What’s Your Go-to Comfort Media?
I reckon most of us have certain books, movies, TV shows, music, podcasts, and other media that we turn to when we need some comfort. These are things we’ve seen, read, or heard before — often many times — and know exactly what we’re going to get from them.
What we reach for depends on our needs. When I just want something familiar on in the background while I’m doing something else, to provide a vibe and the barest hint of a plot to follow, I often turn on Star Trek: TNG or old episodes of Doctor Who on Pluto TV. A few years ago during a really tough period, I read several of Tom Clancy’s novels (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Red Storm Rising) to keep my brain reliably engaged but also unfettered by challenging prose or the deep emotional lives of the characters. I rewatch Star Wars and Avengers movies for their reliable entertainment, characters I’m invested in, and predictable-but-satisfying outcomes — these are often good plane movies.
When I’m feeling a lot of relational feelings and need a bit of salt to make them feel even more intense (and punishing), I’ll watch season two of Fleabag or Midnight in Paris or even 50 First Dates (which is as close as I get to rom-coms). Radiohead is a great all-arounder for many situations — I’ve leaned on Everything In Its Right Place, True Love Waits, Videotape, and even Burn the Witch at various times in my life. The Great British Bake Off is reliably low stakes, entertaining, and nothing but good vibes.
So how about it? What’s your go-to comfort media?
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When I’m sick in bed and can’t keep my eyes open but can’t quite fall asleep, I like to put on Old Time Radio for comfort. Even though they stopped making these way before my time, I always enjoyed listening to them as a little kid. I would get them on records from the library, and there was a weekly radio show that played some of them, too. Now you can get almost anything on the Internet Archive. I especially listen to episodes of Dragnet, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, Fibber McGee and Molly, Our Miss Brooks, Suspense, You Bet Your Life, etc. Sometimes I just scroll through to find things I never heard of or always meant to listen to.
Alternatively, I may put on some old sitcom. Recently I’ve been making my way through the Mary Tyler Moore Show, which I’d never actually watched before. It’s still “comfort” even though it’s new to me because the format is so familiar it’s like finding a new glove that fits just like an old glove.
I grew up on Mary Tyler Moore re-runs (along with WKRP, I Love Lucy, and Bewitched). Such a good comfort show.
I kind of live in comfort stuff... I recently completed a neuro-psych eval that sort of revealed why, so I'm just leaning into it.
A lot of my very favorite music has a kind of moody-melancholy-hopeful vibe. Radiohead first and foremost (Kid A & later albums and b-sides seem to best hit the spot), DJ Koze's two studio albums, Björk, those 90s pantheon trip-hop albums like Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky, DJ Shadow, etc. Recently Madvillainy, Boards of Canada, Robag Wruhme, Phoebe Bridgers' Punisher and A Winged Victory for the Sullen's The Undivided Five. If I'm really down, I often find myself lingering in a gigantic 90s alt-rock playlist.
There are a handful of movies I tend to go to. Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird & Little Women, Michael Clayton, The Godfather 1 & 2, All the President's Men, the "Bootleg" cut of Almost Famous, Scott Pilgrim, The Social Network. For TV I have a pretty regular loop going of Parks & Rec > The Office > Brooklyn Nine Nine > The Good Place > Community > Party Down. Sometimes I throw The Bear, Res Dogs and 30 Rock in there, and every couple years Friends. Stuff I can have on in the background that I more or less have memorized. All clever, thoughtful shows worth recommending in their own right, but at this point they primarily feel like old friends and warm blankets.
I also am a longtime listener to Old Time Radio. If you enjoy Bob Bailey’s run on Johnny Dollar, I’d highly recommend his previous series, Let George Do It. I think the writing is sharper, though it lacks the fun cliffhanger every 12 minutes that Johnny Dollar offers.
The West Wing really does it for me in that way.
Elliot Smith and recently the show The Thick of It, to name two.
Elliott Smith was my first thought too.
Minecraft was my next thought. (Are video games out of scope here? I haven’t seen any others mentioned yet, but I actually logged into a friend’s years-old Minecraft server tonight and did a little gardening and tidying up of my place there this evening, after a particularly trying week.)
Microserfs by Douglas Coupland is my comfort read. It captures that first tech bubble really nicely, and maybe 50% of what keeps me coming back is the Lego on the book’s cover.
I guess a big bucket of Lego and a podcast or audiobook works well too.
By chance, I've just completed a rewatch of The Thick Of It, and it really is something I can come back to time and time again. Despite the abrasive tone of the dialogue and frantic plots, I find it very relaxing, and even when passively watching, I almost always pick up on something new and hilarious I've missed on previous occasions.
+1 on the MCU and Star Wars franchises. We use rewatches of those as a simple decisionmaker for what to watch next, especially during the pandemic, but even today we're in the midst of a full Star Wars (including all the shows) chronological rewatch. It's an overwhelming amount of content (and it's not all good), but chipping away at it bit by bit is quite satisfying.
Our other TV comfort food is decidedly british:
- Grand Designs, a long-running show following at times, unbelievably ambitious home building & renovation projects (think like 3+ year projects renovating an old water tower into a home).
- Repair Shop - A bunch of charming artisans in a barn fixing old clocks, pottery, and other antiques.
+1 to Grand Designs! So good.
Love Repair Shop!
Repair Shop is absolutely a comfort watch
+2 on Grand Designs!
+1 on Great British Bake Off. In my mind, it qualifies as a pretty snark-free zone, which to me at least is a major contribution to our culture.
I would also add an underappreciated British series called Detectorists, which helped buoy me up during the early days of the pandemic and which I've returned to a couple of times since then, and any Miyazaki movie at all, but especially Totoro and Spirited Away.
Rick Steves Europe also provides a welcome respite for me and sparks many dreams of travel.
I was about to comment Detectorists!
I get spells of insomnia and will happily watch a season in the middle of night, when it feels like I’m the only person in the world wide awake. There’s something about the love of nature but also male friendship which is so calming and hopeful.
I totally agree about the calming effects of the very human and humane vibes of the relationships in Detectorists.
Yes!! to Detectorists. I love that show.
Absolutely +1 to The Detectorists. What a lovely thing to have stumbled upon! And that opening theme...I just feel warmed and charmed and calmed when it come up in my streaming music.
Definitely TV, usually crime shows with lot of seasons and episodes, for maximum binging and predictable repetition. The Mentalist for instance is a good feel-good show for me, as was Veronica Mars, Columbo obviously, or Agatha Christie's Poirot (along with the books). There is also something very nostalgic and comforting for me about the Harry Potter movies. Reading the whole Tintin series, and Thorgal series (my favourite bande dessinée) works wonders too.
Veronica Mars was definitely one of my old feel-good shows as well
When I need a warm hug from some media I reliably turn to:
Movies:
- Wet Hot American Summer
- Tropic Thunder
- The Big Lebowski
TV:
- Taskmaster
- 30 Rock
- Bob's Burgers
Always and forever, Taskmaster. At a bare minimum, I put it on when I'm doing a whole house clean-up each night before bed and just carry my iPad from room to room. If I'm brushing my teeth by the live task, I feel like I've ended my day with a win. I also put it on when I'm avoiding a task I don't want to do... and when I'm sick... and when I'm sad... and when I'm feeling silly. I wrote my one and only fan letter to Alex Horne after Taskmaster saw me through a scary health diagnosis. When my daughter is feeling particularly lovey-dovey, she will watch with me and pause the show to tell me how she'd do the task. Major mamá moment there.
Movies:
Lord of the Rings, especially "The Return of the King"
Avengers series, especially "Endgame"
(I'm a sucker for epic finales)
TV:
This Old House
America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country
This Old House can be pure Zen when I'm not grinding my teeth about the over-the-top "Budget? What budget?" projects they started taking on after the initial years.
McBee I couldn't agree more about This Old House.
I think the producers may have recognized this complaint a few years ago, and that's why they created "Ask This Old House" to show the leaky faucet repairs and small painting or drywalling projects that non-millionaires do.
I lose myself in cooking shows. A good day usually start with me on the couch watch the PBS Saturday morning cooking show line up before moving on to something streaming about food and then resulting in me feeling guilty that I'm watching instead of doing and I end up in the kitchen puttering and tinkering.
Sounds like a pretty great day!
Some of my comfort go-tos are the BBC Pride & Prejudice series (though that usually turns into a binge), re-reading Lord of the Rings, or watching Sigur Ŕós Route One. I agree on Radiohead, as well.
Tv shows:
Bob's Burgers (especially needed after gut-wrenching shows like Handmaid's Tale)
Seinfeld
Mad Men
Sex in the City (but I can't watch season 4 cause it's the worst)
Veronica Mars
I have a feeling Julia will be added to this list cause it's so dang charming.
Music:
any album by Still Corners
I have a few themed playlists, depending on the mood:
Growing up ain't easy - stuff from high school (mid/late 90's), definitely a security blanket
Sway this way - for when I'm feeling melancholy
Go in my ear holes - basically every favorite song from the past 8-10 years
Movies: - I don't have as many here..
Most of Nora Ephron's movies (Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail)
Devil Wears Prada
Fifth Element
Oh I loved Julia. Agree!!! Yes, also the Nora Ephron's and Devil Wears Prada. Yes!
I regularly get into a rom com comfort-movie kick and it usually starts with Nora.
To keep something on in the background, it's usually one of my Spotify playlists. Recently, I watched Sweet Magnolias on Netflix and really loved it (sorry/not sorry) and played it a lot in the background while I was wrapping Christmas gifts and doing puzzles over break.
To soothe a wound, it's usually one of these, fully engaged, under a blanket:
- Moonstruck
- The Holiday
- The Wedding Date
- Nights in Rodanthe
- It's Complicated
- Something's Gotta Give
- The Intern
- The Parent Trap (Lindsay Lohan / Nancy Myers version)
- Father of the Bride Part 1 and 2
- How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
- Pretty Woman
- Music and Lyrics (which my daughters and I always watch on Christmas because after we got divorced it was what the three of us watched after they came back from being with their dad for Christmas and how hard it was on everyone (him included), and that this soothed us, so the tradition continues)
- The Big Lebowski (one of these things is not like the other)
Sorry/not sorry about any of these either. Maybe it's the Nancy Myers kitchens tbh.
Something I seem to be watching over and over and over, in the background or not:
- A Chef's Life and Somewhere South by Vivian Howard. I've watched both 3 times through.
Nancy Meyers' kitchens! Yes!
Spirited away for comfort viewing, and Mads Mikkelsen dancing at the end of Another Round (thankfully on YouTube) for a good cry
The Martian (the movie) is endlessly rewatchable for me. Also a huge fan of Midnight in Paris. Top Gun Maverick too.
In the past I re-read Harry Potter and LOTR a bunch, though recently I took a second trip to The Fifth Season series and it was great, definitely in the same league.
And Norwegian Wood by Murakami is…maybe not comforting, but such a powerful coming-of-age story that hits me every time I re-read it.
The Appendices at the end of Lord of the Rings. Since the book is sitting next to my kid's bed, I find myself reading them for the umpteenth time, starting when I was 12 and self-learning Elvish runes and the correct order of the Kings in Arnor.
I usually enjoy rewatching comedies when I want something light. Arrested Development, Brooklyn 99, Schitt’s Creek are some favourites. Old Star Trek and other procedurals are fun as well.
The "Murderbot" books by Martha Wells. (I fully recognize that nothing about that title suggests comfort, but trust me).
I'm so happy to see this - both my father and I feel slightly confused by WHY all systems red is our comfort read. I've read it 10+ times and listened to the audio book a similar amount.
I have the entire series on libro.fm and listen to them on repeat. If I have trouble sleeping I can put on All Systems Red and be out like a light.
Mostly music. I've re-watched these Thom Yorke / Jonny Greenwood / PTA videos many many times:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti6qhk3tX2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hgVihWjK2c
These "rare" BOC rips have also had their grooves torn up many times: https://www.rareboc.org (I hope I can one day pay them for them, if they can ever clear the samples.)
21st century Aphex Twin + Selected Ambient Works Vol 2 truly never get old for me.
And Tori Amos's first 3 albums will always be a place of comfort.
We should be friends.
I love Tori's first three albums, as well, but they're so connected to particular places and times in my life that I can't listen to them in the background or as comfort listens.
But I do like your taste!
Letterkenny is filling that void for me these days. Am saving the final season for when I really need it but re-watching from the beginning has been a good choice.
There's also a Simpsons Twitch channel that airs a classic episode each (Thursday?) that includes the commercials of the time. Wild to see "World's Explodiest Explosions 2" promos from Fox in the mid 90s.
For books, it's often William Gibson novels. Any of them, again, and somehow they all feel like familiar old neighborhood hang out spots. I don't know what that says about me.
For TV, I've been leaning on Monty Don's "Gardeners' World" on BBC (there's a few seasons on Prime, I think). It's just mellow, calming, beautiful, and just informative enough to keep me engaged but not over stimulated. It's been a balm I've needed for the last couple of years.
Monty Don in all his incarnations (I also love the specials when he takes us to the great gardens of different parts of the world) helped me survive the pandemic. He is rumpled calm solace personified, and a gentle reminder to just get up and do a little task.
We re-watch Buffy every 4 years (election years) to help us cope with how insane everything is
For me, it's got to be Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, which I have various of in paperback, kindle, and audiobook. What I like about them is the comfort but also the intellect at every level of scale: if I zone out for an hour before paying attention again, I know where I am in the story. But if I do start paying attention, somehow every word and every scene has bits of cleverness in it worth paying attention to.
If I need audio, then it's the McElroy podcasts, either MBMBAM or the first season of The Adventure Zone, as just goofy but sometimes meaningful content.
I have a few movies that either take me back or give me something fabulous and positive to marvel at. The list changes over time, but lately:
Oh The Philadelphia Story was one of my favorites back in my twenties. I haven't watched it in probably two decades?! Forgot about it, gonna watch it immediately, like tonight! Thanks for the reminder, I need some drunk Jimmy Stewart right about now... "Oh C.K. Dexter Haaaaaven!"
Terry Pratchett is arguably my most read and by now most listened to audiobooks, especially the Discworld books about Sam Vimes. So a wonderful character, such a wonderful world. It's funny, smart, so full of heart. "Good Omens" (Pratchett and Gaiman) is also a book. I have read and listened to countless times. Currently, I am listening to the latest re-releases, read by some amazing folks like Andy Serkis. And I still have not finished Terry's last book her released before he died. I had to stop reading when one of the most beloved Discworld character dies and couldn't bring myself to finish it...
TV: rewatching Scrubs, Frasier, or Friends feels like putting on a comfy sweater. I've also rewatched Star Trek DS9 three times by now. Another amazing feel good classic is Fawlty Towers with John Cleese.
Music: listening to (and/or watching) David Gilmour's guitar solo on "Comfortably Numb" or the opening of "Where the Streets Have No Name" always makes me happy. When I am sad, I will likely put on The National, Sigur Ros.
Movies: thinking about it, I realise that I never turn to movies "for comfort". Never thought about it before...
Scrubs also for me too
I've turned to comfort media a lot in the past year.
The West Wing. Fringe. DS9. Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy. I like Hulu's High Fidelity too.
Father John Misty, especially "God's Favorite Customer" (the song) on repeat. I've got a playlist that includes Radiohead too: "Let Down," "No Surprises," "House of Cards," "High and Dry," "Fake Plastic Trees." John Cale's "Hallelujah." My Morning Jacket's "Rocket Man."
Hunter S. Thompson's "The Rum Diary."
I like mysteries and police procedurals. Early Law & Order, Bones, Elementary, Cold Case.
Buffy
Svengoolie
Professional cycling. I like doing something creative while we watch the recap in the evenings. I love being an armchair tourist wherever they're racing. If I had a TV in my workspace, I'd have the live feed going every morning.
Oooh, yes to cycling, too! My spouse watches avidly and I like it in the background as I knit.
Lisa, knitting is the perfect creative pursuit for this!
Lately it is David Bowie's live version of Heroes, Paris 2002 on You Tube.
good version - that is the most un-Bowie mug he's carrying around, like he got it from opening a bank account!
I don't watch a lot of movies at this point, but anytime I'm sick it's Lord of the Rings.
Sports ball, About Time, When Harry Met Sally, and any of a number of movies I watched in as a teenager in the 80s. (More Real Genius than Pretty in Pink.)
all things Radiohead, and Neil Young (really into Radiohead analysis podcasts right now)
The Wire - still discovering how many times I can watch all 5 seasons and enjoy it :)
Fleabag (always sad the series ends so quickly each time I watch it)
Midnight in Paris, esp Marion Cotillard
Blues Brothers - my kids and I watched it countless times and sang and danced our butts off every time, kind of our own Rocky Horror participation show, and I know every line
Crossroads Guitar Festival (Clapton's) esp. 2007
The Office
MASH never loses its hold on me and what I watch when needing media comfort or playing in the background while doing house chores.
While they aren't really comfort watches, I have a few movies I loved from high school that I find myself rewatching every couple of years as a new kid ages into the sweet spot to enjoy it like I did, including Better Off Dead, UHF, Strange Brew, and Tommy Boy.
John Scalzi did a series all through December on his blog where each day he posted one his comfort watches. They lined up pretty well with my tastes as well, in particular, The Princess Bride, Pacific Rim, Speed Racer, LOTR, Scott Pilgrim, and The Emperor's New Groove.
To me though, comfort would be a relaxing Sunday morning, not early, but before the kids are up, when I'll do a little reading of whatever I'm in, and listening to some music, maybe Joseph, Courtney Barnett, or Brandi Carlile. Fits the mood just right for me.
Thinking a little more, I do watch and enjoy several of my wife's comfort watches, especially Schitt's Creek and Derry Girls.
The movie Chef has always struck me as the ultimate comfort watch. The stakes are very low, the vibes are wholesome, and the set pieces involve delicious-looking food.
The Japanese TV series Midnight Diner has a similar low-stakes, nice-vibes feel to it.
(I remember giving this question some serious thought when a friend of mine was going through really punishing cancer treatment and needed to just switch their brain off and watch something with no emotional triggers. They just needed something that would wash over them.)
The USA Office - I can throw any episode on at any time and just let it run.
Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti novels.
They're murder mysteries and Brunetti is the cop who solves them. In Venice. Beautifully constructed and written, without being hard work. Intelligent, compelling, subtle, gently funny, sometimes gritty but never hardboiled. Leon lives in Venice and her characters are real Venetians whose everyday life is the matchless city that we can only ever visit.
My wife and I have been laid low with Covid this week and have been enjoying the ongoing re-re-make of All Creatures Great and Small on PBS.
I don't see "Antiques Roadshow" yet - I can start watching any episode old or new, from start or in the middle. I tend to fast forward certain types of objects (some furniture, sports memorabilia, 50s pop), but there's always reliably one fascinating story or "I can't believe that exists" in every episode.
Yes to this one too!
Plus one for TNG (and its brethren DS9 and Voyager) for me. There’s just something so comforting about not having to get to know new characters and follow along with familiar story lines.
I actually used some nerdery to made a “channel” of just those three shows on random, using local copies of the entire seasons on a local server. That is my go to channel for falling asleep or having a nap to if I’m stressed out.
For books, I just love “easy sci fi” for this sort of thing. John Scalzi in particular is perfect comfort reading that doesn’t ask a lot from you. That’s not to diss him in any way; I think he is a master at doing what he does in a way that’s very hard to pull off correctly.
+1 for Schitt's Creek, Parks & Rec, The Good Place, and Brandi Carlisle. (Scroll up for my ode to Taskmaster.)
QI or 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown keeps me company while I'm cooking.
I just started rewatching Queer Eye from Season 1, and it has felt so safe.
I used to watch The West Wing, but lately, it makes me sad. Maybe Battlestar Galactica is a better aspirational show for these times?!
Also, I'm an avid reader, but feel like I've been stuck in a self-improvement and social commentary cycle for the last 5 years... things that challenge me to think but also can't be read at night because, well, they challenge me to overthink. I'd love to start reading for comfort, too! I'm starting my list from this post!
When truly I'm sick in bed, I listen through You Look Nice Today from the beginning until I get better, it never gets old.
The West Wing, Taskmaster, 30 Rock, Community, The Good Place and LRR's Road Quest
Most anything by Stereolab. I think it's the level-headedness of the vocals amid the sometimes-unhinged music. Despite general chaos, sanity prevails, a better world is possible...
Oh gosh, I haven’t thought about Stereolab in at least a decade. Going to reacquaint myself today. Thanks for the reminder!
Oh man Stereolab has been on a regular rotation for me since the 90s. Stereolab + Radiohead is just a chef’s kiss combination for me.
If you like Stereolab (as they say), you might also enjoy Electrelane -- like Stereolab but with more organ!
At your own risk of several times re-watch:
Anime:
Seeing as ever since I started reading your blog I keep thinking you are my brain made into full time blogger... hope you will like these.
Firefly, Sports Nights, and TNG are what I usually turn to when I have to fold laundry. And sometimes I enjoy re-watching the pilot episode of Lost.
Or Night Court!
-All the Anthony Bourdain shows... in particular being able to watch how his perspective changes during the course of No Reservations and then through Parts Unknown.
-"Appropriate" comedy... 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, Schitt's Creek
-Inappropriate comedy... The League, Letterkenny
-Food... Chef's Table, Street Food, Taco Chronicles
-Sports... NFL (in season), Premier League (even replays)
-Misc... Explained, How It's Made, Modern Marvels
For quick comfort, it's always Parks & Rec or Brooklyn 99. Just so funny and full of their own brands of love. Longer form, it's the Harry Potter films. I think they're under appreciated. The soundtrack, the casting, the settings...so perfect. It's a miracle they'll pulled it off, with nearly the same cast all the way through eight films. It's a shame they were virtually unrecognized by the Oscars, because the production design, along with Daniel Radcliffe and Ralph Fiennes' performances, were worthy and instantly iconic.
(My wife just reminded me her go-to comfort watch is Gilmore Girls, well worth mentioning!)
I pull out old dvds for the commentary tracks, or listen to / watch the season 1 of the Ricky Gervais show.
Sometimes it's just one song. Lately, it's "Cool about it" by Boygenius. Gives me chill and calms me down each time I listen to it. And if I have to go down memory lane, any early Belle and Sebastian or Yo La Tengo albums will do the work.
When Harry met Sally is my top comfort film.
Hundred years of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez my top comfort book.
And I often go back to the videos we did those last 15 years with Blogotheque. It's like a collective memory of joyful, creative years, the ones that made my life worth living.
Typically what I need is a level of immersion to where I can turn my brain off and just exist within that story for awhile. I find that it can be something either really smart or, its opposite, really "smooth-brained." My go-to's:
I got so deeply invested in The Expanse that many days I think it genuinely saved my life. The show first, then all the books. The detail, character arcs, and peak moments, and the best fandom in the biz will propel me through watch after watch.
Pro wrestling is my ultimate smooth-brained entertainment. I love the heel antagonizing the crowd work and every show will have at least one 'wtf how'd they do that?' moment of athleticism.
Northern Exposure just became available for streaming on Prime video. Somehow I ended up watching reruns of this on A&E every afternoon when I was like 15. Now that I have a couple decades' more life experience and watching it for the first time since then, there is so much more I'm appreciating now. Anyone who came to Schitt's Creek and is looking for something in the same vein will see its predecessor here.
Agreed about The Expanse, and would add that the Audio Books (all nine!) are read both delightfully, and in a steady, regular tone and pace, by Jefferson Mays. They are equally easy to listen and be engaged with, as fall asleep to. Kind of amazing.
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