Friday, 8:45 pm, I’ve just got done with my classes. No basketball practice for the day either. Assignments? Meh…I got the weekend for that. I open my laptop. My brain goes into autopilot and switches to Hotstar. But wait! The Arsenal game is tomorrow. What do I watch? I have some piping hot parathas in front of…I just need a show. Any show! And that’s when my eyes spot it. Looking at me, waiting to be watched. The tension was real. The show. MY SHOW! Courage the Cowardly Dog. I click on the icon.
Suffice it to say that the parathas vanished.
But this leads me to my question: when the average consumer has thousands, if not tens of thousands, of shows, movies, and series to choose from, we always go back to our comfort shows–the ones that feel like home. Why? That’s what I want to answer today. But wait! Not through mere anecdotes or experiences. We’re going full Sherlock on this! So put on your bucket hats or caps; let’s investigate.
Now, let’s deconstruct this phenomenon, step by step, with the help of some well-established psychological and neuroscientific research. You are tired after a long day and are presented with a choice problem on Hotstar. You end up settling for Courage the Cowardly Dog, that animated series where a pink dog navigates weird menace after menace in some desolate Kansas farmhouse. Why does familiarity win out over novelty?Â
One key factor is the mere exposure effect. A principle outlined in the 1960s by psychologist Robert Zajonc. In simple words, repeated exposure to a stimulus, like the never-ending antics of Courage, Muriel, and the grumpy Eustace, increases our liking for it. This takes place because more familiar content involves less cognitive processing, allowing the brain’s mesolimbic dopamine pathway to deliver pleasure with minimal investment. A 2025 study in Communication Theory explored this in media consumption, finding that repeated viewings stabilize emotional responses, making familiar shows reliable sources of comfort rather than unpredictable highs.Â
This preference for low-effort processing extends to cognitive ease, our brain’s way of conserving energy after demanding activities like classes. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for focus and decision-making, fatigues quickly, making new narratives–a tangle of unfamiliar characters and plot twists–feel burdensome. This engages the default mode network, promoting relaxation amid light engagement. Daniel Kahneman also made this idea more concrete under his framework of “System 1” thinking, but empirical support ranges from a study conducted by Nessler, Mecklinger, and Penney in 2005 showing that familiar stimuli process 30% faster, reduces mental load, and increases enjoyment. A 2021 Psychology Today article informed by self-control studies showed that rewatching replenishes willpower after cognitive depletion, especially perfect for evenings such as your post-class unwind. It saves up mental resources for later tasks, such as weekend assignments.
Building on this is status quo bias–an evolutionary holdover that favors the familiar to minimize risk. Our ancestors thrived by avoiding unknowns, choosing Courage’s assured humor over the unknown of a new series. Kahneman and Tversky’s theory highlights loss aversion: the pain of disappointment outweighs the upside of discovery. It’s a protective mechanism, ensuring your downtime yields consistent value.
This feeling of safety is deepened by nostalgia: rewatches summon past selves and simpler times. The act of choosing Courage automatically activates the hippocampus, which retrieves memories and releases oxytocin for emotional warmth. Groundbreaking research out of the University of Southampton has been extended in a 2023 study in the journal Behavioral Sciences, that examined 1,200 viewers and linked nostalgic rewatches to improved moods among 78%, especially anxiety-prone ones, via the reinforcement of emotional anchors. A survey conducted by Radio Times during lockdowns seconded this, with 64% citing nostalgia as a stress-reducer that changed the show’s odd horrors into a refuge amidst looming responsibilities.
These tendencies are exacerbated by the so-called paradox of choice, whereby the numerous options on platforms like Hotstar lead to decision paralysis. The introductory work of Barry Schwartz in 2004 described this very phenomenon, but in a 2023 thesis from Copenhagen Business School, conducted with 500 participants, it was determined that selection regret increased 35% when faced with over 50 choices, driving users toward defaults. Nielsen reports that average times to find something have increased to 10.5 minutes, increasing cortisol and prompting escapes to familiar content. Rewatching finally serves self-reflection, providing checkpoints for personal growth. Subtle reinterpretations, such as viewing Courage’s resiliency anew, engage the default mode network for introspection. Cristel Russell’s 2023 Pepperdine research, profiled in Vox, found viewers use such shows as “life lenses” for evolving perspectives. Our brains, essentially, choose comfort shows as a very strategic selection where rest and reward are optimal. Research spans across psychology to media studies. And that is probably why Courage has a special place in my heart.
Because, unlike Courage, I’d rather not face an unfamiliar foe in the name of a new TV series.