I didn't start watching Seinfeld until its 8th season, and it ended up becoming my favorite show of all time. Another "late bloomer" for me was Frasier (season 7, I believe). Again, it became one of my favorites. In both cases it was simple curiosity that caused me to start watching them. What are some of the shows you got into late, and what brought on the interest?

I didn't watch an episode of 24 until the season 4 finale. Went out and bought 1-2 on DVD the next day.

Star Trek: TNG
Law & Order
Justified

It would have to be True Blood. My wife and I started the 1st season right before the 4th season and caught up right around the middle of it.

Babylon 5. Channel surfing, landed on late season 4 episode, original airing. It was the one where Bester reveals to Garibaldi how they fucked with his head. Not long after it started mon-fri on TNT and I watched every one.

Person of Interest (S2)...probably half way through last season.

I didn't watch Alias until a few years after it ended. One of my favorite shows.

Smallville season 4. I keep thinking about catching up with those early seasons.

Seinfeld is my all-time favorite sitcom and although I had watched it in syndication for awhile, I didn't start watching the "new" episodes until Season 9.

Pretty much through the 90s the only network show I religiously watched new episodes of was The Simpsons. I was young, though, and not really tied to a broadcast TV schedule. I watched way more cable back then.

I binge-watched Lost and The Shield a few years after they had ended thanks to Amazon Instant Video. Breaking Bad I didn't start watching "live" until the 4th season, so I guess there's quite a few.

would Breaking Bad count? After all the buzz about season 4, i decided to blind buy the seasons, & became addicted

Law and Order: SVU : Joined in during season 13 after Christopher Meloni left the show.

Shark Tank: Just tuned into a random episode last season and got hooked. Have been watching reruns this summer. I've already set a season pass for the Fall.

One Tree Hill: Joined in during season 5 (the 5 year jump season) after catching up on DVD.

Breaking Bad: Joined in live during season 5A after hearing all the hype and catching up on DVD/BD.

I'm assuming the OP didn't mean shows we started watching AFTER they were off the air, but rather shows we started watching while they were still producing new episodes.

My "technical" correct answer here would be 60 MINUTES, since I didn't start watching it regularly until I was a teenager, and it started airing way back in 1968.

But for the purposes of this thread, I'll say PAWN STARS, which I started watching on Netflix when it was just finishing up its 5th season on the air.

I also didn't start watching DOCTOR WHO on a REGULAR basis until the 2005 reboot, but I'd seen tons of the previous seasons on and off throughout my childhood.

There are lots of series I've not watched until after they've left the air - including about a half dozen I own complete seasons of on DVD or Blu-ray, but haven't gotten to yet.

How were you able to watch the season 4 finale as a standalone episode and have it make any sense?

That's what I assume he means. Anyone can binge watch cancelled shows on DVD/BD or Netflix and say they are super late to the party.


One more I forgot to mention. I started watching The Shield live during season 3. Was never really interested in it when the show made it's debut, but eventually caught up on DVD and joined in.

24 would be the answer for me. I think my wife watched the first episode of season 5. I decided I wanted to watch from the beginning. We checked out the first few seasons from the library and burned through them in no time.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 7 is when I started watching it as it aired. I was flipping through the TV one night and the scene where Willow skins Warren came on. I rushed out the next day and bought seasons one and two since they were the only ones out at the time. Got caught up on the series by um... other means until season 7 started.

I watched the final two episodes of The Sopranos when they aired. I haven't gone back to watch any of the previous ones and probably never will.

Also watched the final episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer when it aired without having watched any other episodes.

I didn't start watching Saturday Night Live until Season 15.

I feel old that it has now been running longer since the time I started watching it

The fifth season of Buffy. I majorly regret missing out on the initial broadcasts for those first few seasons.

I just started watching Dexter about 2 months ago. I've watched the first two seasons, and I've ordered seasons 3,5,6.

Just waiting for a good deal on season 4 and 7. I clearly won't be done in time to watch any of the current (final?) season live.

I start everything from the beginning.

I assume that's what the OP is asking. What's the latest point you jumped into a series. Not how far along was a series when you started it from the beginning.

DExter for me

Started live in season 5

ER - started watching live in S6. At that time, TNT was showing two reruns a day so I was able to get them all in within a few months.

That's a shame...I'm currently re-watching the series from beginning to end for the fourth time. It holds up - definitely in the top 5 TV shows ever made. I've got a friend (he occassionally posts here) who LOVES The Godfather and GoodFellas, but (last time I discussed it with him) refuses to watch The Sopranos for whatever reason, even though I know he'll love it.

I want to say season 3 is typically where I jump in*. I figure if it made it past s2 then it avoided the sophomore slump cancellation and isn't a fluke that it's still on.

24
NYPD: Blue
Big Bang Theory
How I met your mother
Smallville
Burn Notice
Scrubs
Fringe

*jump in after watching the first 2 seasons on dvd and catching up with season 3 live.

I didn' start watching The Office until 2nd from the last season. Coworker lent me the disks of the previous seasons so I watched all of them then started watching episodes as they aired.