sense of yourself it’s possible to keep moving into a better tomorrow.
Sometimes I’m almost embarrassed that I have watched these three series over and over and over again. Instead of watching something new, game-changing and compelling like Russian Doll or Black Mirror I hit the button on Netflix that says “Yes, I am still watching Gilmore Girls.”
However, I’ve recently taken stock and realized that there’s no shame in my pop culture comfort watch game. We live in an unpredictable, scary and confusing world. Even if you’re not stressed about geopolitical events, just the daily grind can take its toll. I long ago rejected the idea that my romance reading was a “guilty pleasure,” so why would my television habits be any different?
One of my favorite podcasts, NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour has a segment that they’ve dubbed pop-culture serotonin. In short, each of these panelists devote their segment to discussing two or three pieces of culture that immediately trigger happiness and contentment. And if the folks at NPR can do whole podcast episodes about this kind of culture, then I can certainly embrace the shows that, to borrow a Marie Kondo phrase, “spark joy.”
In a world full of seriousness and complication, there’s no shame in seeking out media that’s cheerful, comforting and inspiring. For me, it’s these three shows. For you, it may be a song, a favorite movie, a treasured book with a spine worn down from re-reads in your most trying times. So here’s to our pop culture comfort watches! To the serotonin boosters that make us smile! Let’s go forth with appreciation in our hearts for the media that makes us feel better!