You’re reading our series Summer’s Not Cancelled, where we celebrate summer in this new normal. From rediscovering nature and cherishing time with friends and family, to virtual festivals and unforgettable staycations – summer’s still here, it’s just different.
This isn’t how summer was supposed to be.
Summer Solstice, marking the middle of summer, is upon us. But instead of feeling elated at the potential for fun in the sun, many of us are feeling confused and boxed-in.
The lockdown has shut down all the IRL events we love, and even some of the TV we turn to for escapism can’t be relied on. Beloved shows like EastEnders are coming off air for the first time since 1985 with the last of the pre-lockdown episodes airing in mid June.
So what can we do to keep spirits high and stay entertained now that it’s summer and the pubs are still closed, and there’s no hope for concerts or festivals this side of 2021?
When there’s less to do in the present, it makes sense that we naturally turn to the past: we’re watching more nostalgic shows, and turning to our favourite hits, to get our kicks.
Viewing figures confirm that nostalgia TV has surged under lockdown, as the general public attempt to “escape from reality”, according to research by Thinkbox, as shows like Only Fools and Horses and Last of the Summer Wine have experienced dramatic ratings spikes.
According to psychologist Dr Jane Harvey from the University of Newcastle, having more free time and a lack of plans means we’re more likely to experience unusually strong feelings of nostalgia. It’s hardly a surprise, given how we’re yearning to see all our friends and family again, for something more adventurous than a walk around the block.
And summer, the season most of us associate with socialising and going to big outdoor events, is likely to make us feel even more misty-eyed, as we recall intense memories of past summers at Glastonbury, Wimbledon or Pride events across the country.
So programmers have been responding by commissioning nostalgia across the board and the message is clear: nostalgia is definitely what it used to be.
“We have had a fantastic reaction to our recent nostalgia collections, both in terms of our classic soap offerings and the recent Euro 96 repeats,” says Jake Williams, Manager of Programme Strategy at ITV Hub.
“Both have served the ITV Hub audience with an opportunity to take a trip down memory live and relive some vintage TV moments. Both soaps and sport bring the nation together in a way like no other, and particularly in light of these difficult times, it’s always comforting to give our audience a portal to look back on some of the TV moments that have helped shape culture.”
“Soaps and sport bring the nation together in a way like no other.”
And the ever-increasing mix of channels available is well suited to lockdown, offering us seemingly limitless entertainment options as we each seek to experience nostalgia in different ways.
Although there is one particular style of show that works better than any other, reveals Karl Warner, Controller at E4.
“I think during uncertain times people look to stories and TV shows that are familiar and in turn comforting,” Karl says. “In some cases, they take you back to a time when things felt more secure, optimistic even.”
“I’ve stopped watching as much news and started watching more drama,” he adds. “Loved Last Dance and Selling Sunset on Netflix. And unsurprisingly, I’ve been watching more comedy than ever. New episodes of Rick And Morty (obviously), Friday Night Dinner and I binged After Life.”
The channel Britbox have noted similar trends. They have noticed an increase in subscribers watching The Vicar Of Dibley and Only Fools And Horses, two of the most classic and celebrated British shows that remind viewers of pre-lockdown life.
Reeman Saakan, Brand Officer at Britbox called these shows “comforting choices that transport us to simpler days.”
“In these unusual times many of us are turning to in-home entertainment and especially TV box sets to escape,” he says. “We are bringing even more series from the BBC and ITV storehouses of loved shows onto the service to ensure we keep up with demand and keep the British public suitably entertained.”
And as summer starts properly, the opportunity to attend events vicariously will be ever-present on screens.
A nostalgic weekend of Glastonbury coverage from years gone by will pepper the final weekend of June’s scheduling, while Wimbledon repeats will run in place of the real thing one week later. And historical Olympics coverage will be shown in commemoration of the postponed Tokyo event in July and August.
As programmers attempt to commission as much variety as they can throughout lockdown, Dr Harvey, an expert in nostalgia from Newcastle University, has revealed one particularly interesting rhythm of cognitive behaviour she says contributes to how each of us develop feelings of nostalgia: it’s common to feel nostalgia for events which happened exactly one decade ago, or two decades ago, and backwards in decades, she says.
And thanks to TV, we can also feel nostalgia for times before we were born, a phenomenon Dr Harvey believes is unique to our generation.
For instance, we may turn on a black and white 1930s film, and feel nostalgic not for the movie, but for the memory we have of watching that movie with our grandparents.
“Those films are not nostalgic for people who are alive, they pre date that,” says Doctor Joan. “So the only way you’d know about them was if your Granny had shown you them. Because we have now got stuff on TV going earlier than people being born, so it makes nostalgia something different. At one point it didn’t exist, but now it does.”
For those of us over 25, the age when it’s believed we start developing feelings of deep nostalgia for the first time, throwing back to the past has been an obvious means of escape from the long and arduous lockdown.
And as summer begins properly and the ghosts of cancelled events lie before us, more of us than ever will be tuning into shows that lean into the events we’re so desperately missing in real life.
They may not be quite live, but they’ll still make us feel great.