Who Has the Time to Watch This Many TV Shows?

It’s one of the great catch-22s of the modern age.

We all want a social life that takes us out of our homes. And yet, everyone is always raving about the TV shows you just have to watch. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your POV), whether it’s buzzy shows like The Americans, Game of Thrones, Scandal, Empire, The Walking Dead, or others, there’s just not enough time in a week to watch them all and have a social life that involves other activities — and, more importantly, actual people.

And I say this as someone who never saw a single episode of Mad Men or Breaking Bad, but who certainly watches more than his share of TV shows. Heck, even the Emmys last night made fun of the fact that there’s just too much on TV these days.

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That said, of course I do have a show I’d love it if more people watched: You’re the Worst, which is on Wednesday nights at 10:30 p.m. on FXX.

This offbeat rom-com about a couple (Chris Geere and Aya Cash) doing everything they can to avoid submitting to conventional coupledom (with the help of their friends, played by Desmin Borges and the adorable Kether Donohue) is surprising and funny, and not at all what you’d call a typical television comedy. How it made it to a second season is anybody’s guess, but I’m so happy it did. Y’all need to watch it.

The reason I bring all this up, of course, is because today is the start of the new TV season. That means, with the Emmys over and the majority of new and returning shows premiering this week, and my fall preview issue of Entertainment Weekly now read cover-to-cover, it’s time to get the ole DVR back in shape and find the time so I can somehow keep tabs on my favorite shows — and give a few new ones a try too.

What’s on my Must See TV list this fall? Here, to continue my annual tradition, are all the shows I’m going to try and watch.

Monday: Supergirl, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Tuesday: Scream Queens, The Muppets, The Flash, The Grinder, Grandfathered, Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, Drunk History

Wednesday: Empire, Arrow, Modern Family, American Horror Story: Hotel, Nashville, You’re the Worst

Thursday: Nothing, thank God. A night to catch up.

Friday: The Amazing Race, Shark Tank, Real Time with Bill Maher

Saturday: Saturday Night Live

Sunday: CBS Sunday Morning, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Wife, Blood & Oil, The Last Man on Earth, Project Greenlight, Quantico, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Suffice it to say, if it’s not on regular TV, I probably won’t watch it. Sorry, The Mindy Project — which is now on Hulu, and comes with a subscription cost. It was fun while it lasted. (Thankfully, its former Tuesday night companion show, New Girl, doesn’t return until January.)

And of course, there’s also The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, which airs, yes, every night (Monday to Thursday, anyway). I probably should just admit now that there’s no way I’ll be able to keep watching The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on a regular basis. Especially if I also want to watch a few Sunday and Monday night football games — when the Patriots play.

On that note, will I watch everything I’ve listed here? God, no. It’s near impossible. As always, three strikes and you’re out: If, after three missed episodes, I still haven’t caught up, that show is dead to me. Especially if the ratings are bad and the show doesn’t look like it will last.

After all, who has time to watch this many TV shows? Not me, that’s for sure. No matter how much I want to see them. But at least for the next month or so, I’m going to try.

I hope my DVR is ready.

What shows are YOU going to watch this fall? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, or tweet this blog post.