By Robert Scucci
| Published 15 seconds ago
There’s nothing more frustrating than watching someone refuse to walk away from media that no longer serves them. Grey’s Anatomy is in its 23rd season. My wife has been hanging on since Season 16, tuning in each week, hoping it will “get good again.”
Presently, I’m doing the same thing with South Park. I’ve covered Season 27 extensively, and my main takeaway is that I miss when the show focused on the strange local happenings in a small mountain town instead of Donald Trump and his orbit.
We’re all human beings with free will (allegedly), and we don’t have to keep consuming media that no longer satisfies us; we can walk away. Nobody gets hurt.
My Relationship With The Simpsons Is Finally Healthy Again
One media property I walked away from at the right time was The Simpsons. Born just a year before the series took over the world, I grew up during the Golden Era and got spoiled by it. Sunday nights were Simpsons nights. Reruns played in a constant background loop during homework sessions throughout the week. By the time I was 12, the show had changed, and so had my media preferences, so I walked away.
It wasn’t a dramatic breakup. One week I tuned in, the next I didn’t. My enthusiasm had faded, and I accepted that once you leave home, you can’t always go back.
Even now, I compare most animated series to Golden Era Simpsons in my head. My 7-year-old daughter is more familiar with the later seasons because that’s what’s new to her, and that’s what she’s into. I’m surprisingly okay with that.
Her love for the later Treehouse of Horror episodes brought The Simpsons back into my home in a positive way. I can quote the early classics verbatim while experiencing the newer stuff for the first time with my kids, and seeing what they like about the episodes I never gave a proper view.
It’s still The Simpsons. I’ve accepted that the later seasons aren’t for me, but they can still exist in my home, and it’s harmless. I can be a tourist. I can drop in whenever I want and leave whenever I feel like it. That feels healthy.
Most Long-Running Procedurals Have Run Their Course
Look at any long-running procedural. NCIS, CSI, Law & Order, and all their many spin-offs have run their course. Most people are primed to walk away from this media, but the shows always find a way to keep fans tethered.
They tease a character’s exit, return, or death, pulling viewers along week after week so the finale “means something.” Spoiler alert: the payoff is usually an underwhelming cameo or a dramatic twist meant to keep the conveyor belt moving.
Even the actors know when it’s time to go. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was never the same after Christopher Meloni left following salary disputes. He wanted to try new roles across different forms of media, so he walked away when the juice was no longer worth the squeeze.
When Meloni returned years later in Law & Order: Organized Crime, longtime viewers rejoiced, and lapsed watchers like me wandered back out of curiosity. Suddenly, I was binging old episodes, comfortably reacclimating. The media didn’t care that I walked away. It was just there, waiting patiently for my casual return.
This is better than sticking around for years, checking in out of habit, and feeling nothing meaningful aside from disappointment.
Take A Break, We’re In The Streaming Era, Baby!
Star Wars and Star Trek are great examples of franchises many of us feel obligated to keep up with. Their universes are massive, intertwined, and nostalgic. But what would happen if more fans walked away for a bit? Would creators rethink direction? Would the focus shift to quality over content churn?
I’m considering walking away from South Park, a media presence in my life since I was 10. The show is pulling bigger numbers than ever, but it no longer serves me.
A lot of viewers who once loved the same things I did seem to feel similarly based on IMDb reviews of recent episodes. I’ll probably hang on a little longer out of hope, but I know what’s coming. One day, I’ll just stop tuning in. Years from now, after some distance, I’ll return and see what’s changed. If I like what I see, I’ll pick up from where I left off. In the meantime, maybe I’ll find something new to fill the void.
Walking away from media that no longer serves you sounds like simple math. When certain shows have lived in your home for years, however, they start to feel like roommates you don’t want to part ways with. It’s harder to cut ties than you’d think.
Do it anyway. Walk away. Come back later if you feel like it. If it’s still good, you’ll fall right back in. If not, you’ll be glad you let it go.
