Enough drama and horror IRL: How the COVID-19 pandemic changed TV consumption

ABSTRACT The present study examines how consumption of various TV show genres changed after the World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic. The findings suggest that the pandemic significantly altered what genre TV shows individuals consumed, with the degree of change increasing further into the pandemic. Whether examining early pandemic consumption or consumption several months into the pandemic, drama, horror, and adventure shows were consistently less prominent in individuals’ viewing history during the pandemic. Relative to its pre-pandemic average viewing history prominence, horror became 41–52% less prominent in viewing histories during the pandemic. Other genres presented statistically significant but less consistent and/or more practically negligible differences. Men and older individuals tended to exhibit greater change in genres of TV shows they consumed.