But streaming services are leaving us with no shortage of TV content to sift through.This abundance can make us feel as though it’s impossible to choose what to watch next: A classic paradox of scarce resources competing for unlimited wants. And the mystery lends itself to an even bigger problem, feebly rewatching shows we’ve already seen a hundred times over. Too much choice is indeed overwhelming, agrees the New York Times’ Aisha Harris. We opt for familiarity and dare not explore. We used to simply let the experts do the choosing — all we needed were a TV channel, cable or subscription, and trust in a carefully thought out schedule of broadcasts.

One start-up trying offering a solution to the overwhelming abundance of content is TV Time, a platform enabling users to follow series they like, view and upload reactions, and receive tailor-made recommendations based on their activity. TV Time COO Dan Brian says the company has a registry of 8 bn episodes. Unlike single-service based recommendations offered by the likes of Amazon, Netflix or Hulu for recommendations, TV Time uses more expansive recommendation algorithms based on across-the-board TV behavior.