I'm a mod here and while I don't have any info on reddit's algorithms or anything like that I think part of it is also that the ask reddit style posts are also lowest-common denominator type posts that are largely inoffensive to most people. Perhaps Reddit knows those kinds of things tend to drive engagement and they're algorithmically pushing them up but I think people just like those kinds of prompts too. We've always had posts like that and even have rules to try and curtail the lazier ones (no low effort posts, keeping recommendation requests to the weekly thread, etc).

Not to mention it's kind of a dry time of year for new shows. There's some stuff coming out but it's not like the rest of the year where there'd seemingly be 2-3 big new shows premiering every week, and most of the big shows are done until next year.

Even so have you seen some people on here collectively lose their mind when a flashy big show that a lot of people actually like gets talked about too much for their taste? This sub almost imploded while Andor was on. So I think those kinds of posts are much less controversial for that lot. Or they'll just never be satisfied.