From thrillers to comedies, the movies and shows USN students watch can reveal how much entertainment shapes the community and brings the student body together.
25% of the student body was sent a survey to get a better understanding of how students access entertainment and what they are watching. With fall settling in and the semester picking up, there are multiple ways students relax at home. In regards to this survey, shows are classified as a series of episodes or seasons and movies are defined as around 75 minutes, full-length entertainment.
The survey was sent to 25% of the student body and received 21 responses. 33.3% of students who responded shared that they enjoy movies and the other 66.7% enjoy watching shows. 57.1% shared that they watched around 1-2 movies and 66.7 watch 5+ episodes of shows per month. Episodes commonly span from 30 minutes to an hour, which may end up being the same amount of time spent on entertainment as would be spent watching a full-length movie.
A pie chart showing the preferences of students between shows and movies. (via Peabody Press)
While shows can be better for those who may struggle to watch a full-length movie in one sitting, movies can bring closure and provide a sense of ending.
“I don’t like feeling on edge after every episode and having to go and watch the other next ones. I like the ending the movie brings.” Omeed Irani ‘26 said.
Great recommendations can often be found in the USN community itself. Mario Tedeschi ‘26 shares that some of his favorite genres, anime and action, often intersect. He recently finished “Kaiju No. 8” and “To Be Hero X,” two anime shows. Tedeschi noted that while he does prefer to watch anime and action shows, he does occasionally enjoy watching movies but it depends on his mood.
“I have to be in a movie mood to watch a movie.” he said.
Alaina Bryce Jones ‘27 shares that she enjoys psychological thrillers such as “Yellow Jackets.” However, she does not limit herself to one genre, as she has recently been watching “Good Girls” and “The Maze Runner,” which Netflix has returned to its streaming services. Jones enjoys the overlap between genres such as romance or drama comedies.
“I like when a comedy is mixed with something else, like not just a comedy by itself, but like an action comedy or a thriller,” said Jones.
Similarly, Victor Peng ‘26 has been enjoying comedy shows recently such as “Tacoma FD,” which he has been binging recently.
When it can seem unclear what to watch, your best resource can end up being the people around you.
“My friend recommended “Breaking Bad” to m. Sometimes the best recommendations can actually come from your friends,” Irani said.
Additionally, students reported that they mostly use their laptop/computer and TV when wanting to watch shows or movies with 66.7% watching from their laptop/computer and 85.7% watching from their TV. “Gilmore Girls,” “Abbott Elementary,” “The Pitt,” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty” are popular shows within the student body as these shows were repeatedly named in the survey. All of these shows fit into the genres of drama and comedy, as the audience is left with a cliffhanger due to the intense and hilarious plots woven into each episode.
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The only shows to recevive more than one response were Amazon’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” ABC and Hulu’s “Abbott Elementary,” HBO’s “The Pitt,” and “Gilmore Girls,” which ended its run in 2007. -
The only shows to recevive more than one response were Amazon’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” ABC and Hulu’s “Abbott Elementary,” HBO’s “The Pitt,” and “Gilmore Girls,” which ended its run in 2007. -
The only shows to recevive more than one response were Amazon’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” ABC and Hulu’s “Abbott Elementary,” HBO’s “The Pitt,” and “Gilmore Girls,” which ended its run in 2007. -
The only shows to recevive more than one response were Amazon’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” ABC and Hulu’s “Abbott Elementary,” HBO’s “The Pitt,” and “Gilmore Girls,” which ended its run in 2007.
The overwhelming majority of students access entertainment on Netflix, with 90.5% of respondents selecting the site as one of their main streaming services. However, some of these shows do not stream on Netflix. Specifically, “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” “Abbott Elementary,” and “The Pitt” stream on other sites such as Hulu and Amazon Prime. While Netflix tends to have a larger selection of comedies, Hulu and Amazon Prime have larger selections of romance and drama.
Overall, whether it is a full-length movie or a quick episode, entertainment is one of the primary ways USN students can find comfort and connection within their friends and the stories they watch.
