'The Boys' Cast Reveal Their Favorite Guilty Pleasure Rewatches | Sorry Not Sorry
Asking the cast of The Boys (2019) what they consider their guilty pleasure rewatches is a fun experiment since you might assume their answers would, in some way, reflect the show they're on. But that's not what happened when JustWatch caught up with Colby Minifie, Laz Alonso, and Jessie T. Usher, while they were promoting Season 5 of their hit Prime Video superhero series.
WATCH: The Boys Cast Reveal What They Can Watch OVER and OVER Again!
When asked to reveal their faves, the trio showed no sign of hesitation. "Fleabag. I've watched that eight or nine times," Minifie said. "The whole season. I love it so much. And I don't feel guilty about rewatching it ever." Alonso shared his picks next, saying, "Gladiator, Braveheart, and Rocky, and anything that shows someone achieves victory in the face of defeat."
Finally, Jessie T. Usher shared his pick along with the sentimental reason that made him love it even more. "I mean, I don't feel guilty watching anything," he said. "I love SpongeBob, though. I think SpongeBob is like one of the funniest cartoons ever invented. And now I have a kid, and she loves SpongeBob, too. So we can watch it together. So I would give that one, yeah."
None of these picks shares even the smallest ounce of a common thread. They don't even belong to the same category. But what's interesting is how differently they function as rewatches. Because once you look past the titles themselves, there's a tiny bit of a pattern that explains why people go back to certain movies or television shows.
The Science Behind Different Rewatch Habits
Our guilty pleasure rewatches don't all serve the same purpose. The reason people go back to the same shows and movies usually starts with basic familiarity. Psychologists often point to what's called the "mere exposure effect," the idea that we tend to prefer things we've already experienced because they're easier for the brain to process. And that feeling of ease is a pretty big deal.
Watching something new requires attention (tracking the plot, etc.) while rewatching removes all of that friction. Additionally, watching something multiple times (like Minifie and 2016's Fleabag) actually lines up with how complex, writing-driven shows tend to function. Research into media reconsumption states that people often revisit a series to deepen their understanding of it.
Then, you've got Alonso's picks, which tap into something slightly different. Gladiator (2000), Braveheart (1995), and Rocky (1976) fall into what psychologists describe as emotional regulation. They are all movies people rewatch to feel something specific again. This is what researchers call a "controlled emotional experience," where the outcome is guaranteed, and the payoff is known.
SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) works almost in the opposite way. This is closer to what gets described as "low-effort or comfort viewing." When cognitive load is high (from stress and too many decisions), people gravitate toward familiar content because it gives the brain a break. So putting on a show that feels easy, stable, and predictable lessens the strain of the daily grind.
Put all of that together, and the lack of overlap between these picks starts to make more sense. They don't need to match in genre or tone because they're not doing the same job. One is about engagement, one is about emotional payoff, and one is about switching off completely. And that's the throughline because guilty pleasure rewatches actually have a higher function.
Why To Watch 'The Boys' Cast's Guilty Pleasure Rewatches (And What To Watch After)
Created by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag follows a woman dealing with grief, relationships, and her own worst instincts, usually at the same time. It's funny in a way that can turn uncomfortable pretty quickly. And then just as quickly, the story pulls back into something with a strong message. If you enjoy this premise, the next show to check out is 2016's Crashing.
Gladiator, Braveheart, and Rocky are all variations on the same idea. Someone gets pushed down, and the entire film is built around whether they can come back from that. Russell Crowe in Gladiator, Mel Gibson in Braveheart, Sylvester Stallone in Rocky: Each actor approaches their story in a very unique way. The next movie to watch after these is Creed (2015).
But if you want something easy, just put on SpongeBob SquarePants, which follows the titular cheerful, underwater sea sponge, who works as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab. He often falls into adventures with his grumpy neighbor, Squidward, and his best friend, Patrick. The humor is simple, and it doesn't really depend on continuity. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) is the obvious next step.
