Fortunately, that's not just quantity, but often quality. I'm having some difficulty putting together a worthy Top 10 List for 2023 movies -- which is why I haven't posted one yet. (The bottom of the list looks like it will be rounded out with things I'd rate only a B, that will easily get knocked off the list when a see just a handful of the right movies from 2023.) But for the TV shows, every single series in my Top 10 earned an A- or better in my eyes for its 2023 season -- with several more shows also at that level that still weren't good enough to make it in.
My regular posts about TV shows tend to the extremes: I either post about a series one time (no matter how long it runs), or post about every single episode. So, because I don't have many 2023-specific posts to link to, this Top 10 will include some comments on each. And it will take the form of a countdown... because it somehow feels more fitting.
10) Star Trek: Picard. The third and final season was a nostalgic injection straight into the veins of any fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I may be slightly overrating the season overall to give it an A- (though certainly many episodes were at least that good). But I'll slide a thumb on the scales without apology, simply for this now being the final adventure for these characters instead of the horrible Star Trek: Nemesis. Add in that at least half the core cast were given their best scenes in decades of playing these characters, and yes, this deserves a spot on my list.
9) The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. This show was admittedly never as good as it was in its first season. But the crackling dialogue and nimble performances never wavered in quality, and this fifth and final season really honored that by doing right by all the characters. Fans always sensed where the show "had to end," so this season cleverly added a flash-forward structure to confirm that ending, thus highlighting the journey as the essential thing.
8) The Other Two. I don't know many people who watched this Max show... and the few who did seem to think the show jumped the shark in the final season. I agree it did so -- in the truest sense of that overused phrase. The Fonz jetskiing over an actual shark was a delirious departure from reality, which is exactly what The Other Two did in its third and final season. What began as a mostly grounded series about the corrupting influence of fame became hilariously untethered in the final season, with non-celebrities literally invisible to those in the business, an elaborate parody of the movie Pleasantville, a barbed mockery of pretentious multi-night theater productions, a complete skewering of method acting, a dinner in a fake Applebee's, and more. I laughed uncontrollably at every episode; they really did save the best for last.
7) The Fall of the House of Usher. I just blogged about this show a week ago, so you can go read that for the full details. Suffice it to say, I appreciated the way it wove a new and modern story around source material from Edgar Allan Poe, I liked the dark and moody atmosphere, and I loved the performances.
6) Heartstopper. If season 2 of this wonderful show was a step down, it's only because season 1 set the bar so incredibly high. (And because it had stiff competition from another Netflix show putting diverse stories of teenage love front and center. See below.) Heartstopper remains the show I wish had been around when I was younger, though I'm so glad it's at least here now. I can't wait for more stories of Nick and Charlie and their friends.
5) Schmigadoon. The first season of this musical comedy felt like a one-off, made possible only because a bunch of top-tier Broadway talent had Covid-sized openings in their schedules. But not only did they reassemble everyone for a season two -- it turned out to be even better than the first. Part of that may be that I personally have much more familiarity with the musicals from a decade later that formed the basis of season two's parody, but I also think the story took a more sophisticated look at "happily ever after." I'm glad lightning did strike twice here.
4) Shrinking. For the first episode or two, this show was "fine enough filler until Ted Lasso returns." But this show from most of the same creative team soon surpassed Ted Lasso in my eyes (even without accounting for the fact that when we did get the third and final season of Ted Lasso, it was "good but not great" compared to the previous two seasons). I legitimately grew to love every character and performer on Shrinking, as the writing deftly balanced sentiment and humor without becoming cloying or unreal. I'm eagerly awaiting the next season.
3) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I did blog about this show from week to week, so I don't need to repeat much here. I'll just confirm that yes -- this was even stronger Star Trek to me than the laser-guided nostalgia missile of Star Trek: Picard. I would rate the season overall an A (as, obviously, I would for all the remaining entries on this list).
2) The Last of Us. Before this premiered, I would have said I didn't need a new zombie-based movie or TV show in my life again, ever. But this show was always about its core characters and their relationship first, zombies second, in a way that every zombie story claims to be (and then quickly forgets). Any of about three or four episodes of the first season of The Last of Us could lay legitimate claim to being the best hour of TV of the year. My only hope is that they somehow maintain the quality and don't go the way of all those other zombie tales in their next season.
1) Sex Education. The only minor flaw in the fourth and final season of this show was that "moving on to college" separated the characters I'd come to love, for large chunks of the story. Still, it was a perfect ending to a wonderful show, with episodes 6 and 7 being especially superb. With natural-feeling inclusion of even more diversity than Heartstopper, the show was a breath of fresh air compared to most television. And while the cast will now go their separate ways, it sure seems like we'll be seeing more of them.
A few honorable mentions:
- I watched both The Peripheral and Slow Horses season 2 during calendar year 2023 -- though both were released in 2022. If this were purely a list of the best TV I watched last year, regardless of when it was made, both would have earned a spot in this list.
- Slow Horses released season 3 in 2023 -- but in December, where the holiday crush and a general television backlog kept me from completing it. It's great from what I've seen so far, though. Maybe when I've finished the season, I'll find it takes a spot on this list.
- I said that several other shows would also get an A- from me for their 2023 seasons, even if they weren't quite great enough to crack the top 10. Those would include:
- Ghosts. The best network show I'm watching was especially harmed by the twin Hollywood strikes, but the show will finally be back early this year to resolve their "who got sucked off?" cliffhanger. (Which, if you haven't seen the show, doesn't mean what you might think.)
- Harley Quinn. The blink-and-you-miss-it teases at the end of each episode weren't always fun, and I certainly missed having Clayface around in every episode. Still, the show remained hilarious and anarchic in season 4; if anything, it upped the ante in weird risks they took with major DC characters. And a whole episode subplot devoted to Bane learning to make pasta? Sublime.
- Silo. Season 1 of this show surpassed the books it was based on in terms of quality. I hope that continues, as season 2 will move into very hard-to-adapt material.
Of course, with so much quality TV out there, and the audience more fractured than ever, I'm sure this list will be met with plenty of "did you watch THIS?" responses. I did watch probably more TV than I should, though -- and this was the best of what I caught.
Updated January 19, 2024:
My latest Top 10 list is:
9) The Other Two
8) The Fall of the House of Usher
7) Heartstopper
6) Schmigadoon
5) Shrinking
4) Slow Horses
3) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
2) The Last of Us
1) Sex Education
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