The boy sitting next to you in class has a perfect smile and swoon-worthy blue eyes. You want to talk to him and
better yet, impress him–but you don’t know what to do. You don’t know anything about sports, and your taste in music consists of whatever your roommate’s Pandora plays. The only movies you watch have either Ryan Gosling or Channing Tatum in them, and you don’t think he will be impressed with your knowledge of the location of every store in Lenox Mall.
Fortunately, there is one more category of conversation starters available for you to use to break the ice: TV shows! TV shows are a noncommittal topic; if someone brings up a reference to a particular episode, you can totally still fake that you love the show with the excuse of “Crap, I must have missed that one!” Plus, guy-friendly TV is actually hilarious and enjoyable. If you haven’t tuned in to these shows already, here is your guide to some of the top TV shows guys love.
Mad Men
A dramatic look into the world of advertising in the 60s, Mad Men is the ultimate show for all of those B-School
boys (and pretty much any other guy). Airing on AMC, it is an award-winning show with 13 Emmys and four Golden Globes under its belt. The characters to be familiar with are Don Draper and his ex-wife, Betty. Other characters to know are Peggy Olson, Don’s secretary and Pete Campbell, a partner in Draper’s new agency. If you exclaim, “Wasn’t it crazy when Don had an affair with his daughter’s teacher in season 3?” or “Can you believe Don is really Dick Whitman?” you are all set to start a winning conversation.
South Park
South Park is an animated show on Comedy Central that has been running for fifteen seasons. The show is a
satirical and dark comedy that mocks celebrities and pop culture. The show centers on four elementary school kids: Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny. In the initial seasons, Kenny was killed nearly every episode always to return alive and well in the next one. A controversial episode to know about is “Trapped in the Closet”—it lampooned Scientology as a scam and featured Tom Cruise. When discussing this show, focus on how funny and current it is. You could talk about how annoying Cartman is or how sad you were when Chef died. As long as you nod and agree that the show is hilarious, you should be well equipped with the basics.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
This is a sitcom that follows Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld, as a fictionalized version of himself. Larry
David is a blunt, tactless, politically incorrect, grouchy Jewish man who regularly finds himself in awkward situations. Many famous guests frequently appear on the show, most recently Rosie O’Donell, Michael J. Fox, and Michael Bloomberg. Key characters you should know are Larry (duh), his manager and best friend Jeff, and Larry’s ex-wife Cheryl. Larry and Cheryl’s marriage ended when Larry was too busy talking to the TIVo repairman to talk to Cheryl, who believed she was about to die in a plane crash. When discussing this show (Curb for short), you can mention Larry’s stint in “The Producers” with Mel Brooks during season four, or this season’s finale in which Larry is kicked out of New York City by Mayor Bloomberg after offender Michael J. Fox about his Parkinson’s. After talking about Larry’s antics the conversation could flow towards a more general conversation about grouchy old men, bunt grandpas, and embarrassing parents.
Entourage
Known as the male version of Sex And The City, the show ran for eight seasons before ending last month. This
series follows the life of Vincent Chase (Vince), an up-and-coming film star. There are five characters you should know—Vince, Vince’s manager and best friend “E,” Vince’s older half-brother Johnny “Drama,” Vince’s childhood friend and assistant Turtle, and Vince’s agent Ari Gold. Mention that the “finale wrapped up all the loose ends,” but you also “thought it was too abrupt,” and be sure to add that “the best season was season five,” you’ll definitely be able to get the conversation rolling.
Once you’ve broken the ice with these TV show topics, the conversation will progress naturally. Blue-eyed hottie is sure to be impressed with your excellent television taste—from here you should suggest that the two of you catch an episode together! Just make sure you save your knowledge on the components of a good manicure until the second date.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Emory chapter.