December 26, 2023
It was an interesting year for TV, as some big time shows ended their runs, and the COVID television boom ran right into writers and actors strikes. There was still way too much to choose from in the world of streaming.
At PhillyVoice, we have never been shy about giving recommendations, which is why a bunch of writers on our team have volunteered their personal Top 5 lists of shows below. Each of our picks is a season of television that was released over the last calendar year
If we can help you discover one piece of entertainment that you didn't know about, we'll consider this a success.
5. "Billions" (Showtime)
4. "Daisy Jones and the Six" (Amazon Prime)
3. "Barry" (HBO)
2. "Succession" (HBO)
1. "The Bear" (Hulu)
Honorable mention: "Silo," "Gen V," "Rick and Morty," "The Great," "Jury Duty," "Lessons in Chemistry," "Telemarketers," "For All Mankind," "Only Murders in the Building," "Ted Lasso," "Loki," The Crown," "Survivor," "Sex Education"
"Billions" is so awesome. Axe was back. It's just a fun hang and I will miss it dearly. "Daisy Jones" was one of the best limited series I have ever watched — so much heart and such great original music. "Barry" this year was one of the most curious and interesting seasons of television I have ever seen. "Succession" totally lived up to the hype. And "The Bear" remains the best acted, best written, and most compelling entry of TV you can find anywhere.
Lots of shout-outs this year in the honorable mention list, including Silo which was riveting, and Survivor which was absolutely excellent in its 45th season.
Also I want to shout out some really bad TV (a lot of which I enjoyed) — shows like "The Morning Show," and "Upload," and "Ashoka," and "The Idol," were really watchably bad this year.
5. "Loki" (Disney+)
4. "Scott Pilgrim Takes Off" (Netflix)
3. "What We Do in the Shadows" (FX)
2. "Scavengers Reign" (Max)
1. "The Bear" (FX)
As you'll see with the PhillyVoice "year in movies" article, I'm more of a film guy than a television guy, so I'm limited on new options this year. I watched the entirety of the "Twin Peaks" saga and "The Sopranos" this year, however, and I feel confident saying they're the two best television programs of all time. I will say that "Secret Invasion" is by far the worst program I watched in 2023.
5. "Shrinking"
4. "Only Murders in the Building"
3. "The Summer I Turned Pretty"
2. "Ahsoka"
1. "Daisy Jones & The Six"
Honorable mentions: "Outer Banks," "The Mandalorian," "Ted Lasso," "Queen Charlotte," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Never Have I Ever," "Heartstopper," "Loki," "The Morning Show," "The Crown"
As is usually the case, this year I consumed and enjoyed much more TV than movies. According to the haphazard list I keep in the Notes app of my phone, I have started, watched or revisited 38 series this year (including shows that premiered in previous years). Out of this year's crop of shows, some of my faves ended up being adaptations of novels or book series. For example, I loved the "Daisy Jones & The Six" series, which was based on one of my favorite recent novels. I thought the actors did an incredible job of bringing the characters to the screen and, come on, they even put out an album by the fictional titular band! (And I was surprised it didn't end up at the top of my Spotify Wrapped charts...)
"The Summer I Turned Pretty," also based on a book (in this case a series of novels), follows a love triangle among three teens who grew up together. I had fun tuning in each week over the summer and rooting for #TeamConrad. As an avid Star Wars fan, "Ahsoka" also made it towards the top of my list. I liked the newer characters that were introduced to live-action Star Wars, and of course loved the reunion of Ahsoka with her Jedi master. "Only Murders in the Building" put out another stellar season with an even more star-studded cast, and "Shrinking" is a poignant new comedy that I hope continues for a long time.
I also wanted to quickly shout out all of the amazing reality TV I consumed this year, from my Bravo shows ("Summer House," "Vanderpump Rules," "Winter House") to my reality competitions ("Dancing with the Stars," "The Great British Baking Show," "American Idol") and everything in "The Bachelor" franchise (including the newest addition, "The Golden Bachelor"). I know reality TV is sometimes looked down upon by pretentious critics, but it's been some of the most fun I've had watching TV this year and every year! Moreover, one more shoutout to a show I just started watching in the past week, "The Buccaneers," which is based on an unfinished Edith Wharton novel and has been compelling so far.
5. "The Fall of the House of Usher" (Netflix)
4. "Only Murders in the Building" (Hulu)
3. "The After Party" (Apple TV+)
2. "Poker Face" (Peacock)
1. "The Other Two" (HBO Max)
Honorable mention: "Shrinking," "How to with John Wilson," "Never Have I Ever," "The Muppets Mayhem," "Schmigadoon!"
2023 felt like a weak year for TV. While there were plenty of shows I liked — and I'll get to those in a minute — I'm more struck by the shows I struggled to finish. After a spectacular first season, "Yellowjackets" went fully off the rails, and not in a fun cannibal cult way, in its sophomore outing. "The Crown," meanwhile, continued its hard pivot into royalist propaganda that made the show duller, weaker and way too into Charles, no one's favorite king.
Still, we got one last season of "The Other Two," the hilarious industry satire that gave us the fame-hungry Dubek twins, their Bieber-esque little brother ChaseDreams and television's number one himbo, Lance Arroyo. We also got a fun new case-of-the-week show starring Natasha Lyonne in the role she was born to play: Charlie Cale, a Vegas cocktail waitress who can tell when people are lying, and is also on the run from a pissed-off casino owner. "Poker Face" tells you exactly who did it at the start of every episode, just like "Columbo," but that doesn't make it any less fun to watch Charlie put it together.
"The After Party" spent a second and final season once again spoofing genres from heist movies to Regency romances. "Only Murders in the Building" is still the perfect boomer-millennial team-up (now with bonus Rudd and Streep). And "The Fall of the House of Usher" might be over the top and full of monologues, like everything creator Mike Flanagan does, but it sure is satisfying to watch a bunch of wealthy assholes get got.
5. "Poker Face" (Peacock)
4. "Star Trek: Lower Decks" (Paramount+)
3. "Jury Duty" (Amazon Freevee)
2. "Loki" (Disney+)
1. "Fargo" (FX)
This list might as well be titled, "2023 shows I like that aren't Succession or The Bear." I'm also starting to get through "Blue Eye Samurai," which is excellent so far. Getting the obvious ones out of the way, I want to highlight some shows that may have been outside of your radar.
"Glass Onion" writer-director Rian Johnson created a twisty "howcatchem" with "Poker Face," playing with a non-linear narrative for each episode's mystery. Natasha Lyonne is a fantastic and charismatic lead as human lie detector Charlie Cale, bolstered by a rotating guest cast that includes Benjamin Bratt, Stephanie Hsu, and Clea DuVall. While "Star Trek: Lower Decks" might seem like a crass animated comedy version of the beloved sci-fi franchise, it's demonstrated in its four seasons that it has a warm heart, growing characters, and a deep love for "Star Trek" lore.
Meanwhile, "Jury Duty" helped me to retain a little hope in humanity. This show puts a regular person in what he thinks is jury duty for a court case but is actually a scripted comedy with actors (including a star turn by James Marsden as himself). While it comes across as a prank show, the would-be juror conducts himself well in every wacky situation the show throws at him, with wholesome results. And while it was a bad year overall for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, season 2 of "Loki" shined throughout — blatant McDonald's product placement withstanding. The time and reality-bending show demonstrated some of the best visuals, set design, and music ever to come out of the MCU, and supporting actor Ke Huy Quan charmed as new character Ouroboros.
And while this is cheating, as the fifth season is still ongoing, "Fargo" is making a hell of a comeback. The homage to the Coen brothers' filmography is now closer to the present day than ever, with the current season taking place in 2019. Juno Temple shines in the lead, playing a Minnesota mother with a darker history, and Jon Hamm as an authoritarian and sexist North Dakota sheriff in pursuit of her. With plot elements like botched kidnapping, sin-eating, and not-so-subtle MAGA references, "Fargo" remains one of the quintessential stories about American life.
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