The best shows of 2023

It’s been a good year for TV. CONSTANTINOS PSILLIDES looks back at what you should have watched

This year has been a great one for television! Despite the writers’ and actors’ strikes, we still got amazing content that had us glued to our couches and faking illnesses so we could get out of social gatherings. Allegedly.

From big-budget shows with huge set pieces to low-budget ones shot on location, from sci-fi to grounded and from original to adaptations, this year had it all. We are in a golden age of TV and there doesn’t look to be an end in sight.

But what was the best if you are looking for a binge?

Jury Duty – Amazon Freevee

Surprisingly heartwarming and hilarious at the same time. It’s not easy to find a good comedy these days and far harder to find an original one. Jury Duty follows Ronald Gladden, a solar contractor who agreed to take part in a boring documentary about the jury process, by being a juror in a real trial. Here’s the catch: he is the only one who thinks this is real. All other jurors, judge, bailiffs, prosecutor, and everyone around him are actors! Roland is often put through moral dilemmas by finding himself in awkwardly funny situations and every time he comes out on top. His reactions are sincere, his cool demeanour is not an act and makes for some truly great TV.

Last of US – Max

The video game industry is huge. Triple A titles (meaning the games that are the best) have budgets that dwarf the vast majority of Hollywood productions and sales numbers that make studio execs salivate. A cross between the entertainment and gaming industry was inevitable but videogame adaptations have not been great so far. The Last of Us hopes to put an end to that and become the golden standard of adaptations. It stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, a father who lost his daughter at the beginning of the show due to a virus that turned people into horrible fungus-like zombies. Joel tries to flee the city and rejoin his brother and in the process finds himself being the guardian of a rebellious girl, Ellie, who might be the key to synthesizing a cure for the virus. Violent, gory and heartwarming at times, Last of Us is an amazing show.

Silo – Apple+

Continuing in the post-apocalyptic drama genre, The Silo stars Dune’s Rebeca Ferguson as an engineer at a silo-like structure that houses what is left of humanity, following a nuclear war. Apple spent a lot on creating content this year and in the case of Silo, it hit the jackpot. A sleeper-hit, this series is emotional, oftentimes claustrophobic and with a lot of noir-elements.

Gen V – Amazon Prime

The Boys, the hyper-realistic, hyper-violent take on the superhero genre is on the verge of becoming what it makes fun of – regular, run-of-the-mill superhero movies, so producers decided to throw some new elements in the mix. Enter Gen V, the spin-off series that focuses on young superheroes going to school to learn how to handle their powers.Gen V maintains the same level of gore and gleeful derangement as the main series, but also focuses on societal issues that plague the younger generations.

The Fall of the House of Usher – Netflix

By now you know this about me: I’m a Mike Flanagan fan. The man simply does not disappoint! Flanagan’s last show with Netflix is a retelling of the classical Edgar Allan Poe story. In his adaptation, Flanagan expands source material to all stories Poe wrote, drawing inspiration from them to tell a completely original and unique story. The show tells the story of Big Pharma billionaire Roland Usher, whose children start dying one by one in increasingly horrific accidents. Roland decides to tell his story to a long-time adversary, as he concludes that the curse that befell his family is of his own doing.

The Bear – Hulu

The first season of The Bear was astonishingly good. The story is about a troubled Michelin star chef, Carmy, who is forced to return to his hometown after his brother left him the family sandwich-making business and killed himself. Carmy decides to turn the restaurant around but to succeed he first needs to confront his demons. When the second season hit, I didn’t think it was possible to keep the same level of quality. And the show didn’t. It surpassed it. Emotionally charged, fast-paced and rewarding, The Bear delivers a host of great moments, from Ritchie finally finding himself to a compact episode about a family gathering that should be taught in film schools.