I can’t stand most modern dramatic TV shows. My parents are going through Homeland and Bloodline right now, and it’s just so much graphic death and sex and shit. Then there are things like Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. Christ, it’s exhausting to watch. I just want to have fun and relax when I watch TV.
Some shows are indeed just plain dreadful because they think that makes them interesting, but other dark and depressing shows (like Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones) are actually legitimately great simply because there’s actually real plotting and characterization - basically, there’s actually a story there beyond “what’s the most dark and depressing shit that can happen in 45 minutes?” In fairness if you don’t watch all these shows might seem to be the same in this regard but some are on a different wavelength (read: contain real storytelling) with others just copy the tone soullessly (read: cheap imitation).
When you see the shitty lifeless stuff it can seem pretty exhausting, but the other stuff is quite compelling.