Why does my mother watch the same show over and over on tv?

The reason they can watch the same thing over and over is because they have no short term memory. They no longer can process or comprehend. I put on one of those channels that show old TV shows fro the 50s/60s. Mom watched them all day. Really, what more do they have. Mom was not able to read a book anymore. She never played cards or did puzzles. Not crafty.

My 94 yo mother does the same thing, 24/7 game shows, Matlock, Perry Mason. I don't care since I don't live with her!

My mother has 3 TVs on in her 800sf apartment. They are on all day and into the night.

She watches some channel that repeats shows like "Murder, She Wrote" and "Bonanza"---over and over. She was an avid Utah Jazz fan and sometimes she watches games from 98 and 99 (the heartbreak years for us Jazz fans!)

She's happy, I don't rock the boat.

The way I see it is as a lack of initiative, she may not actually be particularly attached to that show but is unable to follow through with the impulse to change it. Apathy or lack of initiative is common in may forms of dementia, I'll link a Teepa Snow video that I think explains it well (she is referencing vascular dementia but the principle is the same)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvXKH6UoROs

Bamagirl, if the TV show gives her comfort let her continue to watch it.

Think of it this way, there are many people who will watch sports hour after hour. I have one of those at home. Baseball, tennis, golf, later Football [college and pro] in the fall. Basketball [college and pro], Hockey, golf, LaCross, now he is trying to learn soccer. If "Bowling for Dollars" was still on, he'd be glued to that, too.