I care.

It’s 9:24 p.m., and I’m on my couch watching a television show. Doesn’t even matter which one. I know they’re actors. I know they’re reading lines. But I care.

I care about the “I’d totally be best friends with her” MC, and I understand her decisions, good and bad. I care about her obnoxious boss with the not-so-hidden soft side. I care about vulnerable dreamy guy number one, and awkward but hot romantic option number two. I care about the stern yet sensitive best friend. I even care about the annoyingly one-note coworker.

The show’s concept and plot are awesome, but it’s the characters that have me coming back. I’m racing through the online commercial breaks and feeling sadder and sadder as the episode comes to a close. I’m watching and re-watching scenes because of the way that one character said “Isn’t it?” at just the right time, in just the right way. I’m caring. I’m investing myself in a world that I can’t have anymore, at least not until next week.