The prosecution: Claire Drew can’t take the tension in TV dramas and has to leave the room. It’s infuriating Drew, my husband, won’t binge-watch any TV dramas with me. He says it’s too intense, especially when we’re relaxing at home in the evening after work. But he’s fine with indulging in comedies or something light. It’s annoying, because modern dramas are made for bingeing, but Drew can’t handle it. When things are really exciting or tense, he will leave the room, or ask to stop the episode completely. It’s infuriating. We abandoned Ozark because Drew would say, “I can’t cope with this tonight.” Now I’ve forgotten what’s happened and who’s killed who. We’re now watching half an episode of Succession, twice a week. I am completely into it and want to speed up, but Drew says there are too many awkward and painful scenes to watch an episode in its entirety. He says he wants to finish the series, but we’ve lost momentum and I’m getting bored. Drew says watching other families fall apart on TV isn’t an enjoyable way to relax. I have to remind him he’s not actually living in the show. I’m a therapist, so perhaps I’m used to conflict. I also grew up in a family where we’d have a massive row, then laugh about it a few hours later. Drew’s family are the opposite. He’s a surgeon, so completely fine with blood, guts and action on screen, but the minute he sees a little bit of interpersonal conflict, he wants to switch off. His attention span is fine with other things, though. He’s happy to play a game for an hour and a half, but not to watch TV with me. I don’t need to binge four hours of TV in one go, but I’d like Drew to be more open to watching one or even two episodes of drama a night. We’re on this journey together, and lose track of the story when we stop. Watching a drama is a bit like reading a book: you need to read a chapter or two a night, especially when it’s a bit complicated. Watching half an episode of a show is pointless and unsatisfying, as each episode is designed to be enjoyed in full. Drew needs to stop moving at a snail’s pace. The defence: Drew I don’t like to watch shows where families are falling apart. I get too invested I’m not a monster; I can binge-watch sometimes, but usually only light comedy shows like Schitt’s Creek, where the stakes aren’t so high. When there’s too much conflict, I’m like, “Oh, that’s enough now.” Claire wants to watch a couple of hours of TV drama each night, but that’s too much for me. I don’t like to watch shows where families fall apart or people’s lives implode. Claire and I have two kids and both work hard. I want our free time together to be relaxing. Claire says: “It’s entertainment; you’re not directly involved.” I realise that, but I do get invested. It’s especially hard when I can relate to the protagonist because it’s another man who looks like me. It’s easier for me to watch half an episode, because most shows resolve the conflict from the previous episode at the start, before introducing a new conflict and ramping up the tension towards a cliff-hanger. If you stop in the middle of one, you avoid the worst of the suspense until you feel like finishing it, usually later in the week. Claire gets annoyed that I can focus on a computer game and not a show, but a game involves zero stress. A family drama is the opposite. In other areas of my life, I can deal with conflict, but I don’t especially like it. When I was a child, a family conflict in our household was a nuclear event – something to be avoided at all costs. When it did happen, there’d would be three days of fallout. Now I’m a surgeon. I always wanted a job where I could just focus on practical tasks. We’re watching Succession at the moment, but I find it stressful. During the big family argument scenes I get up and pace around, or leave the room. I know it annoys Claire, but I can’t help it. Every episode builds to some kind of family showdown. It’s like listening to your neighbours argue through the wall. I also think dramas are too long these days. As a student I could binge a whole box set, but now the thought of 30 hours of TV is intimidating. I can’t see myself ever truly binge-watching – unless it’s something fluffy and light. The jury of Guardian readers Should Drew watch more TV dramas with Claire? What’s on TV isn’t actually the real drama here. They clearly both want to spend more time with each other, but Claire can’t force her tastes on Drew – she needs to be more flexible. They should find activities that they both enjoy: go karting! Crocheting! Falconry! The world’s their oyster! William, 31 I’m surprised by Claire’s lack of empathy towards Drew. Maybe because her job is to help people understand the emotional responses of others, at home she wants to switch off from Drew’s stress and unease. If he doesn’t want to watch these kinds of programmes, Claire is welcome to watch them on her own. Catherine, 50 Oh dear! Claire doesn’t seem to be taking her work home. Drew shouldn’t have to watch content that he finds triggering. They should find things they can watch together, otherwise Claire can have her TV while Drew plays his games. Ben, 54 It appears to me that Drew is always catered to by Claire – his choices are paramount in their viewing schedule. Claire should be able to watch her favourite shows without always appeasing Drew. He should grow up and realise that TV programmes are not real life. Brenda, 70 Drew shouldn’t agree to watching a TV show with Claire if he knows he’ll disrupt the flow of it. Half an episode is pointless. However, he’s not wrong for wanting to watch light TV to decompress. Time for Claire to binge a drama by herself and for them to find a middle-ground comedy drama to watch together. Amy, 24 You be the judge So now you can be the judge. In our online poll below, tell us: should Drew join his wife in binge-watching TV dramas? We’ll share the results on next week’s You be the judge.