The People’s Couch

             I must say I am surprised I am writing about The People’s Couch.  For the longest time I was embarrassed to admit I watched it at all.  I would catch pieces of it on the sly because I did not want anyone asking me why I was watching something so strange.  It’s not the usual type of thing I watch, as I tend to stay away from most reality-type shows, but there was something about this one I liked.  There was not anything in particular I could put my finger on as to why I did, but now I have figured it out.  The show is hilarious!  I find myself laughing through practically every moment of each and every episode.  It’s hard not to, because the people on it are so funny.  Now that I have this figured out, I will fully admit that not only do I watch this show, but I enjoy it as well.

                The premise of The People’s Couch is very simple.  Groups of people watch TV shows and the viewers watch their reactions.  That’s it.  The different groups consist of either friends or family members, and each group watches the same things in their separate homes.  Sometimes the reactions to the shows are very similar amongst the groups and other times they are quite different.  No matter which case, the things people say are rarely ever the same.  This happens within the groups as well.  There can be drastically different opinions about what they are viewing (which definitely creates some interesting conversations), but even when the opinions are the same, they each express it in their own way which can create an interesting situation all on its own.

                Along with watching the watchers, the viewers are shown clips of the shows being commented upon.  Without this, there would not be any context to the hilarious things the watchers are saying.  It also gives the viewer a chance to experience parts of the show along with the watchers.  For me these snippets have an added benefit.  These bits and pieces help me experience shows I have heard about but never seen.  Sometimes it even lets me learn what these shows are about.  There have been shows lately where the promos I see only lead me to be confused about their premise.  I’m never interested enough to investigate what the promo is trying to tell me, and with The People’s Couch I don’t have to.  They tell me what the show is about as they’re watching it.  Then with the little bit I see, I can decide whether I want to pursue that show or not. 

                While all the groups have their funny moments, there are some I enjoy more than others. As these are actual people, not actors portraying characters, I will not say which, but there are certain groups I am always happy to see cross my screen. I would, however, like to see more geographical diversity. The show already does a great job of having human diversity. There are different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and ages amongst the groups. I would love to see them start a second show with that same type of human diversity, but spread the groups across the country. Currently everyone involved in the show are in the Los Angeles area. I think it would be really interesting to see how someone who lived in another part of the country would react to the exact same show. The differences may be surprising, or it might be hardly anything at all. That won’t be known until it is tried. I already know of one person who would volunteer in a second if this other show were to happen. He would be so excited to have the opportunity to be on The People’s Couch, and I’m pretty sure he would not be alone.