By Abi Ramos-Flores, Staff Writer
Whether it’s a comfort show you’re watching for the hundredth time or a series you just discovered through a TikTok clip, everyone has a show they can’t stop watching. Students (and a couple of teachers!) about their favorite shows, what drew them in, and which characters they relate to most. Here’s what’s showing up on Mariners’ watchlists:
Junior Evie Gutfeld didn’t hesitate when asked about her favorite show. “My favorite show right now is probably Friends,” she said, “It’s funny and engaging, but it’s also something I can just put on in the background while I’m doing homework or just relaxing. I’ve watched it so many times that I know all the lines. It’s like my comfort show.”
She got it from her mom, who was a fan of the show as well. “I liked it immediately,” she added. “It’s a pretty good show.”
If she had to pick a character to be, it would be Chandler. “He’s really sarcastic and that’s my kind of humor.”
Junior Amaria Spikes went with something more nostalgic for her.
“My favorite show is Dexter’s Laboratory. It’s about a kid genius who has a laboratory under his house, and his older sister likes to break in and mess stuff up, so he has to go and fix it when disaster happens.”
She stated she grew up with cartoons, but Dexter’s Laboratory stood out to her. “I thought it was funny, and I liked Dee Dee (Dexter’s sister) a lot. She loved him, but also wanted to mess with him, so that was her way of expressing her love. If I had to be a character, I would be her, because that’s definitely relatable.”
Sophomore Elissa Mora opted for a more modern show.
“Right now, I’m really into Outer Banks,” she said, “it’s very adventurous and engaging. I started watching it when it first came out because it caught my attention; I’ve been following it since then with every season that comes out.”
The show instantly captured her interest, “I liked it immediately because it’s a very attention-grabbing show,” Elissa said. She sees herself in Sarah: “She’s chill and she grew a lot throughout the seasons.”
Senior Serena Ammari turns to Gilmore Girls for comfort.
“You always know what’s gonna happen and all the characters are really funny,” she said.
She got into it after her friends kept talking about it: “It took me a while to like it because it was boring at first,” Serena admitted, “but then I grew into liking it more. If I had to be a character, I would be Lorelai because she’s really funny and talks a lot, and that’s relatable.”
Junior Kayla Simpson chose two of her favorite shows to share.
“My favorite shows are Jujutsu Kaisen and How I Met Your Mother. They’re both funny and Jujutsu Kaisen is very action packed.”
She discovered both through TikTok. “I was introduced to How I Met Your Mother by watching a clip that talked about the Olive Theory. I also really like the animation style for Jujutsu Kaisen, so I was drawn to that.”
And both took some time to grow on her. “For How I Met Your Mother, it was a little weird at first, but the more you watch it, the more entertaining it is. As for Jujutsu Kaisen, I thought it was a strange concept, but the more you watch it, the more you understand it.”
As for which characters she would be: “For How I Met Your Mother, I would be Robin because she’s a news reporter and she’s a very funny character with sarcastic humor. As for Jujutsu Kaisen, I would be Mai. I like her because she’s the twin sister of Maki and she’s very pretty.”
Junior Samantha Komrowski also picked two favorites: How I Met Your Mother and Survivor.
“With Survivor, it’s really fun to watch the people and their dynamics, and with How I Met Your Mother, it’s just really entertaining.”
She started watching Survivor with her mom, but didn’t like it at first. “I thought it was an old person show, but then I grew into liking it.”
As for How I Met Your Mother, it was an instant hit. When asked what characters she’d be: “For How I Met Your Mother, I would be Barney because I like to wear suits. There isn’t a specific character for Survivor, but I feel like I would be good on the show.”
Senior Virinda Bisoi chose The Summer I Turned Pretty.
“I like it because it follows the characters over years, and you get to see how they grow,” she said.
She started watching because it was trending and was hooked right away. “I was into it the moment I started watching.” Her favorite character? “Anika because she’s the only one that has her stuff together. She’s straightforward and she knows what’s going on.”
Math teacher Megha Sharma connects deeply with her pick: Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
“It’s nostalgic. Those books came out when I was little and I grew up reading them. They’re what got me into my love of mythology. They’re even what made me fall in love with literature overall.”
However, she was cautious of the show at first. “This is a work of literature that means a lot to me and I wanted the show to be exactly as I envisioned it, which, obviously, was not gonna happen. We’ve already seen things go wrong with the movies, so I was skeptical, but as soon as I watched the first episode, I knew it was gonna be good.”
She relates most to Annabeth. “She’s smart about everything, except for the fact that Percy has feelings for her, which is definitely relatable.”
Another teacher, Karen Thomas, Visual Arts, goes for something scarier: American Horror Story.
“Every season is a different story,” she stated, “I loved seeing the different themes, like Asylum, Roanoke, and Freak Show because they center on different stories, and those can be either urban legends or real events. So you’re not stuck with one plot throughout the show. Plus, it has really good story-telling, and they weave history into it.”
She was drawn to the show because it reminded her of shows from her childhood. “When I was little, there were these shows called Monsters and Tales From the Dark Side, so when I saw American Horror Story, I thought it would be like those shows. It wasn’t, but that’s what drew me into it.”
If she could be any character, she’d be a witch. “I think it would be fun to have the powers of a witch. Coven was one of my favorite seasons.”
Junior Tvisha Garodia splits her screen time between Stranger Things and Bojack Horseman. “Stranger Things is really engaging and it’s a universally acclaimed plot,” she said, “I don’t think there are many shows like that, that are sci-fi and based in the 80s. And I just started Bojack Horseman, but that show is for when you just need to chill. It’s pretty fun, but it’s still kind of serious.”
She started watching Stranger Things when she was eleven and everyone was talking about it. “I wanted to hop on the bandwagon. It’s the same thing with Bojack Horseman. My friend recommended it to me, and then we started watching it together.”
As for characters: “In Stranger Things, I would be Nancy, because she’s strong, but she still has her limitations. And I haven’t watched enough of Bojack Horseman to know what character I’d be.”
Junior Shelly Aguilar is all about Attack on Titan.
“I really like its graphics and the way there’s a different titan each season.”
Her cousins got her into it, though she didn’t like it at first. “I really wanted to be like my cousins, so they got me into anime. I really had to grow into the show. It wasn’t bad, but I just had to understand it more.”
The character she connects with most is Erin. “I like his storyline and I connect with him.”
Everyone has a series that speaks to them, whether that be a nostalgic cartoon or an intense reality show. So if you’re rewatching a comfort show for the sixth time, diving into anime, or watching the events unfold in a drama, there’s definitely no shortage of shows to get lost in.
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