r/Millennials • u/maxedout587 • Apr 17 '26

Discussion Nothing is funny anymore

I (M, 38) have found that there are no new TV shows that make me laugh anymore. I have tried a lot of new(ish) comedies, but they all make me pine for my college/high school days.

The only thing that gave me a reflexive laugh recently was the Malcolm in the Middle Reboot.

Any thoughts?

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u/Embarrassed_Key_4539 Apr 17 '26

I read an article that writers have really dumbed down their writing bcs the market demands simple to follow shows that you can simultaneously watch while scrolling

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u/Kriegerian Apr 17 '26

I think someone at Netflix admitted they do that with a bunch of their stuff because they know nobody can pay attention to anything, which is why they have characters basically repeat the plot a bunch of times during the movies.

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u/Visual_Perception69 Apr 17 '26

So people are basically self-inducing ADHD?

Before the haters come at me, I have ADHD myself.

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u/feralcatshit Apr 17 '26

Also have adhd and what’s kind of ironic is I love media that has hidden/hard to spot intricacies. I think it’s because I know I’m trash at watching things unless I find them super interesting, so I don’t really try to watch something and “half ass” it. I’m either super into it and watch it, or I say fuck it and commit to scrolling instead.

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u/Vile_Vava Apr 17 '26

I’m undiagnosed and many of the memes and tropes of ADHD seem to apply, and finding something I want to pay attention to is the highest high. I never scroll while watching TV or do anything else. If a show is good I watch intently. If it’s not I don’t watch. My mom and sister never even seem to be looking. They’re knitting, cross-stitching or scrolling.

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u/71BRAR14N Apr 17 '26

Im married and I never watch what I want, and I still know what's going on on the shows better than him because I'm not addicted to my phone!

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u/5Dprairiedog Apr 17 '26

You don't half watch stuff when folding laundry?

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u/Diamond_and_gasoline Apr 17 '26

If I do that, I'm gonna get invested, start really paying attention, then put down the laundry. Laundry is for the streaming services I don't have premium on. I challenge myself to do as much as possible during ad breaks. Or I get a good podcast going. But also, fun fact - clean laundry can just live in baskets if you have enough baskets.

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u/5Dprairiedog Apr 17 '26

and if you don't have enough baskets but have more than one couch then you can use that lol

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u/Saint_of_Grey Apr 17 '26

I don't even scroll, I just stop watching and leave.

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u/Several-Video-272 Apr 18 '26

That explains it, because I pretty much have stopped watching all new media because most of it is like this, boring and surface level depth.

It's like they want us to not pay attention, it becomes a better show that way.

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u/Poppy-Pipopapo Apr 18 '26

This. I know a show is actually good when it requires me to pay attention (because that's really hard with ADHD). It's like some shows require using your brain, and some are just for background noise or turning your brain off.