Like Kenneth Parcell, TV is my best friend. The sound of television can act as a soothing white noise, quieting my mind and filling up the silence in my home—or drowning out noise I don’t want to hear. But when I search for background TV shows something to put on while I’m folding laundry or staring at my phone, it needs to meet certain criteria.
To be a good background TV show, the storylines must be simple, or it has to be a show that has big story beats so if you miss some you can fill them in later. (I also call this “napping TV”—you can fall asleep and wake up a few episodes later, and it’s fine.) This is why HGTV shows and cartoons are good background TV: they are formulaic and reset at each episode. It’s also why Friends or The Office works for so many people; there’s small jokes to miss, but a large storyline like Jim loving Pam remains clear.
A background show has to be good, but not too good; medium TV is best. Good TV that is familiar will also work. With the strain of the pandemic, background shows tend to be my go-to when I can’t focus on anything that needs my full attention. Below are the best background TV shows when you just need some pleasant sound to half-watch. (Related, here are 8 of the best “chorecore” shows on Netflix).
Beat Bobby Flay
There are two rounds to the competitive Food Network show Beat Bobby Flay: one where two visiting chefs go against each other, and then a second where the winner goes against Flay. The winner chooses a signature dish that Flay doesn’t know about ahead of time, and they each make their own version of it. A panel of judges does a blind taste test to decide the winner. This is perfect background television because no matter how many times I’ve seen an episode, I forget it immediately after I’ve watched it. There is absolutely no need to pay attention to every second of Beat Bobby Flay—I have enjoyed it immensely while having no idea what the signature dish was until the final judging. Just let the emptiness wash over you and check in every once in a while to see if someone looks like they could be a better chef than Bobby Flay.
Bones
Watch on HuluWatch on Amazon Prime
Bones is a procedural about a forensic anthropologist, her team, and the FBI agent she eventually falls in love with. I saw a lot of episodes of Bones before I realized the main character’s name (played by Emily Deschanel) wasn’t actually Dr. Bones. (It’s Dr. Brennan—Bones is a nickname from the aforementioned FBI agent.) The bad guy usually gets caught, you get to watch smart people be very good at their jobs, and the crimes can be pretty unusual: the perfect background TV crime show trifecta. I have never seen a full season of this show in order, but I can tell you the arcs of every major character, including one who gets arrested for aiding a serial killer. Procedurals are great background TV because the consistent episodic structure means you know exactly what to expect, even if you miss some of it.
Jeopardy
Jeopardy has no plot, no loud explosions, and nothing to keep track of except points that are added up for you. It’s definitely fun to play along with Jeopardy as host Alex Trebek quizzes three contestants on a variety of trivia as they compete against each other, but it’s also fun to just listen to people talking calmly as they list off obscure facts and win money. The most important part of Jeopardy as a background show is its calming effect, unlike other game shows with lots of bells and whistles.
American Ninja Warrior
American Ninja Warrior has a simple premise: people compete against each other to run an obstacle course as fast as they can. But the obstacle course is really hard, and the people all seem to have heartwarming stories. The appeal of American Ninja Warrior is similar to live sports, except its episodic nature make it even easier to drop into while only paying attention some of the time.
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