‘Lost’ leads nostalgia TV popularity for audiences seeking ‘innocent time’: experts

As much as there are popular new shows popping up on streaming services almost daily, many viewers still like to tune into classic series, from the 1960s to the 2000s.

According to streaming data from late October shared in The Hollywood Reporter, two of the top 10 shows streamed included “Lost,” which debuted 20 years ago in 2004, and “Grey’s Anatomy,” which originally began in 2005 and is currently in its 21st season.

“The reason so many older television shows are doing so well on streaming, such as ‘Lost,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and many others, is that I think there’s a certain sense of nostalgia for a more innocent time, given how busy people are and how complicated the world has become,” Rob Weiner, a pop culture librarian at Texas Tech University, told Fox News Digital.

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“But there’s also the issue of quality. A lot of these television shows from the past. Many of them still hold up,” Weiner continued, citing series like “M*A*S*H,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” and even the animated Loony Tunes. “People seem to want to identify with something that has that innocence to it, if you will.” 

“There’s a bit of nostalgia that happens. People who go back and watch shows or rewatch shows from the past, there’s also the sense of sort of reliving a time that you didn’t live and you heard things about,” Dr. Marcus Collins, author of “For the Culture” and marketing professor at the University of Michigan, said.

Collins noted his own children have been watching ’90s sitcoms like “Family Matters” and “Full House,” explaining that “it feels like sort of teleporting back to a time where things were ‘simpler’ or where things were, like, similar but yet different. And I think that nostalgia, plus this novelty for new viewers, make these shows quite compelling, especially considering the fact that there’s less scripted television available like it was, maybe 10, 15 years ago.”

Watching classic sitcoms like “Full House” can be like “teleporting back to a time where things were ‘simpler,’” according to Dr. Marcus Collins, author of “For the Culture” and marketing professor at the University of Michigan. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

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Another often cited reason people are tuning into older shows is simply the volume of material available.

Lara Rosales, senior writer for Tell-Tale TV, told Fox News Digital, “We come from a TV period in which seasons lasted mostly 22 to 24 episodes, and they were longer seasons. We’ve got shows with, like, 10 seasons or more, and that gave viewers a bunch of episodes to choose from.” 

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She continued, “Even the filler episodes, when you get holiday episodes, like Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, all those episodes that sort of maybe don’t drive the storyline to a certain point, but they allow viewers to get to know the characters better, to connect with them and not just give a bunch of information in a short amount of time.” 

“Nowadays we get shows, particularly on streaming services, where they have less seasons. Some shows don’t even make it to a second season and they only have, like, eight to 10 episodes. So owners and writers want to put all the information out there. So there’s a lot of details in a short amount of time, and that sometimes can be overwhelming, which will push viewers to revisit the series, but maybe not as often as older series that just feel like comfort, and you don’t have to really be paying attention to every detail and you sort of get to unplug from reality and just enjoy the show,” said Rosales.

Holiday episodes, like Thanksgiving-themed ones featured on “Friends,” “allow viewers to get to know the characters better, to connect with them and not just give a bunch of information in a short amount of time,” said Lara Rosales, senior writer for Tell-Tale TV. (Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

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Weiner said the shorter, denser seasons can “sometimes be exhausting… where you have to see every single episode.”

“So there’s something to, conceptually, I think to these older shows, whether it was an innocent time or not — these shows kind of portray more of an innocent time, and the nuclear family and things that we’re all striving for in today’s conflicted world. So, they provide a means of escape from their busy lives to something where they can kind of turn their brain off and just enjoy,” he said.

Classic shows are also finding new life on social media, via YouTube recaps or even TikTok, where users sometimes watch entire episodes or even movies in clips as short as one minute-long.

“The magic of TikTok in that sense is that you’re scrolling through your page… and then you have a scene from a movie or a TV show that immediately catches your attention because they cut the scenes in a sense that will immediately get the audience’s attention or the viewers as they’re scrolling,” Rosales said.

“Little House on the Prairie” celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, and continues to be watched on streaming services, as well as being featured in clips or recaps on social media apps like TikTok. (Getty Images)

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She added, “The themes continue to resonate even with younger generations. And I feel like a lot of the way in which TV was made and how it was edited a few years back was probably more like storytelling and not just like flashes of advertisement and just watch this and watch that.” 

“I think it’s no surprise that we’d also see it in a video modality, especially considering how much content we take in through video just happens to be on different platforms, but the modality is still very much the same. And when we’ve all seen the same things, sometimes [we] get to kind of go back to the past to revisit it, to create new frames for the present,” Collins said.

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Weiner noted the compartmentalization of media on apps like TikTok means that “people can watch all shows that way, but they don’t have to sit there and watch it completely. You can watch the show over a period of days or even weeks and still get the content.” 

“I think that we do live in an age where attention spans are very low. So, this provides an ideal way to show the next generation some of these wonderful programs and films,” he added.

“People can watch all shows that way, but they don’t have to sit there and watch it completely. You can watch the show over a period of days or even weeks and still get the content,” Rob Weiner, a pop culture librarian at Texas Tech University, said of social media. (20th Century-Fox TV/Getty Images)

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Renewed interest in older shows has paid off for both the streaming services and the actors, as well.

Last year, the USA Network series “Suits,” which aired from 2011-19 (and happened to star a pre-royal marriage Meghan Markle), surged in popularity when it was added to Netflix and Peacock, reportedly reaching 45 billion streams on both platforms combined.

That surge eventually led to a spinoff series, “Suits LA,” being announced, which is scheduled to premiere in February on NBC.

“Suits” had nine seasons with an average of 16 episodes each, just shy of the longer seasons that experts cited as being appealing to viewers. But even those six extra episodes proved to be a huge draw, and are a potential piece of guidance as streamers and networks produce new shows.

“Suits,” which ran from 2011-19 and co-starred Meghan Markle, saw a huge surge in popularity when it hit streaming services last year. (Shane Mahood/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

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“The longer the season is, the more people can get into the story,” Rosales said. “And I feel like viewers have sort of a fear that [if] they get into a new show, it will immediately get canceled… and they’re like, ‘Okay, I’ll just wait until it’s done, and binge-watch it if it gets another season.’ But then that second season might not come, and they’re missing [out] on a great show. So I feel like believing in the old-school formula of making more episodes and giving shows a chance to grow is definitely what they should go for. Believing that the show will get somewhere and not just immediately canceling after a first season will definitely be what helps the shows grow and give viewers that feeling that old-school shows are giving them.” 

“I think it creates a really interesting provocation for showrunners, so that, you know, do we create shows because of their fiduciary opportunity? Or do we create shows for the consumer, which lead to financial gain? I think shortcutting the content impacts the immediate bottom line [and] ultimately shortcuts the consumer,” Collins said.

The stars of these series also see personal benefit in a boost in relevancy when their shows trend on streaming networks and social media.

“Suits” proved so popular that a spinoff was ordered, which is set to premiere in February. (Robert Ascroft/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

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“I think each star gets the benefit of being rediscovered. And those that are alive, especially if you know that there is a particular show that they were in is doing really well on streaming, they can go to these popular culture cons and give out autographs, give speeches and be recognized for their work… And I think that that’s a very fulfilling experience for the stars. They may not be getting any money from or much money from the streaming, but at least they’re back in the public eye and people are interested in them and their lives,” Weiner said.

Pop culture conventions have grown in popularity in recent years. Beyond the most well-known San Diego Comic-Con, there are events like 90s Con, Christmas Con and GalaxyCon, to name a few.

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Ultimately, looking back at older series from the recent to the distant past provides comfort for viewers, while still offering fresh options, especially for younger generations.

“In a way, we’re living in the ‘Golden Age of Television’ because we have so many options,” Weiner said. “And in another way, that’s very daunting and difficult. But it also provides a way to kind of choose your own path. What do you want to be invested in? And people coming back to these old television shows from the early 2000s, ‘90s, ’80s, ‘70s and the ’60s… a lot of that TV was very good. And very dramatic. And it gives a chance for people to see many of the wonderful actors and actresses, whether dead or still alive, from a bygone time.”

Pop culture conventions, like 90s Con, have grown in popularity as more and more people are watching older shows on streaming services. (Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)

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“That nostalgia that comes from things that are familiar but yet foreign because we haven’t visited them in a while, it’s very heartwarming,” Collins said. “Nostalgia comes from German roots and nostalgia used to be considered a disease, one that was lived in the past to something that we now consider as something nourishing, to feel nostalgic and warm and fuzzy about a thing. And that psychological pull can lead us into new spaces, leads the spaces that we’ve been before, and ultimately provide a ton of value for those consuming it.”