The Best Reading Chairs on TV, Ranked Very Scientifically

Some people watch TV for the plot, but I watch it for the furniture, and more specifically, for the chairs people read in.

When a character settles into a chair with a book, I stop following the story entirely, because I need to know how deep that chair goes, where the lamp is and whether she can reach a blanket without getting up. These are the questions that keep me up at night, and after extensive research (lying on my own couch for several years), I’m finally ready to share my findings.

The criteria

Every chair was scored on three things, and only three, because these are the only things that matter in a reading chair.

Sink-in factor. How far down do you go when you sit? You want to be held, not perched.

Lamp quality. Is there a warm, reading-appropriate light within arm’s reach, or are we squinting by the glow of a television?

Blanket access. Can you reach a throw blanket without standing up? Standing up is failure.

The contenders

Fred’s armchair, Sanford and Son. It’s worn, it’s lumpy and it sits in the middle of a house full of junk, and Fred would fake a heart attack before he let anyone haul it away. The sink-in factor is perfect, the lamp is questionable but present, and there’s always something within reach to throw over your knees. Lamont spends the whole series trying to class the place up, and that chair never moves an inch, so please draw your own conclusions.

The palace window seat, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Every period drama has a window seat, but if I’m going to sit in one, I want it to be in a palace. The sink-in factor is only medium, because your back always hits the wall eventually, and the lighting is natural light only, which is romantic until about four in the afternoon. As for blankets, you’re already wearing several layers of silk and a corset, so you’re covered. Charlotte tries to escape over a palace wall in the very first episode, so I understand the urge to stare out of windows, and there are bonus points if Lady Danbury walks in with advice you didn’t ask for but absolutely needed.

The living room sofa, The Jeffersons. George and Louise moved on up to a high-rise on Manhattan’s East Side, so this is the most glamorous seat on the list: a long, plush sofa, a coffee table big enough for a tea tray and a wall of windows full of city. On paper it’s unbeatable. In practice, it loses points for constant interruptions, because George is always bursting in with a scheme or a complaint, the neighbors are forever dropping by, and Florence, the maid, has a comment for everything and no intention of keeping a single one to herself. Can a woman read in peace? Not with Florence in the room, and honestly, I would put the book down to listen.

Moesha’s bed, Moesha. This isn’t technically a chair, because Moesha does her best thinking propped up on a pile of pillows with her diary, and the show lets us listen in while she writes. The sink-in factor is excellent (it’s a bed), there’s a lamp right beside her and blanket access is guaranteed, so she would win outright if I hadn’t decided that beds are cheating. I deeply respect a girl who works out her entire life on paper.

The brownstone couch, Living Single. Comfort is high and a blanket is always available, but there is absolutely no quiet for reading, because someone is always coming in with news, gossip or Max. You would never finish a chapter, but you would have a great time.

A table in the Pit, A Different World. The Pit is the campus hangout at Hillman College rather than a reading room, and the seats are hard little café chairs, so the sink-in factor is low, the lighting is whatever the snack bar provides and there isn’t a blanket in sight. But every study session at that table turns into a debate, a romance, a crisis or Dwayne Wayne flipping up his sunglasses at somebody, so it scores off the charts for company. You won’t finish the reading, but you will learn something anyway.

The winner

The winner is Fred’s armchair. It isn’t pretty, but it’s loved. It’s the chair that knows your shape after years of evenings, the chair you defend against every redecorating plan and the chair with a coffee-cup ring on the arm that you will never let anyone clean, and that is exactly what a reading chair should be.

The best reading chair is the one that remembers you, with a lamp and a blanket close enough that you never have to leave.

How to make the best reading chair at home

You don’t need a library with a fireplace. You need a chair deep enough to curl into, a small lamp with a warm bulb right beside it, a side table big enough for a mug and a book, and a blanket that stays draped over the arm at all times. A footstool is a luxury rather than a requirement, and my dog, Charlie, considers himself a footstool anyway, which I have not corrected.

Put the chair near a window if you can for daytime reading, and away from the TV if you can stand it. Small lamps make a huge difference, and I have strong opinions about small lamps if you want them. Then sit down, sink in and let it learn your shape.