We have discussed the concept of the One Eye Show here before! It came up in conversation last week, and a couple of years ago, I laid out the definition in this piece about Boris Kodjoe thusly:
I work from home and have a lot of typing to do, and thus I like to have a pile-up of shows that I can watch with one eye — shows that kind of keep me company and to which I pay vague attention, but which I don’t need to really focus on. A show that I really care about and/or which requires my full attention, however, I refer to as a Two Eye Show. Like, Game of Thrones is a Two Eye Show. The Americans is a real Two Eye Show. For me, Survivor is a Two Eye Show because I just really love Survivor. But, for example, The Bachelor is a One Eye — you sometimes don’t even need one with The Bachelor, especially because it is SO LONG. Sports are a One Eye Show because you can mostly just listen to sports and then when the announcer’s voice gets all high and excited, you know to look up (you also can immediately get the gist when you look at the score, and there’s replay, which truly make Sports the best One Eye investment of all). Riverdale is a One Eye Show because I’ve accepted that I will NEVER understand what the eff is happening on Riverdale so why even try?
You get the gist. (I am not even watching Riverdale anymore. Is it still on?) My actual favorite One Eye Show of yore was the Freeform Bella Thorne soap Famous in Love, which was just perfectly diverting and enjoyable without being so complicated that I couldn’t also, like, moderate comments while I had it on. (I miss that show.) One Eyes are also useful for having on in the background while you fold the laundry, or get on the treadmill, or work on a jigsaw puzzle. Please bring us your favorites!
