DVR Confessions From The TVLine Staff

By Matt Webb Mitovich
dvr-hannibal WILL MY HANNIBAL FAST END? "Hannibal is without a doubt one of the most excellently and elegantly executed shows on TV. (When the sound mixing gives viewers chills, you know you're doing something right.) But I have to be in just the right mood to watch the grotesque beauty that is the NBC drama, and I just wasn't during Season 2. But with new episodes right around the corner, I think I'm finally ready to dive back into Bryan Fuller's twisted, but brilliant mind." — Vlada Gelman LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: High

dvr-the-americans

dvr-the-americans NOTHING BUT NYET"I deserve some time in the gulag, because while I have railed at friends and family who don't watch FX's '80s spy drama The Americans… I'm seven episodes behind, myself. The series traffics in subtlety and makes its viewers work to keep track of what's going on, which is great, except it means no multitasking, no social-media perusing, no putting-it-on-in-the-background-while-I-fold-laundry — otherwise, I might miss a crucial dead drop or loaded look between Elizabeth and Philip. And that, comrades, would be its own kind of treason. --Kim Roots LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: High

NOTHING BUT NYET

"I deserve some time in the gulag, because while I have railed at friends and family who don't watch FX's '80s spy drama The Americans... I'm seven episodes behind, myself. The series traffics in subtlety and makes its viewers work to keep track of what's going on, which is great, except it means no multitasking, no social-media perusing, no putting-it-on-in-the-background-while-I-fold-laundry — otherwise, I might miss a crucial dead drop or loaded look between Elizabeth and Philip. And that, comrades, would be its own kind of treason. –Kim Roots

LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: High

dvr-better-call-saul

dvr-better-call-saul I BETTER GET TO IT! “When the news of a Breaking Bad spinoff first broke, no one was more enthusiastic than yours truly. After all, I was still finding ways to work, 'I am the one who knocks' into regular conversation. But when I sat down for the first episode of Better Call Saul, I found I wasn't nearly as invested in the characters (or patient enough for the slow-burn pace) as I wanted to be. The same thing then happened for Episodes 2 and 3. To this day, seven more episodes sit, unwatched, on my DVR. I have every intention of catching up before Season 2 arrives — but until then, Saul is falling further and further down my list of shows to binge." — Rebecca Iannucci LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: Medium

I BETTER GET TO IT!

"When the news of a Breaking Bad spinoff first broke, no one was more enthusiastic than yours truly. After all, I was still finding ways to work, 'I am the one who knocks' into regular conversation. But when I sat down for the first episode of Better Call Saul, I found I wasn't nearly as invested in the characters (or patient enough for the slow-burn pace) as I wanted to be. The same thing then happened for Episodes 2 and 3. To this day, seven more episodes sit, unwatched, on my DVR. I have every intention of catching up before Season 2 arrives — but until then, Saul is falling further and further down my list of shows to binge." — Rebecca Iannucci

LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: Medium

dvr-brooklyn_Nine_Nine

dvr-brooklyn_Nine_Nine A COP-OUT, I KNOW “It’s no secret that Sundays get super-jammed in-season — personally, I labor to squeeze in Once Upon a Time, The Walking Dead, The Good Wife and, once upon a time, that show about retro ad men. So I can’t (or shouldn't!) be blamed for recording -- yet seldom getting to -- Fox’s fine Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Sitcoms are highly bingeable, though, so I hold out some hope.” — Matt Webb Mitovich LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: Medium

A COP-OUT, I KNOW

"It's no secret that Sundays get super-jammed in-season — personally, I labor to squeeze in Once Upon a Time, The Walking Dead, The Good Wife and, once upon a time, that show about retro ad men. So I can't (or shouldn't!) be blamed for recording — yet seldom getting to — Fox's fine Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Sitcoms are highly bingeable, though, so I hold out some hope." — Matt Webb Mitovich

LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: Medium

dvr-fargo

dvr-fargo SO CLOSE YET SO FARGO “Anthologies are as popular as ever, but I’ll be damned if I ever get around to finishing a single season of any one of them. I called it quits early on with the depressing but phenomenally acted American Crime, and I just couldn’t get past episode 2 of True Detective, no matter how many times I tried (three, to be exact). I fully intend on finishing Fargo, though, after thoroughly enjoying the pilot. The entire first season is currently the only show unwatched on my DVR.” — Ryan Schwartz LIKELIHOOD I’LL FINISH: High

SO CLOSE YET SO FARGO

"Anthologies are as popular as ever, but I'll be damned if I ever get around to finishing a single season of any one of them. I called it quits early on with the depressing but phenomenally acted American Crime, and I just couldn't get past episode 2 of True Detective, no matter how many times I tried (three, to be exact). I fully intend on finishing Fargo, though, after thoroughly enjoying the pilot. The entire first season is currently the only show unwatched on my DVR." — Ryan Schwartz

LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: High

dvr-game-of-thrones

dvr-game-of-thrones GAME OVER, TEMPORARILY “Winter isn't coming in my household, and it hasn't been for some time. I watched Game of Thrones' Season 5 premiere on April 12, and then I just… stopped. The perfect storm of May Sweeps and Upfront mania forced me to skip the next six episodes — a number that will swell to nine by mid-June if I don't get crackin' soon. Good thing I have three cross-country flights scheduled this summer!" — Michael Ausiello LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: High

GAME OVER, TEMPORARILY

"Winter isn't coming in my household, and it hasn't been for some time. I watched Game of Thrones' Season 5 premiere on April 12, and then I just... stopped. The perfect storm of May Sweeps and Upfront mania forced me to skip the next six episodes — a number that will swell to nine by mid-June if I don't get crackin' soon. Good thing I have three cross-country flights scheduled this summer!" — Michael Ausiello

LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: High

dvr-hannibal

dvr-hannibal WILL MY HANNIBAL FAST END? "Hannibal is without a doubt one of the most excellently and elegantly executed shows on TV. (When the sound mixing gives viewers chills, you know you're doing something right.) But I have to be in just the right mood to watch the grotesque beauty that is the NBC drama, and I just wasn't during Season 2. But with new episodes right around the corner, I think I'm finally ready to dive back into Bryan Fuller's twisted, but brilliant mind." — Vlada Gelman LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: High

WILL MY HANNIBAL FAST END?

"Hannibal is without a doubt one of the most excellently and elegantly executed shows on TV. (When the sound mixing gives viewers chills, you know you're doing something right.) But I have to be in just the right mood to watch the grotesque beauty that is the NBC drama, and I just wasn't during Season 2. But with new episodes right around the corner, I think I'm finally ready to dive back into Bryan Fuller's twisted, but brilliant mind." — Vlada Gelman

LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: High

Outlander 2014

Outlander 2014 AYE JUST DON'T KNOW IF IT'S FOR ME "I know I should be watching Outlander, or at least that's what the Internet — and my glamorous officemate Kimberly Roots — keeps telling me. But for some reason, I've allowed the entire first season (all 16 episodes) to pile up on my DVR like a mound of haggis. I've heard all about the must-see wedding episode, I've been bombarded by the sexy GIFs on Twitter, yet I've somehow never pushed that damn play button. Am I offending my Celtic ancestors by letting the Starz drama pass me by? --Andy Swift LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: Unclear

AYE JUST DON'T KNOW IF IT'S FOR ME

"I know I should be watching Outlander, or at least that's what the Internet — and my glamorous officemate Kimberly Roots — keeps telling me. But for some reason, I've allowed the entire first season (all 16 episodes) to pile up on my DVR like a mound of haggis. I've heard all about the must-see wedding episode, I've been bombarded by the sexy GIFs on Twitter, yet I've somehow never pushed that damn play button. Am I offending my Celtic ancestors by letting the Starz drama pass me by? –Andy Swift

LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: Unclear

dvr-sleepy-hollow

dvr-sleepy-hollow NOT FEELING SLEEPY YET "The trouble began with a 15-year-old named Sawyer Fredericks. Yep, I'm talking about the preternaturally talented kid who won Season 8 of The Voice — NBC's reality juggernaut that I enthusiastically recap for TVLine. When Sawyer's march to music stardom began on Feb. 23, I started building up a brutal backlog of Sleepy Hollow episodes — eight of 'em, to be exact. I've now gone almost four months without Katrina's opening-credits arm raise, Henry's dastardly deeds (last I checked in, there was a demon baby-type situation happening) and Ich's swoon-inducing 'Leftenant' pronunciation. I've recently sacrificed Nashville and my hubby's iZombie (shhh! don't tell him!) to get us out of the DVR danger zone, but giving up on Sleepy's spooky historical twists seems as blasphemous as surrendering to skinny jeans. --Michael Slezak LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: High

NOT FEELING SLEEPY YET

"The trouble began with a 15-year-old named Sawyer Fredericks. Yep, I'm talking about the preternaturally talented kid who won Season 8 of The Voice — NBC's reality juggernaut that I enthusiastically recap for TVLine. When Sawyer's march to music stardom began on Feb. 23, I started building up a brutal backlog of Sleepy Hollow episodes — eight of 'em, to be exact. I've now gone almost four months without Katrina's opening-credits arm raise, Henry's dastardly deeds (last I checked in, there was a demon baby-type situation happening) and Ich's swoon-inducing 'Leftenant' pronunciation. I've recently sacrificed Nashville and my hubby's iZombie (shhh! don't tell him!) to get us out of the DVR danger zone, but giving up on Sleepy's spooky historical twists seems as blasphemous as surrendering to skinny jeans. –Michael Slezak

LIKELIHOOD I'LL FINISH: High

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