The long-awaited (and very late, sorry) list of the top ten TV or streaming shows of 2023 is finally here! I watched a lot of excellent shows in 2023, and I loved a great many shows that couldn’t land a spot on this list, such as Shrinking, Silo, Black Mirror, and Hijack. But, in the end, there are only ten spots on this list, and, well, there are some outstanding series here that just had to be on the list. Speaking of which, let’s now finally get to that very list.
#10 – Ted Lasso – Season 3
From my review of the third season of Ted Lasso:
“This is, however, a good conclusion to the series. This is not just because I like where the show decides to end it here, but also because I think the season succeeds in important places to focus on found-family importance, kindness, understanding, male friendships, and working on yourself by asking for help — all of which have though it all been key ambitions for the series. And, frankly, I have a feeling that the show’s greatest achievement isn’t what it has done for football, or soccer, in the United States, I suspect its biggest accomplishment is how it has done a good job of trying to normalize taking care of your mental health.”
#9 – For All Mankind – Season 4
From my review of the fourth season of For All Mankind:
“On the whole, For All Mankind is still a terrific show that delivers on the promise of a heady, quasi-realistic alternate history show with a dash of science-fiction, and the focus on fighting to make space travel necessary in a world where the people on Earth’s focus on space is more so as a costly business than a necessary ambition and exploration makes for a fascinating heartbeat for the latter stage of the season. That said, I do hope the writers of the show can come up with new ways to make the US-USSR dynamic feel fresh going forward.”
#8 – Loki – Season 2
From my review of the second season of Loki:
“The season as a whole was both powerful and poignant, as well as one of the best things Marvel Studios has put out in quite some time. And, frankly, the note that the show leaves us on — which could be the conclusion to the entire series, if they so desire — is in sync with the titular character and the trajectory of his arc since we were first fascinated by his complexities. The season’s conclusion speaks to the kind of outlook on his own potential that the character has been spouting off so many times previously. Burdened, indeed. “
#7 – Jury Duty
From my review of Jury Duty:
“Every once in a while, a show is released that is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Amazon’s Jury Duty is that kind of show. Created by two ex-The Office writers, Jury Duty is equal parts social experiment reality show and comedy series. In it, a group of actors — including James Marsden playing himself — play oddball characters that have been called in for jury duty on a fake jury trial. Meanwhile, a single individual — Ronald Gladden, who is just a regular person — thinks it’s all real and that he’s taking part in a documentary about jury duty summons.”
#6 – The Fall of the House of Usher
From my review of The Fall of the House of Usher:
“Though I still think his best work is his original horror series Midnight Mass, Flanagan has proven himself to be adept at adapting stories from some of the greatest storytellers (e.g. Henry James and Stephen King). The Fall of the House of Usher is yet another example of his ability to take an iconic work from a celebrated writer and update it for modern audiences. The Fall of the House of Usher is obviously an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story of the same name, but the series as a whole uses said story and envelops it in a series of other references to, and adaptations of, other Poe writing. It amounts to something like a greatest hits tribute to Poe but with a very modern spin.”
#5 – The Bear – Season 2
From my review of the second season of The Bear:
“In season two, this series continues to be one of the most well-made series about mental health. It is a show that is exceptionally good at highlighting how important it is to communicate and share your feelings with others, or how you can work through tough moments in your life full of emotion by working together, but it is also a show about how pressure and structure can be both a good and a bad thing. And, when compared to season one, my immediate feeling was that it wasted no moments in completely recapturing the energy, chaos, and lovability of the first season.”
#4 – Poker Face – Season 1
From my review of the first season of Poker Face:
“This was one of the highlight series of last year, as it contained inventive episode premises, great guest performers, a compelling lead performance, an addictive episode-to-episode formula (in addition to a great season-long narrative), and, occasionally, a strong sense of cinematic style.”
#3 – Barry – Season 4
From my review of the fourth season of Barry:
“Bill Hader and Alec Berg’s Barry goes out on a high with arguably the best season of the entire series, as the tonal balancing act has rarely if ever been better in the hitman-centered half-hour dark comedy. Intensely funny and undeniably dark, the final season elicited outstanding final performances from the entire cast but especially from Hader, Goldberg, and Carrigan. Its complex final scenes — though likely quite divisive — do what the show has always aimed to do, i.e. function as fun satire and scathing criticism, and, at the same time, speak to one of the series’ central themes — redemption — in a thoughtful manner.”
#2 – The Last of Us – Season 1
From my review of the ninth episode of The Last of Us:
“The season finale thus — like the entire season — completely lives up to that first game, which I think is a masterpiece. I am so impressed. A video game has never been adapted this well. A true masterwork of a season and a really strong season finale that hits hard and true on all the proper themes to which the show is deeply connected.”
#1 – Succession – Season 4
From my review of the fourth season of Succession:
“With the spectacular final season of Succession, Jesse Armstrong reinvented the show early on and gave us an incredible fight for the promise of the show’s title. Armstrong closed the book on it when it reached a natural conclusion, and the cast and crew delivered. A tragic masterpiece. Bravo to all involved.”
Those were my choices! And don’t you worry, before you know it, the list for the best shows of 2024 will be posted, as a matter of fact, it is being fast-tracked!
– Article Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 