It’s that time of year again. The temperature is dropping, the days are growing shorter, and 2023 is drawing to a close. Which can only mean one thing: It’s time for Pop Culture Maniacs’ annual TV Top Ten list! This year in television was a tumultuous one, as it was for all of Hollywood, with a dual strike from the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG/AFTRA) both hitting the picket lines through the summer and well into the fall, with the SAG/AFTRA strike only coming to a close in early November. This meant that a number of television series were delayed – both in filming and in release – as studios tried to keep enough shows in their back pocket to populate the fall TV schedule while production was halted. It also meant that network series – like the great Abbott Elementary and Ghosts – didn’t get to have a fall season (which accounts for neither making my list this year – the other series on the list offered a full season’s worth of episodes, while these two only had the back half of their seasons on offer). It also meant that several shows that could have come back this fall with additional episodes won’t be out until next year due to filming delays, which is a bummer.
That being said, there are a number of shows that were worthy for a place on my Top Ten list, and it was – as always – a difficult task to choose only ten shows for this. But choose I did, and I’m content with the final set of shows that made it onto this list. It was a strange year for entertainment, but it was also an excellent one. If you have some free time this holiday season, give one or more of these gems a look. You might enjoy them.
10: Poker Face – Streaming on Peacock
The combination of Natasha Lyonne (who dazzled on Netflix’s Orange is the New Black for seven seasons) and Rian Johnson (the brains behind the Knives Out film series) telling the tale of Charlie, a human lie detector who witnesses something she shouldn’t and has to go on the run for her life, turns what could be a relatively simple cat and mouse game for Charlie’s life into something special. When you have two artists at the top of their game, well, that makes a show not only interesting but also compelling. With clear allusions to Columbo, the series is episodic in nature, with Charlie running into a different mystery each episode – which she uses her internal lie detector to solve – while continuing to try and elude the highly motivated fixer hot on her tail. And that episodic structure allows for the series to cycle through some pretty impressive guest stars each and ever week. It’s a smart, funny, and just plain good series with a stellar leading performance from Lyonne that will have you rooting for Charlie to make it through this gauntlet in one piece.
9: Mrs. Davis – Streaming on Peacock
Peacock took some big swings this year, betting on well-known showrunners (Rian Johnson of Poker Face was certainly one) to launch shows that would hopefully put the streaming service on the map. One of those big swings was giving Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers) carte blanche to tell a strange but compelling story of a nun (Betty Gilpin, absolutely magnetic in the role) who tries to destroy the Holy Grail after an AI program asks her to. Yeah, it plays out just as strangely as it sounds on paper, but it’s also a wonderful story of faith, family, and personal growth that keeps you engaged from the word go and absolutely nails the ending. Click the link above to read more about this gem of a series.
8: Righteous Gemstones – Streaming on Max
A series on HBO about three siblings jockeying for control of their father’s vast holdings – only none of the three are anywhere near the person their father was and could never hope to achieve all that he has achieved in his storied career – but one this isn’t named Succession. That’s, essentially, what Righteous Gemstones is – a story of a family fighting within itself for control of the family fortune – only it’s absolutely hilarious at every turn. At no point are you supposed to believe that these three knuckle-headed adults could ever manage the religious conglomerate that their father has built. But what could just be a ridiculous comedy never reaches the realm of the unbelievable because of the surprisingly grounded performances and the exceptional writing that make up the series. These are a bunch of idiots, for sure, but there’s just enough humanity within their actions and their make-up to allow us to see that they truly do want to do right by their father’s legacy (even if none of the kids can ever manage to get out of their own way). And John Goodman is particularly wonderful as the family patriarch, often disappointed in his children’s squabbling, but never without love and understanding for them and the position they are in. Sure, they’re spoiled brats much of the time, but they’re his spoiled brats. It’s a hilarious show and a great companion to the dearly departed Succession. Click the link above to read more about it.
7: Somebody Somewhere – Streaming on Max
If the first season of Somebody Somewhere was a shockingly lovely comedy about finding friendship and digging through familial bonds as a middle-aged adult, season two only made the series richer, the relationships more complex, and the comedy stronger. It’s a rare series that can have you laughing until you cry and crying until you laugh – but that’s the amazingly sweet spot of storytelling that this absolutely stunning series achieves time and again. This isn’t a series that is flashy. Its stories aren’t large, bombastic, or over-the-top. Rather, it’s a show that grounds its relationships deeply with stories that resonate, performances that feel fully natural, and humor that feels simple and layered at the same time. This is an underappreciated gem of a show.
6: The Other Two – Streaming on Max
There might not have been a series with a stronger joke to minute ratio than The Other Two this year. Wrapping up its run with a season that saw actual growth in its two self-absorbed central characters (those would be Drew Tarver’s Cary and Helene York’s Brooke), the show managed to skewer not only the innerworkings of showbiz but also the ego-driven folks who are willing to claw and climb their way from obscurity to fame and fortune. Fast, topical, and funny (with one of the best surprise guest star turns of the year in Simu Liu’s hilarious appearance – seriously, it’s worth a watch for that mic drop of a moment alone), The Other Two made sure to never lose sight of a key truth: Brooke and Cary genuinely love their more successful younger brother (Chase Dreams) and mother (Molly Shannon’s absolutely lovely Pat). There’s a true familial bond amongst the Dubek clan – even for Chase’s agent Streeter (a sensational Ken Marino) – that even the desire for fame and fortune cannot extinguish. And that’s what made this series truly work.
5: The Bear – Streaming on Hulu
Sophomore seasons are always tricky for shows with strong debuts, but The Bear managed to not only build on the strengths of its great first season while also exceeding expectations with a focus on strengthening character and digging into the complex past of Carmy’s own trauma to provide a sensational second season arc. Unsurprisingly, the hit series enticed some big named guest stars to join the fray in season two – Jamie Lee Curtis, Will Poulter, and a stunningly wonderful Olivia Colman among them – but it was a single episode focused on Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ritchie that took the series to even higher heights this time out. For a character who was so caustic and, frankly, unlikable, to turn into one who could cause smiles and even tears to emerge with his performance, Moss-Bachrach stole the show and unlocked another level in a series that just keeps climbing to new heights.
4: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Streaming on Paramount+
I’ve watched Star Trek for all of my life, from Next Generation when I was very young to the current slate of Paramount+ series. And I’ve never been shy about my belief that Deep Space Nine is the best of the Trek lot. Well, that statement might have to change after seeing the utter brilliance that has been the first two seasons of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Set prior to the Kirk Enterprise we saw on The Original Series, Strange New Worlds tells the story of Captain Christopher Pike’s (an excellent Anson Mount) time in the big chair of Starfleet’s flagship.
In a return to an episodic storytelling structure, we’re presented with complex and compelling characters who get into situations (often with different characters taking the narrative load from week to week) that they manage to escape within the confines of a single episode – although the scars and lessons learned resonate throughout the season. Perhaps most interestingly, the series mixes legacy characters whose later stories we know well with newcomers, all of whom weave together seamlessly to create one of the finest crews of any Trek series to date. And season two offered a host of different episodes, from a time travel mystery (well, technically two of those) to a courtroom drama to a sensational musical episode (with original music!). With the third season just getting into production, we’ve got a long wait to find out what will happen with the season two ending cliffhanger (and, I for one, am certainly worried there might be some casualties among the cast from that devastating finale), but I’m more than willing to re-watch this spectacular season of television while I wait.
3: The Last of Us – Streaming on Max
I’ll admit to being a bit worn out with the various post-apocalyptic stories that have been told over the last decade or so (and that a lot of that stems from spending years recapping The Walking Dead well into the “diminishing returns” section of its run), so I was wary of yet another story about humanity trying to survive in the face of a deadly batch of zombies (even though the series refuses to use that terminology, let’s call a spade a spade). Imagine my surprise when I saw that The Last of Us was far more concerned with the characters at the heart of its story – that would be Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie – than it was about showing us all the gross types of living dead creatures they could encounter.
I know, I know, if I had played the video game, I would have known how important the characters and their arcs were to this tale, but I studiously avoided all potential spoilers and went into this one blind. What a journey this first season was. From the found family themes threaded throughout Ellie and Joel’s trip across the country to the heartbreaking episodes that took us away from that trip to hyper-focus on how love and loss are intertwined in this universe (Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett’s turn as the doomed Frank and Bill and Storm Reid as Ellie’s doomed girlfriend Riley were utterly crushing as they were sensational), The Last of Us was a genre series that put its characters first and was all the better for it.
2: Reservation Dogs – Streaming on Hulu
The theme of family – both blood and found – is at the heart of Reservation Dogs, the stunning FX series that ended its wonderful three season run this year. A story about indigenous teens growing up on the reservation – written by an all Indigenous writing staff and with a main cast comprised of Indigenous actors, a first for television – Reservation Dogs pivoted in its final season from telling the story of how the teens grieved and lived out the last wish of their deceased friend to exploring how generations of friends on the reservation grew through their own traumas – from the horrific Indian Boarding Schools to the modern issues of life on the rez. But through it all, the heart and humor of the series shown through, with stunning performances, laugh out loud comedy, and compelling storytelling.
1: Succession – Streaming on Max
Was there any other possibility for the top spot of 2023? Probably not, because the final season of Succession was an absolute master class in how to end a series on a high note. From the decision to remove Logan from the game board in episode four – a move no one saw coming – to the choice of just who would end up atop the Waystar Royco throne at the end, there wasn’t a false step along the way from a story perspective. And in terms of performance? Well, the aforementioned fourth episode provided the most intense, unflinching look at the immediate aftermath of a loved one’s death that I have seen on television. I’m still haunted by Shiv begging her father – who is already gone – not to die as she cried into the phone connecting her to him. Just incredible. And the various eulogies at the funeral? Just wow. The knock-down drag-out fight between Shiv and Tom, wherein he tells her she would be a terrible mother? Just brutal. And Kendall finally saying the quite part out loud, that he deserves to have the company because he’s the oldest (which isn’t even true!)? Oof. This was a series populated by horrible people across the board, yet it was so compelling to tune in each week to see who might rise and who might fall. While I absolutely respect Jesse Armstrong’s choice to end the series here, there’s a part of me that wishes we could have a bit more time with this unscrupulous gang. But then again, with an ending this perfect, we definitely don’t need it.
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