It's just a TV show.

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It's just a TV show. is a phrase used by fans and non-fans alike.

The phrase uses television as the touchpoint, but it can be applied to all sorts of canon sources such as comic books, bands, films, games, and more.

The phrase suggests that because a show and its characters are "not real," fans shouldn't take it so seriously.

Some related terms: "over-invested," get a life, and as off-shoots, nods to "super fans," "stans," "groupies," and more.

It is usually used as a dismissive term, one meant to quash enthusiasm and diminish fans themselves.

The phrase is an older one, not because the meaning and sentiment is any less common, but because people don't refer to TVs and televsions very much anymore as they are no longer the only platforms available.

Pushing Back Against the Term

A fan in 2003 defended her essay, It's About Power: Gender Dynamics in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", which was posted to the All About Spike website, saying that television was a form of storytelling:

One consistent criticism of this essay has been that "It's just a TV show." I object to this complaint on a number of levels. Many of us watch several hours of television every day; it is one of the most influential aspects of modern life. Television has created huge cultural community; it shapes and reflects our perceptions, desires, and beliefs. To say "It's just a TV show" is terribly disingenuous; yes, it is a TV show, and as such its influence and its reflection of our cultural values are often immensely significant.

AIn 2005, a fan pushed back against the notion that adults can't be excited about things:

I suspect in most of our 'real lives,' our friends/family/coworkers would look at us strangely, make fun of us, and consider us freaks if we ranted or praised a TV show excessively. Because it is just not socially acceptable for adults to be overly interested in such minor things; it's all right to be consumed by one's work or family or amassing wealth, but to be consumed by a movie/tv show/book makes you a weirdo or a nerd. So, yes, while it does often annoy me when people go on and on about what they hate about a certain show or pairing, it bothers me even more when people in fandom (I'm not pointing a finger at you specifically) say something along the lines of if you don't have something positive to say, just keep it to yourself or 'get over it, it's just a tv show.' If I thought it was just a tv show, or just a movie, or just a book, I wouldn't be here in fandom in the first place. I'd be like all my real life friends and just enjoy the product for what it is and not bother to think about its creation or its consequences after the moment of consumption.

From a fan in 2008 who also stuck up for enthusiasm, and asked why fans who were obsessive about golf got a pass:

We are fans. We are dramatic. We deal with things in a big way because they are real to us (for certain definitions of "real") and sometimes that means we appear to overreact to things that don't seem that important to other people. (Of course, if you say, "It's a little white ball you hit with a stick. Who cares who wins?" you get yelled at. Importance is relative.) The trick, like always, is to find that middle ground between uncaring non-believer and drama queen. The "it's just a TV show" crowd automatically loses by placing themselves in the first category, whether they realize it or not. Only you can decide if you're going to occupy the second.

From Elizabeth Minkel, who in 2014 wrote about the fan fervor regarding Sherlock and its third season, and the power of communal storytelling:

But there is something to be said for placing so much anticipatory weight on a television show: nothing can be all things to all people, and Sherlock felt smothered by the weight of nine million expectations. Tons of people loved it, and were put off by negative criticism; tons of others threw up their hands and said, “This is not what I signed up for. This is not my show.” Others still urged people to calm down: it’s just a TV show after all. But to say this diminishes the importance of storytelling in our lives, in whatever mode. It’s hard not to get invested in stories, and in characters, that we love. That’s what people do.

From a fan, Emily Asher-Perrin, in 2015 who pointed out that when people scolded others being what they felt to be excessively critical, that there is nothing wrong with being strongly engaged with all sorts of human creations:

Angry criticism might lack clarity on occasion, but that doesn’t make it incorrect by any means. However, the point of criticism is to direct our attention to places where the material might need work or deeper consideration — ways in which it’s perpetuating regrettable patterns and stereotypes or contributing to unfortunate trends, or simply falling down on its message and mission as a work of art, whether we’re talking about a Batman comic or a Virginia Woolf novel. And criticism is not out of place in pop culture, no matter what anyone says. If I see one more internet comment telling someone to “relax, it’s just a tv show/movie/book/comic… why can’t you just have fun and stop dissecting everything?” then I’m going to keyboard-rage-smash until the internet turns into all-caps letter soup. See? When other people refuse to engage in a constructive manner and choose to deride helpful discourse, it just creates more anger, and then I’m suddenly becoming Strong Bad.

A High Visibility Moment

From Textual Poachers in 1994, in which Henry Jenkins describes the Saturday Night Live skit by William Shatner, Get a Life:

The "Trekkies" were depicted as nerdy guys with glasses and rubber Vulcan ears, "I Grok Spock" T-shirts stretched over their bulging stomachs. One man laughs maliciously about a young fan he has just met who doesn't know Yeoman Rand's cabin number, while his friend mumbles about the great buy he got on a DeForest Kelly album. When Shatner arrives, he is bombarded with questions from fans who want to know about minor characters in individual episodes (which they cite by both title and sequence number), who seem to know more about his private life than he does and who demand such trivial information as the combination to Kirk's safe. Finally, in incredulity and frustration, Shatner turns on the crowd: "Get a life, will you people? I mean, I mean, for crying out loud, it's just a TV show!" Shatner urges the fans to move out of their parent's basements and to proceed with adult experiences ("you ever kissed a girl?"), to put their fannish interests behind them. The fans look confused at first, then progressively more hurt and embarrassed. Finally, one desperate fan asks, "Are you saying we should pay more attention to the movies?"

Some Other Examples of Use

1990s

No, B&TB didn't change my life, it inspired me and I changed my life. Just seeing this kind of love exist is enough. Oh, I know it's just a TV show. But why then, after all these years, do I, the ultimate cynic, finally believe? For the first time ever I believe "... there is a truth beyond knowledge, and that truth is love..." and it feels good.

Two sets of azure eyes engulfed him and Ron took an instinctive step away. "Geez, Vincent, let me at least explain" he gasped. "I never meant for this to affect you so, after all, it was just a TV show."

Vincent’s gaze narrowed dangerously - "JUST A TV SHOW", he growled. "You take my family and drag it through dirt and filth and have the nerve to tell me it was just a TV show."

"Fandom," in case you're wondering, is what we call the community of people who love B&TB so much that they seek out others who feel the same, who understand that it was more than" just a TV show." If it were only that, it wouldn't have affected us so deeply.

2010s

Because that’s just it – it’s not just a show. There are people who didn’t want these ships to happen because they want the show to reflect their (racist) world view. How people react to fictional things can say an awful lot about how they think things should look in the world they actually do live in.

WOW nothing like finding out that someone you really liked and looked up to ships b/k/d/k. “It’s just a TV show” omgggggggg shut the fuck up!!!! You really have the fucking nerve to say that to me????