It seems counterintuitive to pit all of TV’s best series against one another, as anyone who’s tried to program a DVR on Sundays can attest. But there is in fact a method to the networks’ madness, and five reasons why Sunday night’s quality TV overload exists—and won’t be going away anytime soon.

1. Sunday is the Most-Watched Night of the Week

It makes sense that the best shows would air on the night when there are the most available eyeballs to see them. Audiences watch TV on Sundays more than any other night of the week, according to Nielsen. An astounding 125 million Americans turn on their television each Sunday night, a number that gradually decreases throughout the week, bottoming out on Friday and Saturday.

TV Audience by Day in the 2013-14 Season

Data: The Nielsen Company

And those audiences flock to their favorite shows in massive numbers. In the past year alone, these Sunday series have resulted in record ratings for AMC (The Walking Dead), HBO (Game of Thrones), Showtime (Homeland), Sunday night newbie FX (The Strain), and even PBS (Downton Abbey).

2. It's All About the Prestige Factor

After so many years of watching shows like The Sopranos and Breaking Bad on Sundays, audiences have been conditioned to expect only the finest that TV has to offer on those nights. “Sunday night has become the gold standard for the best writing and the best acting, so I do think there’s a certain prestige to putting a show there,” Showtime Networks President David Nevins told Quartz.

In turn, the networks now have their reputations to uphold, which leaves them no choice but to keep their flags firmly planted on Sundays. As Nevins pointed out, if Showtime were to debut a series on a different night of the week, “audiences would wonder, ‘What’s wrong?’”

3. Sunday Viewers are Emotionally Primed for Drama

Sunday night audiences are on the precipice of another week of work or school, which leaves them in an ideal frame of mind to watch these quality shows. “It has both the anticipation and dread of the following week, so you’re in an emotional state,” Ron Simon, a Paley Center for Media curator, told The New York Times. “It’s a perfect evening to play off the emotions of your viewer.”

4. The Shows Set the Agenda and Conversation for the Week

As the previous week’s slate has been wiped clean, these Sunday series are able to set the agenda and drive the conversations that viewers have with family, friends and coworkers as the week begins. “It’s the starting point, the gun goes off,” Kim Lemon, executive vice president of program planning, scheduling and research at Showtime Networks, said at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in July. “There’s a conversation cycle that makes that night really good.”

5. Airing on Sunday Night is More Important Than Being Watched on Sunday Night