Tahlia Scherer, Blogs Editor
@tscherercourant
Danielle O’Malley, Sports Editor
@domalley_
More popular than any current day TV shows are those that aired and ended decades ago. From Friends to Gilmore Girls, The Office to New Girl, these shows, more than ten years old, are more likely to fill Generation Z’s screens than any recently produced show.
There is something to be said about this phenomenon, why are older shows so appealing to our generation? Perhaps the answer is superficial, and simply that these shows are superior, however the more likely answer may lie a little deeper under the surface. It may be that the draw to these shows is a desire to be transported to a time a little more positive than the society in which we currently live.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, fights for justice and climate change, people seek a time absent of issues such as these. Gilmore Girls depicts a picturesque small town life in which the only problems revolve around town festivities and boy drama. Friends and New Girl follow a group of people trying to navigate adulthood together in a comedic light. The Office depicts an ordinary group of people simply working at a boring paper company navigating how to work together cohesively while having a little fun.
The attraction? Still unknown. However, we can follow a couple recurring themes throughout. For one, most of these shows follow ordinary young adults which most, if not all of Gen Z, can relate to.
These characters work through relatable road bumps, including relationship problems with both friends and family. The settings and issues explored in these shows are also those of typical teenagers transitioning into adulthood, which may account for the draw of a similarly aged demographic. Gen Z uses 90s and 2000s shows as exaggerated examples of their own lives, and use them to escape their realities and enter worlds they deem better than their own.
