The 10 best TV shows of 2023
Television has reached a turning point, driven by the strikes in Hollywood and the changing trends on the platforms. In a year of finales, stories anchored in human connections were the big winners
The year 2023 is likely to mark a turning point in television. The screenwriters and actors strike — which brought Hollywood to a complete or partial stop — is set to have an impact on TV shows and series. The new stage in the streaming wars has led platforms to focus on making profits and containing spending, cracking down on shared accounts and definitively embracing advertising. In the end, the new era of television will look a lot like the old one. Just as the series that reel in viewers will continue to have the same ingredients that have been hooking audiences forever.
Succession (HBO Max) is an example of this. Its final season played on the genre of the family drama with soap opera overtones and took it to new heights with characters who were as easy to love as they were to hate. It was also one of the many series that came to a finale in 2023. This list includes Happy Valley, Blue Lights, The Marvelous Mrs. Masiel, Barry, The Crown and Ted Lasso, although in this case, it is not clear if it is a definitive end.
Meanwhile, Suits — a drama about lawyers that screened between 2011 and 2019 — was a hit on Netflix over the summer. Another sign that classic TV shows never die. And while we continued to see familiar stories, there were also new twists, such as Jury Duty, in which everyone is an actor save for one juror, and the mockumentary Cunk on Earth, where a presenter asks real historians outlandish questions.
Beyond premieres, new seasons and endings, 2023 was also marked by the death of Friends star Matthew Perry, with millions of people having the strange sensation of having lost a friend. That’s how powerful television is and continues to be.
The 10 best series of the year
Succession
Seasons: 4
Genre: Drama
Cast: Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfayden
Country: United States
Running time: 60 minutes
Succession began as a satire about the 1% who control practically half of the world’s wealth. But its final episode, despite containing the Roy brothers’ brightest moments, ended like a classic tragedy, with its protagonists experiencing the same sorrows and joys as 99% of humanity. The finale of Jesse Armstrong’s series challenged the viewer and challenged itself.
By Héctor Llanos
Poquita fe
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Raúl Cimas, Esperanza Pedreño, Julia de Castro, Chani Martín
Country: Spain
Running time: 15 minutes
Twelve 15-minute episode review 12 months of a normal couple, with a bland, almost boring life. In that ordinariness, in the oddities of everyday life, moving between apathy and failed attempts to break the monotony, lies the charm of this hilarious comedy about Juan Maidagán and Pepón Montero. The situations are so recognizable that it’s impossible not to laugh.
By Natalia Marcos
Happy Valley
Seasons: 3
Genre: Crime
Cast: Sarah Lancashire, Siobhan Finneran, James Norton, Steve Pemberton
Country: United Kingdom
Running time: 58 minutes
Fans of the adventures of Sergeant Catherine Cawood (played by Sarah Lancashire) have had to wait seven years to enjoy the third season, but it’s been worth the wait. The series created by Sally Wainwright upturns what is traditionally seen in noir (in books and on television). It’s so dramatically powerful, so hard-hitting on crime and so beautifully balanced by the touches of the absurd that the result is a superb tragicomedy about life, loss and the strange world in which we live.
By Juan Carlos Galindo
The Bear
Seasons: 2
Genre: Comedy drama
Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Molly Gordon, Jamie Lee Curtis
Country: United States
Running time: 30 minutes
Work is a large part of our routine, and part of the appeal of television series has always been their ability to immerse us in work environments where we can while away the hours. Be it the police station, an office or a bar. The Bear and its collection of colorful characters also triumphs because of this. The difference is that here we are happy to watch from the sidelines as the restaurant/time bomb saves itself just seconds before the potential blast. Watching the show is not a relaxing experience, but everything is exciting and relevant. It addresses mental health, work and family… The fabric of life.
By Eneko Ruiz Jiménez
La Mesías (The Messiah)
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama
Cast: Macarena García, Roger Casamajor, Lola Dueñas, Ana Rujas, Albert Pla, Carmen Machi
Country: Spain
Running time: 60 minutes
Directed by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvos (known in Spain as the Javis), La Mesías is one of the most important Spanish-language series of 2023. The show is the story of how religious fanaticism destroyed a family. And how two siblings survived despite everything. It’s a story with many layers, with impeccable cinematography and outstanding performances.
By Natalia Marcos
The Last of Us
Seasons: 1
Genre: Horror. Drama
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Anna Torv, Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge
Country: United States
Running time: 50 minutes
We live in a time of continuous adaptations, sequels and spinoffs. Who would have predicted that a video game would give us one of the most complex and profound interpersonal relationships seen on screen. In an apocalyptic world, two strangers come together to remind us that hell is not always other people. A tough guy is tasked with ensuring the safety of a teenager who has never had a childhood. He has lost his daughter, and she has lost her parents. Together they travel through a desolate country. The Last of Us is able to combine action film entertainment with a moving character story. Just like The Leftovers, reality forces us to think about our extinction and fiction imagines answers to our fears and hopes.
By Héctor Llanos
Blue Lights
Seasons: 1
Genre: Crime
Cast: Jonathan Harden, Sian Brooke, Valene Kane, Richard Dormer
Country: Ireland
Running time: 60 minutes
Blue Lights is probably one of the biggest surprises of the year. Nobody makes miniseries like the British, and this is seen again in the six-episode show that follow the lives of three rookie police officers in Northern Ireland. It seems like a simple story: what’s difficult is achieving its level of intensity and emotion and resisting the temptation to draw out the story. An impeccable police series in every sense.
By Juan Carlos Galindo
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Seasons: 5
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Tony Shalhoub, Marin Hinkle
Country: United States
Running time: 57 minutes
Amy Sherman-Palladino places herself on the creative Olympus by masterfully closing the circle of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. In this final season, Midge is given the kind of opportunity that didn’t usually present itself to women of her era. She has to hunt it down with her bare hands. The brilliant acting duo of Rachel Brosnahan (the title star) and Alex Borstein (her faithful agent) proves that the great love stories are sometimes platonic; that a woman doesn’t need a man by her side to feel complete, although the unconditional support of a good friend never hurts.
By Héctor Llanos
Only Murders in the Building
Seasons: 3
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez
Country: United States
Running time: 30 minutes
The Arconia has been a crime scene for three seasons now. And it still manages to keep viewers glued to the building’s windows as they follow the adventures of Oliver, Charles and Mabel, the trio of loners united by a passion for true crime. In this year’s case, there was a bonus: Meryl Streep plays one of the main murder suspects. Ironically, Streep plays a failed actress who gets her big break at the end of her career. Watching this mystery comedy is always a pleasant experience, perfect for a bit of escapism and enjoying good performances and a high-level production.
By Natalia Marcos
Reservation Dogs
Seasons: 3
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Elba Guerra, Sarah Podemski, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Devery Jacobs
Country: United States
Running time: 30 minutes
If someone tells you that a series is “necessary,” run away from them or make new friends. However, you could say that Reservation Dogs is a much-needed show, because no one has ever portrayed a Native American community in this light. This is a portrait of lost teenagers. Their culture plays an important role: there’s a bumbling Indian god guiding them, and plenty of satire about white preconceptions. But their adventures are as personal as they are universal. The difference here is that they are the ones writing their story. And it’s a fun one.
By Eneko Ruiz Jiménez
Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition
