Quite a bit of fanfare was made this past week about the season premiere of a long-running television show. On Friday night the 35th season of a pretty iconic news-magazine-turned-true-crime program hit the airwaves on NBC.

With that last sentence, I don’t think anyone is in suspense anymore. I am talking about Dateline.

“Dateline” has been with Sid and me our entire marriage and even before! It doesn’t get much better.

Because of its twisty and turny mysteries combined with its engaging/quirky correspondents, Dateline has enjoyed unparalleled success in a true crime-obsessed society.

That success has trickled all the way down to the Reser family living room.

Dateline has joined the ranks of “Jeopardy,” “Big Brother,” and “This Is Us” when it comes to shows that have drawn Sidney and me closer together throughout our marriage. Heck, I even awarded it a Don’t Blink Emmy in 2017.

The storytelling is just so well-done and the crimes so shocking that Sid and I keep coming back. We watch all the episodes on Peacock and make Dateline references all the time such as…

This should be a Dateline episode.
Didn’t we see this on Dateline?
I learned about this from Dateline.

A reason for the show’s success is the correspondents. And let me start with the one who is synonymous with Dateline and the fan favorite in our house: the legend, Keith Morrison. He is our hero. Not only is Keith easy to like because he is just so good at his job, he is also easy to poke fun at. Speaking of Dateline-specific phrases we utter constantly, you will hear Sid and me say “Oh, Keith” when we are watching one of his episodes. It is reserved for whenever he opens with a flowery introduction, places a particular emphasis on a word, or even takes a criminal to task with his questioning.

Josh Mankiewicz and Dennis Murphy are solid as well. Both are hardened Dateline veterans who know how to tell a story. But if I am watching a non-Keith Morrison episode, the correspondent I want to see on my screen is Andrea Canning. A complete pro who will put you at ease one moment but take someone to task the second, she adds so much to each episode. I could listen to her talk true crime all day!

But for a show to truly be special, it must transcend those who host it. For example, Jeopardy is still great even though Ken Jennings took over for Alex Trebek when he passed away. On the other hand, a show like “Family Feud” is only as good as its host which explains why it was a revolving door until Steve Harvey got there. Dateline is akin to Jeopardy. Although a certain correspondent might add a special element, the show has lasted for so long because it decided to focus on an in-demand genre in an engaging way.

That’s why ratings are high whether it is Keith Morrison or Blayne Alexander telling the story.

And it is also why Sid and I will keep watching whether we are eating takeout on the couch, laying in bed, or listening to a podcast episode on a long road trip. Don’t Blink.