For me it's gotta be rated highly already. I can't watch bad movies/tv. As I've gotten older I'm better at filtering out 95% of stuff that I know will be garbage.

It's gotta look interesting, and be acclaimed before I'll give it a go. I finish pretty much everything now, where before when I wasn't as good at screening I would quit on more stuff because it was junk.

Just pick whenever sounds really good, and isn't more than two seasons. Maybe three if each season is short. If the show turns out to really annoy me, I'll drop it instantly. If it's not grabbing me but seems like it has promise, I'll keep with it until I enjoy it. And if the show reaches a point where it goes downhill, and making myself watch it feels like a chore, I'll dump it, even if I've nearly finished it.

Things I look for: Interesting synopses and genres I like The cast and crew I don’t care about the ratings but if I am unsure I check reviews by critics I like

And then I usually quit as soon as I lose interest completely whether it’s after the first 20 minutes of the first episode or after 3 bad consecutive episodes after committing to a show for a few seasons

I typically let a pilot do its thing. I've seen a lot of pilots, and a lot of the time it's just like "OK, that was neat, not really interested in seeing more" but sometimes I get hooked. Of course if I see people raving about something I gave up on quickly, I'll sometimes reevaluate.

It got a lot easier once I gave up "having" to see a show all the way to the end once I'd started, which I gave up on because Glee and Once Upon A Time both crashed creatively in their second seasons then went on for YEARS more.

highly acclaimed and have a chance to be pantheon-level. I'd rather watch a good show again than watch a mediocre show for the first time.

I have my preferences: musicals, romance, pirates, adaptations, currently made historical dramas, feminist, overly political agenda driven shows are a no no, because i hate musicals, pirates and romance, currently made adaptations are 99% of the times total garbage since they're given to people more jnterested in writing their own cringe agenda than making a faithful adaptation, and I loathe the current feminist trend, it's incessantly idiotic, counterproductive and basically everywhere. Whatever is left, if it's got good reviews, I'll watch

If it's at least decently rated and looks interesting, I'll try to give it 1 season

At first I went through some classics like Lost, The Wire, The Sopranos and Fringe. After I hit all these I was stuck in a rut to find what to watch. I continued on my trek though and still find some good ones. After watching those likes and 24 I give a show at most an episode and if I am not hooked I will stop that show. I give shows like The Peripheral a chance even though it is no Dark or Breaking Bad.

In order of important:

Personal interest

Word of mouth from friends and family

Buzz

Critical reviews from sites I like

Things that don’t help me decide:

User reviews and ratings

Rotten tomatoes/Metacritic

I look for a mainline show -- hopefully something I choose as my "Sunday Night" show even if I don't watch it on Sundays.

Usually that has to be something I've been hearing/reading a lot of buzz about, and then the first episode has to hook me. 9 times out of 10 that one will be a Drama. I try to have another drama or two to bounce back and forth at the same time, and two or three comedies for when I need a break. I generally will binge comedies on my off days and save the serious stuff for the hour or two I get to myself when I get off work.

I save stuff like Anime or a show I need to catch up on for vacations when I can devote a ton of time to binge watching.

Shows that people won't shut up about on here I give a try.

Then it's just browsing, reading descriptions, and starting an episode to see if I like it or not.

Interesting question. First for me is plot description, it has to sound interesting or appealing. Second would be genre - I tend to search for shows that way. Another factor is buzz and word of mouth. If the buzz lasts long enough, I'll watch something that normally wouldn't appeal. Game of Thrones and Squid Game are two examples of that. Sometimes a star, writer, or showrunner might be a factor; I will definitely give any Lindelof show a try on the basis of what he's done.

I'll try an episode, but if it bores me or turns me off, I may not even make it to the end. I do rewatch shows, though.

Actors, actresses, plot, episode count, season count, TV-rating (TV-14 or TV-MA usually, rarely do I watch PG shows) I do prioritize TV-MA shows over TV-14 as they are usually more realistic (even if it's sci fi), and I usually check the Google rating as those are usually the most accurate imo.

First of all, I watch only ended shows. So I can binge all seasons instead of waiting several months to watch the next episode. And I don't need to worry about my favorite show getting canceled.

I usually read the synopsis, watch the trailer, read some spoiler-free reviews pointing out good and bad things about the show. Then I watch the show on a streaming service or download it via torrent.

I'm very picky. It's very rare for me to pick a show that I end up not liking. I've only dropped 1 show since 2020, for example (Parks and Recreation).