I think this is a pretty legitimate question to ask.

There is just a ridiculous amount of content out there.

With Netflix, Hulu Plus, shows on the OTA networks, cable/satellite, HBOGo/HBONow, Amazon Prime original shows and other streaming services, there seems like an endless amount of content out there. And now the Sony Playstation has started producing original content with Powers being released today. Plus, TV now runs year round with a Fall, Spring and now Summer seasons. I mean there is really no time to catch up on older shows and I know many of you struggle to keep up with stuff that's currently airing. Plus, new shows keep premiering and I assume many of you just don't have the time to check many of them out.

And there is talk to Showtime will probably start their own streaming service in the future. And then there's Sling TV starting yet another streaming service.

Plus, many of you have DVD and Blu-Ray backlogs of TV shows you bought that you will probably never get to watch either.

I mean what do you all think? 20 years ago, many people struggled many times to find something to watch on TV. Now I think in 2015, there is always something on, but whether you have time to watch it is another story.

No not really, I'm pretty selective with what I watch.

Although there are still times that even with 500 channels, there is nothing on i want to watch. ��

nope. out of sight out of mind.

i when last year's emmy nominations came out, i was like "huh, i've only seen about 5-10% of nominated shows" and didn't feel like i was missing out on anything.

I think we're in a golden age of content right now. There are so many new and good shows out there that my dvr is constantly full and I'm in a constant battle with it to have it empty enough to record shows for the next day. There are a still a lot of shows that I would like to check out. I haven't seen True Detective, Breaking Bad, House of Cards, or Orange is the new black yet...

The big 3 networks in the past used to repeat their shows in the summer. Now that's not really the case anymore with most TV networks greenlighting summer shows.

If you missed a show during the actual TV season for whatever reason, the only way to catch it is either purchasing the show a la carte via Itunes/Amazon, waiting for it to come out on a streaming service months later or buying the discs. New content immediately replaces shows that end their seasons.

I'm also one of the few here who hasn't seen Orange is the new Black yet. I only saw the 1st episode. I haven't even touched the new season of House of Cards yet either.

Cable is also year round with HBO, Showtime, AMC, USA. TNT and FX having many notable summer shows in addition to their Fall and Spring ones.

It's an endless battle with content because I don't want to miss out on a potentially great new show, yet there are 10 other things that I'm a regular viewer of that I want to see first.

No. But I stick to "the good stuff".

When industry people stopped calling it "TV" and started calling it "content", I felt like things were going too far. There's too many people making too much forgettable "content".

TV is pretty well "grandfathered" in. They're so many big companies that dump so much money into advertising. They don't worry about how effective it is today. It is more important that a brand becomes part of everyone's vocabulary.

I agree to some extent. Some shows seem to pop up on netflix / amazon so quickly that I get pissed that I gave up precious DVR space to hold them.

Right now - I would like to watch Gotham, but my DVR deleted the first few episodes, so I am waiting for the summer and these show up on netflix / amazon. Most of these shows are on-demand on Cable ... but I don't want to watch the commercials and it sucks not being able to fast forward.

Fargo was another show that I heard was FANTASTIC but could not find it anywhere.. but to purchase per episode, or buy on DVD. I got lucky and a new year's day marathon was on FX and I recorded the series in one day.

Fargo was on FX/FXX Now (website and Roku app). Most channels have their own custom apps these days. I prefer marathoning shows after the fact, gets rid of that hash brown FOMO issue.

Yep, there are dozens of good to great TV series out there right now. Meanwhile, we're LUCKY to get a dozen good movies per year. It's definitely TV's turn to shine.

But yes, it's overwhelming...a good movie only takes 2 hours out of my life...a good TV series takes anywhere from 10 to 24 hours PER SEASON.

Yep. I used to watch almost everything. Now I'm constantly dropping shows to find time for the ones I really want to see.

Not really. I'm a bit picky so I'm not one to just blind watch shows. I have my chosen few shows that I watch.

I have to admit, the ability to catch up on my backlogged Tivo shows during the summer downtime (and some of the gaps when reruns would pop-up on the airwaves before sweeps) was so much easier a few years back...it is why I revived the old What Shows have you stopped watching thread, as new content comes out so fast and furious that I really no longer have time to catch up and have to make the hard decision to stop watching some shows cold turkey.

Yes, I've had to knock a few shows on the head. Others i've just had to give up as I felt they were not going anywhere and it seemed a chore.
I've got a baby now and my wife has gone back to work part time so the amount of viewing hours I once had have now been greatly reduced.
But with me in the UK I have a UK and US iTunes account so depending on what shifts I'm working depands on what I'm watching on that. On night shifts I'll take in my iPad and start with Netflix or Amamzon stuff. I don't even make the cinema alot nowadays. Shame as it's a packed year.

I do get overwhelmed at times. I do have backlogs on my DVR of shows that I've watched a few episodes of, but I'm going to try to watch the remaining episodes later on. As others, have mentioned Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime have added to amount of original content and gets overwhelming with the binge aspect. I haven't watched a Hulu original show. I've watched seasons 1 and 2 of House of Cards. I'm another one, who hasn't watched Orange Is The New Black. The only Amazon Prime show, I've watched is Transparent. I know some people with Netflix and Amazon Prime subscriptions, that have no interest in the original shows.

There are other factors that have increased the amount of content. There are some cable networks, which in years past, didn't produce original scripted shows, but are now in the business. AMC is one of the better examples of entering the scripted TV business and having hits. Then there is VH1, MTV, TVLand, Sundance, IFC and now CMT producing scripted shows. I have enjoyed some of the shows made by those networks. I feel that the increased popularity of non-US shows can also make people overwhelmed. I have enjoyed some shows from the UK and Australia, which have been aired on cable networks here or shows that have put on Netflix.

It's a bit overwhelming in the sense that I'm behind in a lot of my shows (Agents of SHIELD, Walking Dead, haven't even finished season 2 of Orange is the New Black) with lots of favorites returning or just returned (House of Cards, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, Orphan Black, etc.). An embarrassment of riches, I suppose, and certainly a first world problem, but that's a measure of how much quality programming we have now.

**Raises Hand**

I too haven't watched Orange is the New Black, and subsequent seasons of House of Cards.

I picked up the season 1 bluray of Spacey's House of Cards, back when it was first released. At the time, I wanted to see whether it lived up to the hype and I didn't have Netflix at that moment in time.

By the time it was season 2 of HoC, the hype wasn't there anymore catching my attention. (I have not watched season 2 yet, and haven't purchased the bluray yet).

I've got a shit ton of shows piled up on my TiVo, but I watch the ones I really like first. So much quality on cable and streaming services these days. Crazy!

More importantly, Powers was finally made into a show? How did I miss that??? Off to find that thread and a way to watch it (I don't have PS network).

No, not really. My DVR knows before I do when I've lost interest in a show. If I see episodes piling up & no desire to watch them, I know it's time to delete & move on. TV watching should not be a job.

I used to watch a lot more than I do now, but these days I try to be pretty selective. Partly to avoid being overwhelmed and partly because I don't have as much time as I used to. It also seems like many shows end up falling into mediocrity (or worse). For many shows, I can stand to wait for a couple seasons or so to see how things pan out.

Nowadays, a new first season show has to really pique my interest for me to start watching on a weekly basis and more often than not, I end up watching it later on Netflix or something.

I think it doesn't help that some shows seem to really stretch out a story that can and should have been finished in 13, the most 15 episodes.
Thats why I'm loving Hannibal. Just the A story and a few B stories now and again.

Yes I somewhat am. I was just thinking the other day about how many really popular shows there are that I haven't even watched yet. I'm three seasons behind on Walking Dead, haven't seen Game of Thrones yet, only watched five episodes of OITNB and have fallen behind on Gotham. Even with on demand viewing there is just too many options out there.

Nope, not overwhelmed.

Just don't watch much TV.

This is why I'm glad so many dramas have adopted 13 episode seasons.

Not overwhelmed, but I'm pretty selective on what I watch and it might take me a little more time to get around to watching shows. I used to watch a lot of shows live or next day. Now it may take me weeks/months to get to it.