1. Interest – The premise seems intriguing, and interesting enough for you to actually check out an episode or two, even beyond the pilot, which usually just works to set up the characters.
2. Friendship – The characters and stories start becoming familiar to you and you no longer have to work to keep up with everyone’s backstories and details. You probably also have a favourite character to root for at this point, and everytime you see them onscreen you like them even more.
3. Crush – one or two episodes at this point aren’t enough for you, you’ve developed a taste for the show and you just want more and more. Binge-watching a whole season has never seemed like a better idea.
4. Love – You’re deep into the TV show or maybe you’re all out of episodes and desperate for more, for your next fix – all you care about are the characters and their lives and the world that’s sucked you in so completely. That’s where fandom and fan fiction come in, where you branch away from the canon just to get more of your favourite characters and ships, and connect with different people who are just as in love with the show as you. Maybe you even start collecting merchandise of your fandom to assuage your fannish thirst, and chase after spoilers for the next episode of your show. WHY ISN’T THAT TIME OF THE WEEK YET?
5. Stability – you’re past the honeymoon phase now, but that doesn’t mean you love the show any less, only that you find different ways of expressing that love. Maybe it’s a show you come back to whenever you’re feeling sad, or a common interest between you and your friends that you love revisiting. You’ll have other loves, but there will always be a special place in your heart for this one.