5 TV Shows College Women Are Obsessed With (& Why)
College women love TV. It’s an escape from the busy, oftentimes stressful day-to-day life of the 2017 collegiette, and most importantly, it’s the perfect procrastination tool when you’ve got five papers and seven midterms breathing down your neck.
Today’s college women might not even have an actual TV, let alone cable (enter Netflix, Hulu, et al), but that doesn’t stop them from obsessing over these five shows—and we’ll tell you why.
1. The Bachelor
We’ve always known America is obsessed with the Bachelor franchise, but that obsession trickles down to the college demographic in a big way. The Bachelor is one of the only shows college women commit to watching live, or as soon as they can stream it. The culture surrounding the show—that live-tweeting and reading satirical articles about The Bachelor is just as thrilling as tuning in to the show itself—breeds a “now, not later” mentality. If you miss an episode, you’ll get left behind. That’s what keeps viewers interested and coming back for more, no matter how busy they are. And it doesn’t hurt to throw a Corinne or Chad in for good measure.
2. Grey’s Anatomy
Heading into its 14th season in the fall, Grey’s Anatomy shows no signs of slowing down. When a show has been on the air this long, you’d think it might be hard to jump on the bandwagon so late in the game. But that’s where Netflix comes in. Adding Grey’s to the Netflix library has given the series new life. It’s always available to a new audience, and once you’ve seen it, you’re hooked. (I mean, fans are willing to Tinder message guys using only Meredith Grey quotes, for crying out loud.) With breakups and makeups, shocking deaths, and twists and turns around every corner, it’s no wonder college women can’t stop obsessing over this ABC drama.
3. Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is the only show on this list that has gone on to that TV show mansion in the sky. But you can again thank Netflix for the CW series’ continued success. Although its last episode aired in 2012, college women looking for a show to binge will always flock to GG. All their friends have seen it, and it has every element of intrigue they love: couples worth ‘shipping and gorgeous, elite youths getting into trouble. Plus, every girl wants to be Blair Waldorf.
4. Jane the Virgin
When you’re looking for a series to binge that you haven’t seen yet, where do you turn? Lists about shows to stream, of course! Jane the Virgin is at the top of almost all those lists. Not only is it a telenovela with gasp-worthy drama you’d only find on a true soap opera, but it’s also hilarious to boot. There’s frankly not another show like it on TV, and you’ll never watch an episode without cracking a smile. Talk about a source of relief for a stressed out college student.
5. New Girl
The final TV show on our list, which follows an adorkable teacher and her three wacky male roommates, is popular with college women for the same reason as the previous item: it’s streamable and laugh-out-loud hilarious. Not to mention it’s relatable—just look at all the “as told by” articles it’s inspired on Her Campus. On top of that, episodes are only about 20 minutes long, so you can squeeze one in between classes, during a study break or before bed.
While college women may not watch television in the traditional way, they still use it as an outlet to procrastinate and enjoy themselves amidst the demands of higher education. The ability to stream a series is key to its success among this demographic, but an addictive show that everyone is talking about can be just as popular. “Obsessed” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Erin Crabtree is the Entertainment Editor at Her Campus Media.