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2023 was an absolutely wild year for TV. From strikes to cost-cutting measures, the landscape was tumultuous. And let’s not forget the heartbreaking goodbyes to beloved shows like Succession and Ted Lasso.
But amidst the chaos, there was some truly amazing TV to enjoy. From pirates to epic fantasy worlds, 2023 had it all. Comedies like Platonic and romantic series like Bridgerton kept us entertained. Animated stories like Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and the live-action One Piece on Netflix proved to be hits.
With so many great shows to choose from, we couldn’t stop at a top 10 list. Our top 20 TV shows of 2023 feature everything from mushroom zombies to scrappy detectives. Whether you’re catching up on the latest buzz or looking for a new favorite binge-watch, this list has got you covered.
Here are the 20 best TV shows of 2023.
20. Beef
Danny and Amy’s fiery dynamic in Beef is an absolute delight. Steven Yeun and Ali Wong’s electrifying chemistry drives the show, exploring themes of identity and purpose. The finale is a must-watch, making it one of the most rewarding endings of the year on Netflix. — Yasmeen Hamadeh, Contributing Entertainment Writer
How to watch: Beef is now streaming on Netflix.
19. Shrinking
Shrinking hilariously captures the struggles of grief through Jimmy’s journey to heal himself and his patients. With a stellar cast including Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, this Apple TV+ gem is a must-watch. — Kristy Puchko, Film Editor
How to watch: Shrinking is now streaming on Apple TV+.
18. Abbott Elementary, Season 2
Quinta Brunson’s Abbott Elementary continued to charm audiences in its second season, delivering humor and heart week after week. The sitcom earned critical praise and multiple awards, solidifying its place as a must-watch show.
In the second season of Abbott Elementary, Emmy-winner Sheryl Lee Ralph and Lisa Ann Walter bring their dynamic duo charm to the screen with righteous side-eye and unrepentant snark. Janelle James adds new layers to her hustling principal character, including a touching arc about Black History Month. Chris Perfetti delivers sharp laughs with his exploration of white privilege and allyship. But the standout of the season is the slow-burn romance between Janine and Gregory. Guest appearances from Ayo Edebiri, Leslie Odom Jr., Taraji P. Henson, and even Gritty add to the excitement. Watch Abbott Elementary on Hulu now.
### 17. Top Boy, Season 5
For over a decade, Top Boy has been a top British show on TV. The final season takes the complicated characters to their limits in a powerful and bloody end. Directors Myriam Raja and William Stefan Smith delve into themes like family, criminality, police brutality, and systemic racism with nuance. Watch the gripping Season 5 on Netflix now.
### 16. Primo
Primo is the best new sitcom of 2023, a coming-of-age ensemble comedy based on Shea Serrano’s San Antonio upbringing. Rafa navigates his high school life and wild family antics with humor and heart. With sharp writing, specific characters, and a fantastic ensemble cast, Primo is a must-watch. Stream it on Amazon Freevee.
### 15. Mrs. Davis
Mrs. Davis is a chaotic and original show about a nun on a mission to kill an algorithm, starring Betty Gilpin. With a mix of chaos, tenderness, and originality, the show takes viewers on a wild ride. Watch the unique Mrs. Davis on Peacock now.
### 14. The Curse
In The Curse, a man and a woman find themselves in front of a mirrored house, with a boom mic hanging over them. Experience this intriguing show on Peacock now.
The Curse is the type of show that will make you cringe so hard you wish you could disappear into thin air, but that’s exactly what you’d expect from Nathan Fielder, the mastermind behind Nathan For You and The Rehearsal. Co-created with Benny Safdie, this surreal comedy features Fielder and Emma Stone in a tale of an HGTV show gone awry.
Fielder and Stone portray a couple striving to launch their house-flipping series, only to be constantly hindered by their own flaws and obliviousness. (Could it be a supernatural curse?) From there, The Curse ramps up, delving into topics like reality TV ethics, gentrification, and the tokenization of Native Americans. It even throws in mirror houses and micropenises for good measure, because why not? Aesthetically unique and thematically bold, The Curse takes risks and isn’t afraid to be divisive. While not all of its commentary hits the mark, there’s a fascinating method to this cringe-inducing madness.
How to watch: The Curse is currently streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime.
13. The Fall of the House of Usher
Mike Flanagan and Netflix have consistently delivered hair-raising content over the past decade with series like The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and The Midnight Club, along with an adaptation of Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game. However, The Fall of the House of Usher surpasses expectations. Flanagan not only tackles a classic terror tale by Edgar Allan Poe but also intertwines references to Poe’s characters, stories, and real-life adversaries. This family drama, featuring a Sackler-esque cast of profiteers, is packed with mounting horror, shocking gore, and literary allusions.
With a talented ensemble cast, The Fall of the House of Usher offers scares, twists, and references aplenty. Bruce Greenwood leads as the damned patriarch, while Henry Thomas, Rahul Kohli, Ruth Codd, Samantha Sloyan, and Carla Gugino bring their characters to life in a chilling manner. This series is a visual and emotional feast for fans of dark storytelling. — K.P.
How to watch: The Fall of the House of Usher is now available for streaming on Netflix.
More than that, what makes this third (and final) season of The Other Two so spectacular is its willingness to push farther and farther into the absurd, bringing its insane portrayal of the entertainment industry to new heights. Where else could you find a Pleasantville parody about filming a procedural drama? Or a spy caper centered around driving an armpit across a country? Or an industry party haunted by invisible non-industry people? It would be a miracle to pull just one of these wild gags off, but The Other Two nails each one and more. Truly, it’s the show that keeps on giving, right until the end.
**How to watch:** The Other Two is now streaming on Max.
## 10. Jury Duty
The verdict is in! Jury Duty is guilty of being one of the most unexpectedly delightful new shows of 2023. Combining realty TV and comedy in a court room, this Freevee series is uniquely hilarious, thanks to its unwitting leading man.
Created by The Office producers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, Jury Duty centers on Ronald Gladden, an average Joe (Schmo) who believes he’s being filmed as part of a documentary on the American jury system. Little does he know that everyone else in the court — from the judge to the lawyers and the bailiff, right down to his fellow jurors — are all actors, improvising to see how he’ll react. While the premise sounds like a prank, the results are winsomely heartwarming, as Ronald strives in every circumstance to be a stand-up guy. That’s the payoff, but the best hook? James Marsden plays himself as a comically arrogant, name-dropping celebrity douchebag who will defend his filmography — even Sonic The Hedgehog — until the gavel goes down. — K.P.
**How to watch:** Jury Duty is now streaming on Amazon Freevee.
## 9. Somebody Somewhere, Season 2
Joining Succession, Barry, and The Last of Us in HBO’s stacked Sunday lineup this year was Somebody Somewhere, a deeply moving slice-of-life dramedy that continues to shine in its second season.
As we enter Season 2, we see Sam (Bridget Everett) settling far more comfortably into life in her hometown of Manhattan, Kansas, and her friendship with Joel (Jeff Hiller) plays a big part in that. The pair’s everyday activities, from their strolls around the park to their “teeny ‘tini” nights, are endless sources of naturalistic, everyday joy, and they continue to prove that Everett and Hiller have some of the best chemistry on TV. In addition to its many laughs, Somebody Somewhere also features quietly melancholy moments, rounding out the show’s all-encompassing portrayal of life. It may be a quieter series than its HBO Sunday brethren, but Somebody Somewhere is equally worthy of praise, and everyone everywhere should treasure it.
**How to watch:** Somebody Somewhere is now streaming on Max.
7. Poker Face
With its tribute to 1970s classic Columbo‘s reverse whodunnit (aka “howcatchem”) formula, Poker Face feels like the best possible combination of new and old TV. The structure may be familiar, but creator Rian Johnson and star Natasha Lyonne keep this wonderful mystery-of-the-week show feeling fresh.
While Peter Falk’s Detective Columbo is a man of the law, Lyonne’s new case-cracker Charlie Cale is a scrappy outsider on the run… with a special skill. She has the uncanny ability to tell when anyone is lying, something that comes in very handy when it comes to solving the murders she keeps encountering across the U.S., whether she’s at a Texas barbecue, a retirement home, or even a hilarious dinner theater performance. With each of these murders, Poker Face crafts an exceptionally satisfying puzzle box for Charlie to piece together, along with the help (or hindrance) of Poker Face‘s myriad guest stars. Best of all, in an age of TV trying to be “10-hour movies,” Poker Face‘s episodic structure is refreshing beyond belief. And that’s no lie.
How to watch: Poker Face is now streaming on Peacock.
6. Dead Ringers
Dead Ringers may have the same name and central conceit as the 1988 David Cronenberg film, but this miniseries is no retread. For starters, creator Alice Birch (The Wonder, Conversations with Friends) gender-swaps the dual starring roles of twin gynecologists Beverly and Elliot Mantle, with a mesmerizing Rachel Weisz taking over from the original’s Jeremy Irons. This recasting is anything but cosmetic: Being women themselves renders their work more personal and allows Dead Ringers to further explore their relationship to pleasure, sex, fertility, and the female body in a way the original couldn’t.
The Mantles share everything, from their medical practice to their lovers to their dreams of opening a birthing center and research clinic. However, their close-knit, one-of-a-kind relationship begins to fray as Beverly begins a long-term relationship of her own, and as Elliot’s research begins to push past ethical boundaries. In Cronenbergian fashion, Dead Ringers is full of squeam-inducing body horror, although the show skews more towards medical gore. However, it also mines horror from the dehumanizing and racist origins of obstetrics and fertility science. Thanks to choices like these, Dead Ringers sets a new course far away from the storyline of the original, both building on it and standing apart in its own, brilliant way.
How to watch: Dead Ringers is now streaming on Prime Video.
5. I’m a Virgo
No show from 2023 is as original, or as radical, as Boots Riley’s I’m a Virgo. The Sorry to Bother You filmmaker brings us on a wild odyssey alongside 13-foot-tall teenager Cootie (an excellent Jharrel Jerome) as he explores the world outside his home in Oakland, California, for the very first time.
Cootie’s journey brings him face to face with many wonders of our world, from the magic of subwoofers to the highs of first love. However, it also acquaints him with major systemic evils, including racism, police brutality, and labor exploitation. Trust Riley to deliver a strong anticapitalist message wrapped in surrealism. Bizarro, brilliant, and boasting some of the most distinctive visuals of the year, I’m a Virgo occupies a singular space on TV, one that everyone should check out.
How to watch: I’m a Virgo is now streaming on Prime Video.
In a show full of high points, Reservation Dogs‘ third season gave us plenty more to think about. We witnessed Elora Danan’s (Devery Jacobs) aching family reunion and the Deer Lady’s (Kaniehtiio Horn) haunting origin story, one rooted in American atrocities. We cheered as the Rez Dogs took on a daring rescue mission and grew further into themselves. And we could only look on in awe as this final season spun a masterful tale of community ties spanning generations. Hilarious and devastating in equal measure, Reservation Dogs proved itself to be one of the greats, as well as a necessary showcase of Indigenous talent.
**How to watch:** Reservation Dogs is now streaming on Hulu.
### 3. The Last of Us
With its high stakes post-apocalyptic tension and the brilliant dynamic between leads Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), The Last of Us hit the ground running when it launched earlier this year. But when the beautifully poignant third episode landed, with its contained story about two men, Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), sharing a doomed romance amid the end of the world, it was clear Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann’s video game adaptation would be more than just a standard zombie thriller. Over its nine-episode run, the show moved from strength to strength, mixing plenty of soul-destroying moments with scenes of levity, as well as posing some deep and difficult questions about the choice between saving the people we love and humanity as a whole. — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor
**How to watch:** The Last of Us is now streaming on Max.
### 2. The Bear, Season 2
It’s no easy feat for a TV series to make an even bigger impression with its second season than with its first, but Christopher Storer’s The Bear pulls it off. Filled to the bubbling brim with tension, emotionally raw performances, and writing that’s realistic enough to scald, the kitchen-set drama sees the return of the troubled Berzatto family, this time struggling to open an upmarket restaurant while battling money and safety issues. From delving into the shared familial trauma of Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Natalie (Abby Elliott) via a nightmarish Christmas dinner flashback in “Fishes” to fleshing out the character of Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) at an upmarket restaurant in “Forks,” Season 2 is even more of an emotional rollercoaster than the show’s first. It traps us in the pot early, slowly turns up the heat, and then lets us cook. — S.H.
**How to watch:** The Bear is now streaming on Hulu.
### 1. Succession, Season 4
An unmatched tragicomic examination of the ultra-wealthy, Succession‘s first three seasons had already earned it a spot in the Great Television pantheon. Still, Season 4, in all its unsparing, scorched earth glory, more than sealed the deal.
How do you even begin to describe Season 4 of Succession? It decimated us with its weighty narrative risks, like an early farewell to Logan Roy (Brian Cox). It made us scream-laugh at its razor-sharp dialogue (all hail the ludicrously capacious handbag). It captivated us, week after week, with Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman’s (Kieran Culkin) grief, anger, and sloppy betrayals of one another. Perfectly calibrated stakes, painful blowout arguments, and some truly WTF one-liners made sure that each episode of Succession was a capital-E Event. And as if that weren’t enough, the show capped off a monumental run with a staggering yet completely satisfying finale. Thanks for everything, Succession. It’s with great sadness that I wish you one last loving “fuck off.”
**How to watch:** Succession is now streaming on Max.
*UPDATE: May. 31, 2024, 12:42 p.m. EDT This article has been updated to reflect the latest streaming options.*
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