The curious comfort of a well-built watchlist

As this year’s Oscars wrapped up, movie lovers were handed what their watchlists absolutely did not need – more options. For viewers, the real drama isn’t just who won the Best Picture – it begins after, with the question: what to watch next? For every award handed out, there’s another addition to the evergrowing pile of must-watch films, critically acclaimed series, and that one foreign language slowburn everyone swears is life-altering. The result? A watchlist so crowded it feels less like a plan and more like a guilt archive.

‘Watchlist sometimes feels like a to-do list’

Most viewers admit they’ve lost count of the number of times they’ve sat down with family or friends, ready to pick something – only to avoid the watchlist entirely. Viewers say a watchlist is something that’s aspirational, not operational. It’s not where you go when you actually want to watch something. That moment calls for a 90s classic, a mid-2000s rom-com, or a series you’ve already seen so many times – you can hear the dialogues before the character speaks. The watchlist, meanwhile, sits there – like a to-do list written on January 1, viewers say.




Nayan Marthak, a viewer in her 20s and working at a production house, describes her watchlist, less as a list and more as an ongoing internal dialogue. “It’s full of films I want to watch – but not today. It goes like – Something too dark? I’m not in the mood. A cerebral drama? Maybe someday. I have a lot of discussions with my watchlist content. And then I either watch something spontaneous or just rewatch something,” she shares.

Nothing stings like a film leaving a platform before you watch it

Another viewer, Suhail Kelkar, in his 30s, says his watchlist now feels like a race against time. He shares, “With over 200 titles spread across platforms in my watchlist, it’s not just about finding time – it’s about racing against expiry dates. I realise how far behind I am when something I added is about to leave the platform. Sometimes, I watch a movie just because it is leaving the platform and I happened to add it to my watchlist.”

‘Every time an Emmy is announced or a show is talked about, I add it to watchlist’​

Viewers keep adding to their watch list – compulsively, optimistically, almost ritualistically. Neeraj Sarin, a viewer in his 50s, shares, “Every time an Emmy is announced or a show is talked about, I add it. It’s like a promise – yes, I will watch it.” But even he admits the list has started to resemble something else. “Sometimes it feels like a pile of books on a nightstand you rarely touch. Or a bookshelf of unread books you’re not going to complete. But I’ll definitelykeep adding more,” he adds. That’s the paradox. The watchlist is both a possibility and pressure. Varun Khera, a viewer in his 40s, has been waiting for the perfect viewing window. He shares, “I keep pushing movies down my watchlist, waiting for uninterrupted hours. They never came. It seems I have a list that grows longer while the available time somehow shrinks. It became this long, judgmental list of classic movies, shows, films that you should watch before you die – and eventually my watchlist forced me to watch in instalments.” Still, for many, not adding to the watchlist isn’t even a consideration. Varun shares, “My watchlist will keep growing, award after award, recommendation after recommendation. And while I may not watch something from the list today, but I might some day so deleting the list is definitely not an option.”Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”