5 Ways To Survive Your Favourite Show’s Winter Hiatus

‘Tis the season for midseasons.

That’s right folks, it’s that time of year again. Everyone’s finished school, some people have the winter break off work, and the cold weather means most of your free time is being spent indoors. Just when we all have time to watch our favourite shows, they’re ripped away from us. In many cases we have to wait until February or even March to see these shows return. I don’t know who came up with the midseason finale but I’d like to know what we did to them to deserve yet another two to three months of waiting. Was our patience during the summer hiatus not enough?!

Unfortunately, it looks like midseason finales are here to stay, so here are a few ideas on how to get through the remainder of the seasonal break.

Find a different show that’s still on during the hiatus

This one may seem like a no-brainer, but as it turns out there are a few generous stragglers that stick around during the break. The Librarians continues through the break, while other shows like Constantine, The Flash and Arrow all return – and in the case of Agent Carter, premiere – in January. This is where being a part of so many fandoms finally pays off because you have shows that may stagger themselves throughout the year. (I knew strategically hoarding TV shows would come in handy one day!)

Finally watch that show you’ve been neglecting

If you’re like me, you have friends from many different fandoms. Often those friends will tell you that you absolutely must watch a certain show, and for whatever reason you ignore them, or procrastinate, or maybe just forget about it entirely. Well, now is your chance to give it a shot. Chances are your friends know you well enough to give you good suggestions, so either check out the show you promised them you’d watch or ask them to suggest something new. Services like Netflix and On Demand will be your friend in this situation.

Creep around behind the scenes

Sometimes I get so into a show that I want to learn everything about it. One way I like to stay connected to my favourite shows over the break is to check out cast interviews, making-of featurettes, and ComiCon panels. DC‘s shows – particularly The Flash and Constantine – have been pretty consistent in posting making-of videos to give us behind-the-scenes looks. AMC also has good additional content when it comes to The Walking Dead.

Catch up on shows you left behind

When life gets busy, it’s easy to miss an episode of a show. Unfortunately it’s even easier to continue to miss episodes until you’re so far behind that when you try to return there’s an entire cast of new characters (I’m looking at you, Once Upon A Time). Take this hiatus as an opportunity to catch up on any missed episodes and you might be able to start watching the show regularly once it returns.

Try the source material

A lot of shows nowadays are based on comic books, novels, or even movies. If you find yourself interested in the show, try diving into its source material. It could get you excited for upcoming episodes and you may find yourself enjoying the original work just as much.

Bonus: Be thankful you aren’t the Sherlock fandom

Because they’re currently going through what appears to be a 2-year-long hiatus. Unless you are in the Sherlock fandom – in which case, hang in there.