Best of 2023 — TV
TV is in trouble. The WGA and SAG strikes this year have ensured that most shows slated for 2024 that aren’t already in the can are going to, at best, get pushed back. At worst, they’ll be canceled altogether. One of the shows on this list has already gotten the axe after just two seasons. So this may be the last year for truly great TV. Stock up on these picks to keep you through the lean times!
Barry
This show was something special. What started out as a funny show with dark, violent moments morphed into a dark, violent show with a handful of jokes. A handful of hilarious, absurd jokes. What elevated the show for me was listening to Bill Hader talk each week about the production of each episode. He’d break down the writing process with his co-writers, explain how different quirks of production forced them to make story decisions, and generally just shed light on what it takes to make a show that operates at such a high level.
The Gold
In 1983 thieves took off with £26 million in gold bars from a security vault near London Heathrow airport. This show isn’t about the heist but the opportunists who launder the stolen gold into clean cash in an attempt to move their way up the British class system. Who are the type of people who are allowed to get away with white collar crimes? And why are the people who are least likely to enrich themselves from the theft (the actual thieves) the ones who face the harshest punishments?
The Bear
If you didn’t catch this show last year, you absolutely should. The second season contains the most physically exhausting episode of television I watched this year (Ep. 6) and the most emotionally fulfilling episode of television I watched this year (Ep. 7). This show has such a huge heart, a serious sense of place, and fantastic performances all around.
Party Down
The reboot craze has gotten way out of hand. Our $11.99 $14.99 $22.99-a-month content buckets must be replenished! Get me Fraiser! Of course, there’s always an exception.
Party Down was shut down in 2010 because all the actors were scooped up for other, bigger shows (Adam Scott in Parks and Rec, Jane Lynch in Glee, Martin Starr in Silicon Valley, Lizzie Caplan in Masters of Sex). This show truly felt unfinished. Not because of any untied plot threads, because there really was no real plot to speak of. More in the sense of wasted potential. “Struggling Hollywood actors working for a catering company” is the type of 90s-00s sitcom that could have run for seven seasons without losing steam. This new season joins the gang 13 years later, trying to get Party Down back on track, post-pandemic. They smartly added a few new characters to reflect changing attitudes and ideas about fame (including a “Content Creator” played by Tyrel Jackson Williams) and just let them fuck around for a few episodes.
The Righteous Gemstones
This is the funniest goddamned (pun intended) show on TV. It’s vulgar, stupid, and absolutely absurd. The scene where Walton Goggins pitches Family Feud Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers is is deliriously funny. The emotional climax of the season involves a monster truck. Just watch this show.
The Afterparty
Murder mysteries: so hot right now. This is the silliest possible iteration on the Agatha Christie formula. Each episode is told from a different character’s perspective and filmed in the style of a different movie genre. The second season starts slow but becomes more unhinged as the episodes go on as it sends up Wes Anderson, 1940’s detective noirs, Jane Austen adaptations, and erotic thrillers. It’s hilariously all over the place.
Drops of God
This is wine tasting at its most melodramatic. A French/Japanese adaptation of a popular manga series about a wine tasting competition. The prize? A world famous wine critic’s multimillion dollar wine collection. The contestants? The deceased’s estranged daughter and his star pupil. It’s a ridiculous concept, but oh so fun.
Planet Earth III
Like all cool teenagers in the early 00’s, the small CRT television in my room jumped between two stations: Food Network and The Discovery Channel. Actually, I’m not sure if “cool” is the right word. If I wasn’t watching Unwrapped, I was watching Wild Discovery reruns. I’ve always loved these types of nature documentaries, and the Planet Earth series is undoubtedly the best, most innovative version of the genre. I’ve followed along with this series (as well as Blue Planet) for almost 20 years, and the changes in tone are striking. As climate change intensifies the Planet Earth team has become more explicit in showing the impact we’re having on the natural world. This is a deeply sad edition of the series. It’s jarring to see chimpanzees swing through the canopy in one shot, then find themselves having to cross a busy highway just a few yards from their home. Though it’s shameful to behold the damage our insatiable lifestyles has done to the other living creatures we share Earth with, this show never ceases to uncover truly jaw-dropping examples of adaptability.