• by Phyllis Fine , Staff Writer, August 7, 2019

Do you have NetForget Syndrome? That’s when a new season of one of your favorite shows on Netflix (or HBO, or even, in a throwback moment, a real broadcast network) starts and you’re not aware of it.

This can lead to social embarrassment — while everybody at the party is talking about the latest iteration of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” you’re just sitting there like a lump — or personal frustration, when you realize you could’ve already been bingeing the hell out of one of your oh-so-niche favorites, like Acorn TV’s cozy English mystery “Agatha Raisin.”

Not exactly a big tragedy. Still, in these days of too much content and too little time to watch it, you want to optimize your viewing. It doesn’t help that shows can be on erratic schedules, with streaming services taking their time to announce when a new season is coming.

Apps can help. One called TV Time, available for both iOS and Android, syncs with the latest announcements and news from the TV/video world so you don’t have to.

For example, TV Time alerted me to the sudden impending reappearance of Showtime’s “The Affair,” the addictive but uneven show about all the repercussions of an adulterous affair. I had almost forgotten about the series, since its last new episode ran back in August 2018. But now I know “The Affair” will return on Aug. 25 with its fifth (and final) season.

TV Time also keeps track of which episodes of bingeable series you’ve already watched — your own input is a necessity here. It's a useful feature if, like me, you love to read bloggers’ recaps of your favorite shows. No spoilers by reading about an episode you haven’t watched yet!

The app also alerts you when a new episode of a cable or broadcast series will first air.

My husband, who watches too much TV — but as a TV/video blogger has an excuse — says he’s found TV Time most useful for knowing when broadcast shows that suddenly take a hiatus in the middle of their seasons are back with new episodes. (Or, as in the case with NBC’s time-travel thriller “Timeless,” with a much-needed Christmas season reminder of when its long-anticipated, post-cancellation, two-hour one-off finale was airing. )

Other similar apps that I haven’t checked out include Next Episode, Hobi and SeriesGuide, according to this MakeTechEasierpost.

Initially, I thought these services were just an example of way-too-specialized technology for extremely lazy folks — like, say, a motorized English muffin slicer. But I’ll bet if you, like me, want to know when Netflix’s standout British dramedy “Sex Education” comes back for its second season, you may just bite.