February 15, 2025
Best TV series of 2023

For me, 2023 had been a disappointing year for TV series. While there was certainly no lack of materials to watch, I did find myself struggling to come up with 10 series worthy of mention in my top ten listing. A number of high-profile series like Black Mirror and Ahsoka failed to live up to the high expectations that they have set for themselves. There were not bad. Just not excellent. Of course, I have to admit that my list is not comprehensive as I have not seen a number of TV series released during the year which may have had the potential to raise or maintain the bar set in prior years. Notably, at the time of writing, I have yet to see the final season of The Crown and The Continental: From the World of John Wick.

My pick for the best tv series for 2023 was a no brainer. It was easily the best thing we saw on TV this year and once again, as in the previous two years, this was from HBO. THE LAST OF US showed us how a creative and dedicated team can translate a computer game adaptation with the familiar theme of a global zombies pandemic, into something that feels fresh, intelligent, exciting, and touching! It is one series that succeeded at all levels and I cannot wait to watch the next season. Nothing else in 2023 came close to matching this.

Below is my top ten list in roughly the order of my preference:

  1. THE LAST OF US
  2. BEEF
  3. THE IDOL
  4. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
  5. THE MORNING SHOW SEASON 3
  6. SHANTARAM
  7. WACO THE AFTERMATH
  8. SUCCESSION FINAL SEASON
  9. THE CROWDED ROOM
  10. EMILY IN PARIS SEASON 3

As usual, I did find some contrasting choices between my personal favorites with those from critics and others. I find it increasingly bizarre that sometimes something that is universally condemned like THE IDOL can be so great in my eyes. I think this series is gutsy, has great music and has an astounding performance from Lily-Rose Depp. In my opinion, this series can easily be in my top 10 list in any year. Another less than critically acclaimed series is EMILY IN PARIS. I found this pure entertainment with the glitzy sets, and costumes, addictive plot and fun performances. I don’t know about you, but I feel happy whenever I come across a series like this in which everyone is enjoying themselves and just not bothered with serious world events. It offers the basic objective of TV entertainment – pure escapism.

2023 was somehow devoid of the extravagantly produced fantasy series like last year’s The House of Dragon and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Both series will return with their second season in 2024 which should be something to look forward to. As usual, we had a lot of true crime series which always fascinates with their incredible stories. The saying “fact is stranger than fiction” is never more true for such series as The Crowded Room, The Dropout, Under the Banner of Heaven, WACO, Love & Death, etc. The list is quite extensive. It is just that we lacked something as impactful as last year’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

This year I was also let-down by a number of follow-up seasons to some high profile and promising series. SERVANT SEASON 4 was a disappointing finale to the series although its final episode was poignant and touching. It just felt like a little too late to save the overall season from reaching its potential heights. Likewise, the long-awaited BLACK MIRROR SEASON 6 offered an uneven set of stories which were strangely not very Black Mirror-ish.

The TV series that I completed watching which disappointed me the most, and hence, gets the honour of getting my Worst TV Series choice is THE WATCHER which was a Ryan Murphy production devoid of his usual trademark elements. It was not exactly a 2023 production and more a roll over from previous year.

Well that’s my humble opinion for the year in Television for 2023. What about your own favorites? Please share in the comments below.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments