10 Things That Make Me NOT Want To Watch a Drama/Movie

Hello, everyone!

While searching for new dramas to watch, I always find myself considering some of the following things when deciding whether to watch a drama or movie, or not. 

My list goes from 1 (I may still watch this) to 10 (I'm not watching this).

1. Synopsis is too long

When I search for new dramas, I quickly read over the synopsis to decide if the drama is worth watching and I'm not really in the mood to read a detailed two-page essay.

Of course, if I like the actors or if people have been recommending it a lot, I'll read it. Sometimes I just go ahead without reading and let the drama surprise me, or I try to find a better summary in the comments or on on another website.

2. No Feedback

Sometimes when I'm unsure if I should watch a drama, I like to look at the comments and see some reactions.

If there are no comments or reviews, I'll think twice about watching - especially if I wasn't too interested to begin with. But if the plot sounds nice and the actors are my taste, I'll go ahead and at least watch the first episode to see if I might like it.

3. Duration

I know that for some people, one hour long episodes are the norm and that it's what they prefer. I'm mainly into Japanese dramas so in my opinion, the perfect duration of an episode is about 40 minutes, or even better - 25 minutes.

Hour-long episodes tend to drag if the plot isn't intriguing enough and I don't like to get bored. I'll think twice about starting such a drama, but if it's highly recommended and I like the actors, I'll try watching it anyway.

4. Episode Count

This again might be my J-drama bias shining through, but I do prefer ten episodes per drama. If a drama has 16 episodes, it's still okay for me but everything above that may not get a chance - unless the episode duration is 20 minutes.

Sometimes, when I feel really adventurous, I'll give a 20-episode drama a chance but that's rare and only the case if the plot sounds really interesting. 16 - 20 episodes of an hour each equal a lot of hours, so I'd rather watch something else instead.

5. Year

Some people prefer older dramas but I personally don't like to watch them. Not because they're bad, but because the style and quality are quite different.

I have to admit that when I watched a drama from 1999, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Still, I prefer dramas from 2005 onwards.

6. Genre

We all have our favorite genres, be it romance, comedy or suspense, or all of it together. At least those are mine.

And then again, we have genres which we try to avoid and for me, those genres are horror, vampires and historical. Depending on the genre and on my mood I might or might not watch the drama.

7. Country

As you may have noticed by now, I'm into Japanese dramas and rarely watch dramas from other countries. I don't think dramas from other countries are bad, and I have watched some and found them entertaining.

Still, the acting, production style, and actors' appearances differ from country to country, which is a good thing. This makes it all a matter of preference in the end, so I wouldn't automatically say that a drama is a no-go if it's from a different country than my usual one, and if it seems interesting I might watch it anyway.

8. Overhyped

Honestly, I hate this one a lot because I might not give a drama a chance or might be more critical than usual while watching if a drama is extremely popular.

Most of the time, being more critical lessens the enjoyment and because of the hype, people expect a masterpiece and nothing less. This is probably a psychological issue, I think, because people tend to rate underrated dramas higher than overrated ones. All I can say is: You should try watching it anyway because I was positively surprised by some overhyped dramas.

9. Cast

Ugh, them again? I think everyone has that one actor or actress they dislike. Sometimes due to overexposure because they're literally everywhere, which is especially bad if they always get the main role and still can't act, and sometimes actors are just not likable for personal reasons.

And sometimes, even though I know it's superficial, the appearance of both the male and female leads is important. If the plot is about a handsome guy getting the girl, I want a guy who actually looks handsome to me. It's not only the guys though, the girls have to be to my taste as well, otherwise, I just can't watch the drama. I don't expect my ideal guy or girl, but I want a decent cast for the leads at least.

10. Ugh, not this again

Do you sometimes search for a drama and start reading the synopsis and actually find it quite interesting and want to watch it -

- and then suddenly, this one cliche trope that you hate comes up and all the interest is gone?

I honestly can't stand this one. I won't watch a drama if it has this cliche plot or a similar cliche plotline. I don't care if everyone recommends it or that it has nice actors. Nope.