The 72 hour rule I use before starting any new series

I kept starting shows and quitting after 2 episodes until I realized I was judging them by the wrong standard, so now I force myself to watch at least 72 hours of run time before deciding it's not for me, and that rule finally got me through The Leftovers after 3 failed attempts, has anyone else given a slow burn show way more time than they normally would and had it pay off?

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craig.grant2mo ago

Whoa, hold on, 72 hours is like three full seasons of most shows, that's a massive time sink before you even know if you like something! I gotta gently push back on that, because you're basically committing to a full-time job for a week just to test a show, that's way too much. I get the idea behind it, slow burns need time, but there's a big difference between giving something a fair shot and forcing yourself through something you're actively not enjoying. The Leftovers is a special case though, that show is a straight up puzzle box that doesn't give you anything until like episode 6, so I can see why you needed a rule like that for it. But for most shows, 3 or 4 episodes is plenty to know if the writing and characters click with you. You gotta trust your gut a little more, if you're bored after two hours, it's probably not gonna get better just because you hit hour 20.

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