It has been a week since the curtain closed on two of this era's most popular television programs, Succession and Ted Lasso.
One is a dark drama focusing on power struggles within a wealthy family media empire, and the other is an uplifting comedy featuring an always-positive football coach.
"For every Ted Lasso, there had to be a Succession," said Daryl Sparkes, a senior film lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland.
"That's the great thing about the duality of human nature — if it's all evil, we're bored, and if it's all good, we get bored with that too."
Dr Sparkes said the clever writing of the polar opposite dramas, which have each won a slew of awards along the way, gave insight to the audience tuning in.
"Even with the horribleness of one group and the saccharine sweetness of the other group, we still found something that we could relate to that kept us coming back every week," he said.
"It's the whole gamut of human experience wrapped up in two TV shows."
A product of their time
According to Alex Bevan, a senior lecturer in digital media at the University of Queensland, part of the appeal of the two programs was the era in which they were made.
"I think COVID could be part of this, but COVID was converging with other historical tensions … and people wanted to process feelings of anger and vulnerability, but also escape into a kind of sweetness," Dr Bevan said.
"And you need that full palette [of art] in order to do that."
She has seen a direct parallel between the Depression Era and the types of entertainment that became popular in the 1930s.
"You had Busby Berkeley musicals on one end of the spectrum that were really extravagant [with] rotating stages, women with feather boas, and these completely escapist beautiful fantasy worlds.
"And on the other hand, you had the emergence of the gangster film and portrayals of violence that was so shocking to the American public at the time, they felt like they had to self-censor."
Dr Bevan said the Shakespearean themes at the core of Succession helped give the series broad cross-generational appeal.
"It has its finger on the pulse, saying something about wealth disparity in the Western world, and comments on the history of conglomeration and media consolidation into these larger and larger companies that are too big to fail.
"And then, on top of that, you have these amazing interpersonal conflicts and relationships."
While at the other end of the spectrum — or football field — was Ted Lasso.
"It was the opposite of toxic masculinity — how to be a man and yet still be a decent human being at the same time," Dr Sparkes said.
As each series concluded, Dr Sparkes said it was bittersweet for viewers, with that weekly familiarity now gone.
"It's hard to watch the final episodes because you feel like you've known these people for so long.
"We get to the end of their stories and feel a bit melancholy, like losing a friend," he said.
What next?
Now that the curtain has fallen on the two dramas, what comes next?
Dr Bevan said the rise of streaming services meant stories that did not fall into the traditional category of feature-length or multi-episode series now had a home.
"I've been seeing more short films appear in my news feed," she explained.
"Little films by up-and-coming directors the streaming companies are taking a chance on to make a 15-minute film. So keep an eye out for different kinds of formats of TV and film that are appearing."
And if you're still feeling a little lost after losing a television friend, Dr Sparkes said it was only natural, but it would pass.
"If we were having this conversation a year ago, we would be talking about Game of Thrones," he laughed.
"And now, haven't we all forgotten about that? We'll move on to the next thing."
And if you haven't watched either of these programs yet, are they still worth your time?
"Absolutely, because it's not about the end. It's about the journey itself," he said.
"We lasted with the shows for so long because we've enjoyed the ride."
