The Best TV Series of 2023

I have never written a list like this before. At the end of the calendar year, I make a “Best Films of the Year” list (this year’s will be arriving on the 31st), but I have never made one of a medium beyond film. I’ve always thought about writing a “best of the year” list for other mediums, but for one reason or another, I never got around to doing it. This year, however, I have made sure to produce two additional “best of the year” lists: one for music and one for television. This is a brand-new exercise for me, one that I am quite excited to try.

I don’t get around to watching as much television as I do films, hence this list may feel a little incomplete. I still did want to take time to mention just a few of my favourites because from what little television I did see, I found myself consistently stunned by the quality of television offerings. In 2023 on television, we saw the collapse and rebirth of media conglomerates, a hit man finally finding his inner piece, an excruciatingly close look at a Chicago restaurant, a set of twins learning a little too much about the human body, and the mushroom zombie apocalypse. 

You can read my Best Films of 2023 list here and my Best Albums of 2023 list here.

Here are some of my favourite television series from the past twelve months . . .

━━━━━━━━━━━━

8. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (season 2, Paramount+)

“All things seem trivial in the face of death.”

Telling the tales of the USS Enterprise under its first captain, Christopher Pike, Strange New Worlds is a fun throwback to the tales of The Original Series and The Next Generation with its retro-futuristic design, episodic structuring, and diversity of episodes. Building upon the best parts of season one, the second season packs a whole lot into just ten episodes. It investigates the ethics of the law, has a fun musical adventure, and takes a dark turn in its action-heavy final episode. The cast is incredibly strong, the humour is always present but never overpowering, and the season hits some very strong emotional highs, while never forgetting to be a delightful hour of sci-fi escapism. The series is a reminder of why Star Trek is such an excellent franchise and what the best parts of its universe are. It is just as enjoyable for old fans and new ones alike. Strange New Worlds was an indispensable part of my summer.

Created by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

7. What We Do in the Shadows (season 5, FX)

“I was gonna tell you to steer clear of the breakfast burritos. Too much of the chilaquiles.”

The penultimate season of FX’s vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows is the show in top form. Following a group of vampire roommates living in Staten Island, New York, the series is incredibly witty and always chaotic. Watching the vampires bump up awkwardly against the human world while trying to navigate the intricacies of their own will never not be a source of comedic gold. The ensemble cast is the show’s best asset with each performer giving so much life and depth to the cast of oddballs and outsiders. If anything, watch this series for Matt Berry’s perfect and utterly indescribable turn as Laszlo Cravensworth.

Created by Jemaine Clement.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

6. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (season 3, Netflix)

“55 burgers, 55 fries, 55 tacos, 55 pies, 55 Cokes, 100 tater tots, 100 pizzas, 100 tenders, 100 meatballs,100 coffees, 55 wings, 55 shakes, 55 pancakes, 55 pastas, 55 peppers, and 155 taters.”

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, the weirdest sketch comedy show on the air, is a series all about the existential awkwardness of being human. Written and largely performed by comedian Tim Robinson, the series thrives on creating the most insane concepts for sketches, full of non-sequiturs and ridiculous characters. Thankfully, the latest season has sketches to rival the heights of seasons one and two with its “Zipline” and “Driving Crooner” sketches, to name just two. Tim Robinson’s unique comedic talents remain incredibly exciting, making for a comedy show the viewer will never forget and will keep on quoting in perpetuity. The show might want me to leave, but I hope it stays around for a while longer. 

Created by Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

5. Dead Ringers (miniseries, Prime Video)

“We are two halves of the same whole.”

This Rachel Weisz-led miniseries is a reimagining of David Cronenberg’s 1988 body horror film of the same name. Weisz takes over from Jeremy Irons as twins Elliot and Beverly Mantel, two of the best gynecologists in the world. Ellliot and Beverly enjoy a symbiotic relationship, frequently exploiting the fact that no one can actually tell them apart to swap places and identities throughout their lives. The more charismatic Elliot poses as the more reserved Beverly one night to accept an award in her honour while Beverly stays at the lab to continue research. Meanwhile, the twins dream of operating a state-of-the-art birthing centre. But as the show goes on, this symbiotic relationship begins to backfire, sending the Mantel Sisters and everyone in their orbit into a spiral. Weisz is a sight to behold in her dual roles as she manages to play off herself extraordinarily well. Dead Ringers manages to be an excellent companion to the original film, while also standing proudly on its own.

Created by Alice Birch.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

4. Barry (season 4, HBO)

“. . . I’m gonna have to kill Cousineau.”

Barry has been described by its network as a comedy, but the series never comes across as being particularly funny. It’s got a comical enough premise: an undercover hitman decides to take an acting class in order to scope out a new target. Each episode runs at a brisk 30 minutes, much like your standard comedy series. The cast is stacked with comedic talent with the likes of Bill Hader, Stephen Root, Henry Winkler, D’Arcy Carden, and Andrew Leeds in various lead and supporting roles. But as the show goes on, it only becomes less funny and more surreal as the life of Barry Berkman (played by Hader) crumbles around him. Season 4, the show’s final season, is its bleakest but maybe finest hour. While I am wary of discussing the narrative content of this season too much for fear of giving it away to prospective viewers, the show’s slow descent into madness truly comes to a head here. The entire lead cast is bringing everything they have, with Hader (who also directed all eight episodes of the season) giving a career-best performance. Narratively, the show is firing on all cylinders: the emotional beats are surprising, the character arcs are resolved in satisfying ways, and the mid-season switch is a brilliant moment of misdirection. We’ve come a long way from the acting studio, but, boy, was the journey a thrill.

Created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

3. The Last of Us (season 1, HBO)

“If you turn into a monster, is it still you inside?”

TV for 2023 got off to a great start with HBO’s long-awaited adaptation of the best-selling video game, The Last of Us. Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay, this post-apocalyptic drama follows survivors Joel and Ellie as they cross the United States in search of a cure to the fungal-based zombie plague that’s torn through humanity. While the series has plenty of zombie-fighting action, and some incredible creature design, this part of the story is hardly the focus of the show. Instead, The Last of Us is much more interested in human survival and how ordinary people can become far more monstrous than any zombie hoard. Structurally, the show finds a great balance between episodic and serialized storytelling, blending the season-long arc with some powerful one-off episodes. The show features a plethora of complicated and nuanced characters, both in its leads and in the many side characters, supported by incredible performances. The episode “Long, Long Time” remains my favourite single episode of television produced this year.

Created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

2. The Bear (season 2, FX)

“Chaos menu but make it thoughtful.”

The first season of FX’s The Bear was good. It was really good. Set in a low-grade sandwich shop in Chicago, the show was an anxiety-inducing (probably one of the most anxious things I’ve seen since 2019’s Uncut Gems) detailed examination of familial relationships all done over the heat of a gas stove. But in season 2, The Bear becomes truly great. The anxiety and stakes are higher than ever, expanding on those core elements that made the first season so memorable but adding a whole lot more heart, humour, and humanity to its story. Everything about this season works. It expertly blends serialized and episodic storytelling, with its standalone episodes being among the year’s best. Each character is well-thought-out and cleverly constructed. It features a barrage of A-list guest stars (Jamie Lee Curtis, Will Poulter, Joel McHale, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, John Mulaney, and Olivia Colman just to name a few) who each deliver thoughtful, beautiful performances. The Bear is the show that made me cry the most consistently this year with a plethora of excellent character arcs and moments. And it also remains hilarious through it all. The Bear might be the most human show on TV at the moment. And it’s just getting started.

Created by Christopher Storer.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

1. Succession (season 4, HBO)

“I love you, but you are not serious people.”

Only building in popularity since its first season, Succession closed out its critically beloved, Emmy-winning run with a glorious final batch of episodes. While the drama of the Roy family has been a constant television thrill for a while now, it’s in this final season where the knives really come out as the various players make their final stabs at the family company. Creator and showrunner Jesse Armstrong truly saved the best for last with season four managing to not just resolve the show’s many complicated story threads in a satisfying way, but finding the most unique and surprising angles to take with its narrative. Succession goes out with a bang. The performances are phenomenal all around, the drama is meticulously written, the subtext is rich, and the direction is masterful. This horribly disturbed family takes its final bow with the ferocity and bloodthirsty attitude of the best tragedies. It’s a beautiful ending for one of the best television series around and my favourite season of television this past year.

Created by Jesse Armstrong.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Honourable Mentions

There are plenty of other shows I saw this year that I did not quite have enough time to write a full entry on this list about, but still wanted to recommend them as some pretty great television and well worth your time.

• Cunk on Earth (miniseries, BBC) — The latest parody BBC history documentary with host Philomena Cunk is a total riot. Cunk spends the season asking perfectly stupid questions of very real experts while touring around the world and exploring the depths of human history.

• The Curse (season 1, Showtime) — The only reason why The Curse didn’t make the main list is because the season isn’t over yet and I would feel strange including it without the concluding two chapters. However, everything up until this point has been perfectly deranged, psychopathic, and cringe-inducing: all the ingredients for a great hour of TV.

• Harley Quinn (season 4, HBO Max) — With a full season and a Valentine’s Day special under its belt this year, DC’s irreverent R-rated Harley Quinn animated series continues to be one of the best things the company has in its roster. It plays loosely with the world of DC comics for a fresh and decidedly original take on its most iconic characters. 

• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (season 5, Prime Video) — Prime’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel concluded with its fifth season earlier this year, bringing Midge Maisel’s journey to stand-up comedy stardom to a close. The show goes on on a high note, with a season that pushes Maisel’s journey to an excellent ending, as well as wrapping up the arcs of the many other faces that populate its world.