How does anyone have time to watch this much TV?

Amazon's critically acclaimed comedy "Transparent" returns for its second season on Friday.

At this rate, I should get around to seeing it sometime in the middle of Neveruary.

That's not a knock on the series, for which Jeffrey Tambor has collected an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Mort Pfefferman, a retired professor who, after years of denial, begins living his life as Maura Pfefferman.

I've seen the pilot, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

It's simply an acknowledgement of how hopelessly far behind I've gotten in this era of buffet TV.

FX Networks CEO John Landgraf made headlines in August when he announced the results of a survey that found there were 371 original dramas and comedies on the air, and in the cloud, in 2014. That number should top 400 this year. "There is simply too much television," he told the assembled members of the Television Critics Association.

Granted, complaining about having too much quality TV is like griping about being inundated with too many free cheeseburgers. On the surface, it makes zero sense. But with all the high-caliber programming available on cable — and increasingly on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and even Crackle — it's virtually impossible to keep up with all of it. And I do this for a living.

Sure, shows like "The Walking Dead" and "Game of Thrones" still can command water cooler conversation — albeit with the ever-escalating sensitivity to spoilers. But I've lost track of how many times someone's asked me if I've seen that particular week's must-binge series only to hang my head and offer a meek, "No, but I hope to."

Similarly, whenever I'm asked to recommend a series, I usually reply with some obscure cable offering — FXX's "You're the Worst" and Comedy Central's "Review" being my current favorites — that's so low-profile, it demands a description so in-depth that it almost isn't worth the effort.

I honestly don't know how regular viewers can navigate through all the choices. And the ones who can knock out a new streaming series over the course of a weekend? Baffling.

"Marvel's Jessica Jones" is one of my favorite things on TV. I started watching it Nov. 20 when it debuted, and I still haven't finished. I'm not even all that close. And while I loved the streaming service's "Marvel's Daredevil," "Bloodline," "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" and "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp," I haven't even started "Master of None," "W/ Bob and David," "Narcos" or "Grace and Frankie."

I've heard great things about "Casual," and one day I plan to check it out on Hulu, along with the fourth season of "The Mindy Project."

Amazon's "The Man in the High Castle," "Bosch," "Red Oaks" and "Mozart in the Jungle" are high up on my list for the next time I'm waylaid by a sinus infection.

And, one day, I may break a leg or two and get a chance to check out the Crackle originals "The Art of More," starring Dennis Quaid, Cary Elwes and Kate Bosworth, and the animated "SuperMansion" with Bryan Cranston.

It isn't just the newfangled streaming series, though. I'm afraid I'll never get caught up with SundanceTV's terrific drama "Rectify" or the IFC comedy "Documentary Now!" from Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and Seth Meyers.

Two of my favorite new series of 2014 were FX's "Fargo" and HBO's grimly wondrous "The Leftovers." Now that their second seasons have arrived, I'm six episodes behind on the former and haven't seen a second of the latter, which just wrapped.

I don't have a clue what's going on this season on Showtime's "Homeland" or "The Affair."

And, even though the Starz miniseries "Flesh and Bone" was created by Moira Walley-Beckett, who wrote the phenomenal "Ozymandias" episode of "Breaking Bad," I'm afraid carving out the time to watch it may require something along the lines of waking up in an ice-filled hotel bathtub with one fewer kidney than I started with.

So, yeah, as ridiculous as it sounds, there's simply too much quality TV.

But it sure beats the alternative.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com. On Twitter: @life_onthecouch