TV by Politics

I came across this post from Entertainment Weekly today about the TV preferences of Liberal Democrats and Conservative Republicans (categorically), and it made me chuckle. Not that it's any of your business, but I would consider myself a moderate Republican, right-leaning on fiscal and defense policies, and left-leaning on education and many social issues.

Apparently, though, I watch TV like a liberal Democrat. According to the survey cited by EW.com, left-wing Democrats tend to like "'sarcastic' media-savvy comedies and morally murky antiheroes", while these shows tend to turn off right-wing Republicans, who generally favor "serious work-centered shows" and reality shows instead. EW doesn't provide a link to the Experian-Simmons survey in the post, but I would also be curious to know the ages, income, and education levels of the participants. The categories are pretty black and white, but it's still interesting nonetheless to see where one's preferences tend toward.

Among the shows used as examples of Democrat-friendly fare are 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation (two of my favs!), The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Treme, The Office, and even Parenthood; while the examples of Republican-friendly shows ranged from The Deadliest Catch (one of my parents' personal favorites) to Dancing with the Stars to crime procedurals like NCIS and Castle.

My preferences land mostly with the Dems on this one. Give me something I can bite into: a sarcastic comedy sans laugh track, or a drama with lots of gray areas. A good anti-hero has more to teach me about the life, humanity, and the Divine than a boring archetype, anyway. That's what art should do, right? I would like to note, though, that like my Republican counterparts, I have a very strong dislike of Treme, Weeds, and The Big C, which can only be explained as an aversion to premium cable shows that make me feel icky.

Out of curiosity, reader, where do you land on the not-so broad spectrum painted out for us here?