25 Shows Fans Were Simply Shocked To Realize They Actually Liked

"I was really surprised I enjoyed Bridgerton."

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the TV shows they didn't think they'd like for even one second. But, by the grace of the TV gods, they found themselves fully and gleefully obsessed with the series. Here are 17 of the best responses:

1. Emily in Paris

Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Before I watched it, I definitely thought it would be another story about an ignorant American who moved abroad without doing any research or learning anything prior to moving. But seeing that she never planned to move there and only did it to keep her job really changed my perspective. I thought the show was really cute."

—l49ca8a44c

"I had heard so many things about how vapid it was and how all of the characters were nothing more than lazy stereotypes. My MIL put it on one day while I stayed at her house, and I quickly realized it wasn't what I had expected. Being an American who has lived in Europe, I related to sooo many of the ridiculous situations Emily found herself in (especially in Season 1), like some man peeing right next to me in public or being shamed for smiling too much. My favorite moment was the overweight French man looking at the tiniest, most petite American girl directly in the eye and, without a hint of irony, telling her how fat Americans are. The show helped me laugh about all those little irritations I felt while living abroad, and now I'm definitely hooked."

—laughingking19

2. The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself

Teddy Cavendis / Netflix

"I was convinced it was going to be a boring TV series. I remember thinking halfway through the first episode that I would rather abandon it already after this one episode, but unexpectedly [the] plot shifted af. This show is so captivating and surprisingly dark, with literally one of the best bisexual [representations] ever. I hate Netflix for [canceling] this show after [one] season."

—antoinette_yoo

3. Heartbreak High

Netflix /Courtesy Everett Collection

"I've never watched [the original series]. I remember rolling my eyes when I looked at the poster and the description of the plot for the very first time: I was so sure it was an infantile teen series like Riverdale. But by some miracle, I gave it a chance, and I fell in love from the very first episode. It's Australian Sex Education: hilarious as fuck, wholesome, and wise in the field of relationships and sexuality. But moreover, it has such a beautiful diversity. But MOREOVER, I love so, SO much Darren. They're the biggest highlight of the show, hands effing down. [Them] and Quinni. And Heartbreak High's lovestories: Darren and Ca$h, [Amerie] and Malakai... I'm so glad I watched it after all. 🥰

(BTW, a LOT of my most favourite [and] most beloved shows started like that: from reluctance and the belief that it would be overrated shit since I get discouraged very easily with very popular series around which there is a huge hype)."

—antoinette_yoo

4. Shameless

Cliff Lipson / © Showtime / Courtesy: Everett Collection

"My boyfriend started watching Shameless in early 2021. He tried to get me to watch it, but I thought it seemed too raunchy for me, and they used the R-word, and there were a lot of elements that I couldn't get past. One day, I was just bored with what I was doing, and I [laid] my head on his chest while he was watching it. And I just started watching too and got hooked. I have now rewatched it twice since. I still get bothered by the original things that bothered me and kept me from watching it, but I've still found elements of it to enjoy."

—sillyfish46

5. Blown Away

Netflix

"Blown Away on Netflix is my hands-down winner. The competitors are all incredibly talented and generally have nice things to say about each other. I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it, and the things they can do with glass are just mind-blowing. Good, good stuff."

—pelican_disgruntled

6. Bluey

Disney+/Courtesy Everett Collection

"I absolutely love Bluey, and I don't even have kids. I started watching it because I saw clips on TikTok. But what I didn't expect [was] for the show to make me a sobbing mess with certain episodes. It really is a show for adults that kids like."

—vasato

7. Bridgerton

Liam Daniel / ©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I love period dramas, but the obvious campiness really put me off for a while, so I didn't start watching until after Season 2 was released. But it's actually very fun! (And steamy af…)."

—pepperhart

"I was really surprised I enjoyed Bridgerton. My mom watched lots of British period dramas when I was a kid (Sense and Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, etc.), and I hated them all, but there is something very updated and truly entertaining about Bridgerton."

—robert_dunder

8. Anne With An E

Caitlin Cronenberg / ©Netflix / Courtesy: Everett Collection

"I usually prefer my book-accurate adaptations of things, so I wasn't expecting to like this that much. Especially since the original films are so good. But it's absolutely fantastic. It didn't stray away from the plot; it just added more. You get to know Diana better than just having her be Anne's best friend. And the added characters of Jerry, Bash, and Cole make it so much more interesting. Though in the end, they sort of used Jerry as exposition for Diana (#justiceforjerrybaynard), it's still an awesome show. I'm so mad it got cancelled. Netflix should bring it back for [the sequel book] Anne of Avonlea."

—gg29045

9. Game of Thrones

Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO

"Never interested me, and I was quite annoyed with all the hype. Then I went to a Season 6 finale party that my friend was having with the intention of hanging out a bit and then bouncing when the finale started. However, they wanted to watch the previous week's episode beforehand, which was...the 'Battle of the Bastards.' OMG, I was HOOKED and had to immediately binge every episode to figure out what led up to that epic episode."

—allieallieboballie

"I never watched nor cared for it until I had a bicycle accident and broke my collarbone. Off work for six weeks, I caught a few clips on YouTube and then decided to download the first seven seasons. I binged them all in two weeks and then had to wait eight months for the final season."

—scottaaronm

"I didn't think I would remotely be interested in anything with dragons…and before I knew it I was like, 'DRAGONS!!!!'"

—katrinascowboys

10. House of the Dragon

Ollie Upton / HBO

"Couldn't stand Game of Thrones but loved [House of the Dragon.] Weird, I know."

—5under

11. Power

Myles Aronowitz / ©Starz! / courtesy Everett Collection

"I was visiting my best friend when we were watching it. I've always liked Omari Hardwick, and [my friend was] watching this show in its last season, Season 6. I was curious. I went home, added Starz to my Hulu plan, and binged hard. It was so good [that] I was hooked and sent my best friend a 'Thank You' text for getting me onto this show. Now I'm hooked on the entire Power universe and all of the series and characters. Listen to your best friend: nine times out of 10, they are right!"

—smellytortoise841

12. Physical 100

Netflix

"Physical 100 - a Korean physical competitive show on Netflix.

I'm not into muscles, gym bunnies, sports, and athletes at all, but I like challenges, so I gave the first episode a try. A few hours later, I'm screaming, 'YOU CAN DO IT! KEEP PULLING THAT SHIP!' Competitors [being] so supportive [of] each other is what makes it so wholesome.

Same goes for Siren: Survive the Island, an all-female Korean physical competitive show on Netflix."

—prolix

13. How I Met Your Father

Patrick Wymore / ©Hulu / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I thought trying to do a new show based on HIMYM would be terrible. Plus, I was skeptical about Hilary Duff as the lead. But after the first few episodes, I got really into it. I love the cameos from HIMYM characters, too."

—louisiana54

14. Euphoria

Max / Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com

"I love Zendaya, and I wanted to see what all the hype was about. [I] wasn't sure it was for me when I was like, 'Oh, that's a lot of peen on my screen,' but I definitely got sucked in by all the drama, lol."

—jessethecowgirl

15. The Traitors

Peacock

"All varieties and countries. We normally HATE reality TV, but my son got me hooked on the US version, then I got my fiancé hooked. We usually don't binge series but string them out to make them last longer. Not [with] The Traitors. Plus, there's Alan Cumming's fabulous outfits!"

—savorytree18

16. Davey & Jonesie's Locker

Blue Ant Media

"It's a show I wound up binging with my 10-year-old son on Saturday. Two high school girls wind up traveling between multiverses when a portal appears in their locker. It's very low-budget production-wise as they never leave the high school, but the actors were good and the writing was sharper than I expected."

—joandough

17. The Masked Singer

Fox / FOX Image Collection via Getty Images

"When I saw the promos for the show, I thought, 'Man, that's a dumb premise.' Somehow, I ended up watching an episode nearly [at] the beginning of the first season and was immediately hooked. The fact that it is a singing competition show with mostly professional singers, plus a game of Guess Who?, makes it very compelling. The judges do a good job keeping it entertaining, too. It's also a rare show you can sit and watch with the whole family."

—robert_dunder

18. Northern Exposure

Tony Esparza / © Universal Television / Courtesy: Everett Collection

"Thirty years ago when I saw the first season trailer for Northern Exposure, it said the main character came from the area where I grew up. Even though the show wasn't set there, that caught my attention. The show was great. I didn't miss an episode for all six seasons."

—handsatlanta

19. Love Is Blind

Courtesy of Netflix

"I'm in my 40s and had never watched a dating show in my life. I think the timing of when the show was released really pushed me to enjoy it at the beginning: we were deep in the pandemic, I worked from home, and felt sequestered within my little bubble, and [I] was just constantly confronting the strangeness of that. Then, here comes this show featuring sky-high emotions and messy relationships, all within these little pods. Who couldn't relate to that?

Of course, now, all these seasons later, it's like the toxic FWB I can't quit."

—fabgoose49

"I tried it when it first came out and only could watch 15 minutes, but I tried it again and got hooked, lol."

—chak777

20. Catfish

MTV / Courtesy: Everett Collection

"I don't typically watch reality TV, but I love Catfish. Part of it is terrible, I know, judging some of the people who didn't [see] the obvious signs in front of them (No, man, you're clearly not engaged to the real Katy Perry). But part of it is how charming and endearing the three investigators are! Nev with Max and Nev with Kamie have fantastic chemistry as partners, and they're fantastic at handling complicated and often volatile situations when they meet the catfish. Some of the stories are wild! And even if the relationships aren't always long-lasting, the moment they connect is very sweet."

—am301394wne

21. The Boys

Prime Video / Via youtube.com

"Never was into superhero movies, but it’s one of my favorite series."

—serenafischer

22. Ink Master

Spike TV / Courtesy: Everett Collection

"I was the type of person who was never interested in tattoos. One day, my daughter was watching an Ink Master marathon, and I found it fascinating! I binge-watched every season!! I would still never get one myself, but I enjoy looking at other people's tattoos and I can actually appreciate (good ones) as a work of art."

—mommyisland

"I'm only mildly interested in tattoos (I have a few), but I was surprised how into that show I got. I binged several seasons in a row a few years ago. I love seeing what artistic talent these people have."

—panda_13

"YES. Same. I hated the idea of 'human canvasses,' but I got so sucked in! It is fascinating! There's a lot of drama, too, though, and that does get old."

—am301394wne

23. My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Greg Gayne / ©The CW Network / courtesy Everett Collection

"I was put off just by the title, and I assumed it was going to be [a] misogynistic dramedy. When a friend whose opinion I really trusted raved about it, I decided I could give it a try. I was instantly hooked, and now I know that it's one of the best pieces of television of the last decade. Rachel Bloom is brilliant and talented, and the show manages to balance the over-the-top with the way-too-real. Stop what you're doing and watch it right now if you haven't already."

—zorblak

"'The show manages to balance the over-the-top with the way-too-real.' You nailed the tone of the show with that! It’s definitely one of the best comedies I’ve seen."

—joandough

24. Schitt’s Creek

Steve Wilkie / ©CBC/POP / courtesy Everett Collection

"I feared it might be too goofy, but it ended up being so funny and, yeah, kinda heartwarming."

—applesauceandchops

25. Finally, Ted Lasso

Apple TV+ / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I have never liked professional sports (or any sports for that matter), but now I am an Arsenal fan and watch football in the Premier League. Such a great show."

—jfmailacct

Responses have been edited for accuracy, length, grammar, and clarity.