12 Best TV Shows of 2023 So Far
The writers and actors strikes have already made 2023 an historic year for the TV and film industry. But more than anything, the past few months have been filled with shows that will also long be remembered.
Now that we’re in the peak of the summer, the TV Insider staff is looking back on shows that have come out this year and pinpointing our favorites. While several selections are the final seasons of long-beloved shows (can you believe Succession and Barry ended the same night?) and brand new titles, we’ve been delighted by the handful of shows that have avoided mid-series slumps with their new episodes. It’s not everyday that you see a series outdo itself years into its run.
Shows had to have released the majority of their seasons in 2023 to be considered. Here, the TV Insider staff shares their picks for the best shows of 2023 so far (in alphabetical order) and why we love them so much. Keep checking this list, as we’ll be updating it throughout the year (yes, there is still scripted TV on the horizon!).
Barry
Bill Hader and Alec Berg’s dark comedy went out on a high note. The final episodes began with Barry in prison and featured quite the fun guest spot from Hader’s SNL bud Fred Armisen. Then came a time jump that had us, at first, questioning what was real as it put Barry and Sally (Sarah Goldberg, delivering her best work of the series in Episode 5) in a new life together (with a kid!), but they couldn’t leave the past behind. We’re still thinking about the final confrontation between Barry and Gene (Henry Winkler) and the way the biopic depicted both. The series ended as it should — there could be no real happy endings here, for anyone. —Meredith Jacobs
The Bear
FX‘s culinary drama The Bear continued to deliver satisfying installments, a year after hitting it big on Hulu with Season 1. While second seasons aren’t always as tasty as the first, The Bear doesn’t suffer from any sophomore slumps. Instead, this show led by Jeremy Allen White and a stellar ensemble gives viewers something even better this time around. Whether it’s Sydney’s (Ayo Edebiri) search for the perfect dish, Marcus’s (Lionel Boyce) eye-opening apprenticeship in Copenhagen, Tina’s (Liza Colón-Zayas) motivated path to sous chef, or Richie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) reignited passion (set to the tune of Taylor Swift), there’s plenty to enjoy. Oh, and it delivers one of the starriest and deliciously chaotic Christmas episodes in television history. Like the patrons of the titular restaurant, you’ll want to visit over and over again. —Meaghan Darwish
Beef
Netflix’s Beef is a total thrill ride. Ali Wong and Steven Yeun are excellent as two people who seem like total opposites, but have a lot more in common than both they and we think. Their lives are completely derailed by a road rage incident, and their respective inability to regulate their emotions. While this show is about characters doing heinous things, it also is incredibly effective in showing us why they act this way, and we feel sympathy for them.
We’d be remiss to not mention the show experienced controversy around cast member David Choe and previous comments he’d made regarding his own self-proclaimed “rapey behavior,” an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise excellent cast. —Leah Williams
Bloodhounds
This K-drama premiered on Netflix this Summer and was filled with action. It showcased two young boxers, Woo Do-Hwan and Lee Sang-Yi, who form a bond through their passions, patriotism, and need to help others. It highlighted amazing boxing choreography with a reality that not all shows may have the happy ending you expect. You’re instantly pulled into a world where two young men choose to put their goals on hold to complete a vigilante crusade. The eight-episode series hasn’t had an officially renewal yet but there’s still time.
Demon Slayer
After the highly lucrative worldwide theatrical run of Mugen Train, the third season of the Demon Slayer anime (which covered the film’s events in S2) had a lot to live up to. And once again, it delivered, reminding viewers of why they fell in love with Tanjiro, the series’ formula at large, and his quest to be a Demon Slayer in the first place. The arc follows Tanjiro on a quest to craft a new sword, but it turns upside down when demons find the sacred slayer village intending to kill all the swordsmiths. Although the arc hits familiar beats to previous seasons, the stellar animation and emotional storytelling elevate the season into some of the best Shonen of 2023. —Isaac Rouse
Good Omens
We love Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s novel, so of course we can’t get enough of the charming Prime Video series — or the angel (Michael Sheen’s Aziraphale) and demon (David Tennant’s Crowley) at the heart of it. Its second season is filled with love and heartbreak, including for Aziraphale and Crowley (as well as a surprise coupling). Flashbacks to Aziraphale and Crowley over the years feature Peter Davison and Ty Tennant, as well as quite a few Scottish accents from David Tennant and more magic from Aziraphale. And we have to bring attention to the love for Jane Austen (author and spy) and rom-coms from Crowley during a matchmaking attempt. Incredible, devastating (especially in the finale — that confession! the kiss!) performances from Sheen and David Tennant, Jon Hamm making us laugh as an amnesia Gabriel/Jim, and the always entertaining angels and demons in Heaven and Hell make for a pretty perfect, very emotional six episodes. Waiting for a third season is going to hurt as much as that agonizing ending with Crowley and Aziraphale did. —Meredith Jacobs
The Last of Us
Adapted from the 2013 video game from Naughty Dog into an HBO series, this show pulls you into a post-pandemic world and the lives of captivating characters played by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, struggling with what they must do for survival and to maintain humanity. From the attention to detail in the prosthetic make-up and CGI to the weaving of character development within the storyline, it’s set a high standard for those who attempt to adapt a game into a full-length series. —Ennica Jacob
One Piece
One Piece aired its first episode on October 20, 1999, and after 23 years, the series is the best it has ever been. As the story concludes following the current Wano Kuni arc, the art, animation, and story have culminated the long-running shonen into one of the best anime offerings in 2023. Not only does it showcase stellar visuals, but it elevates some of author Eiichiro Oda’s best work thanks to the artistic liberties of Toei Animation, introducing meaningful, gorgeous, impact frames that manage to make the action look cool and lend themselves to the narration of the story. It would also be remiss if we didn’t mention all the hype surrounding Luffy’s new transformation, which is being compared to Dragon Ball Z/Dragon Ball Super’s Super Saiyan and Ultra Instinct moments, respectively. —Isaac Rouse
Outlander
Outlander hasn’t been this exciting since Season 1. By giving equal attention to the different ingredients that make it so watchable (plus engaging subplots that allow the younger ensemble to shine), the penultimate season has revived the buzzing energy of its early episodes. As Season 7 Part 1 comes to a close on August 11 (Part 2, already filmed, debuts in 2024), Jamie (Sam Heughan), Claire (Caitríona Balfe), and Young Ian (John Bell) are embroiled in the battles of the Revolutionary War. Back in the future, Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Roger (Richard Rankin) are finally figuring out why their family can travel through time — the show’s longest unaddressed mystery. Anchoring it all is the intimate romance between Jamie and Claire that — like Heughan and Balfe’s performances — has aged like a fine wine. —Kelli Boyle
Reservation Dogs
It’s tough to find shows that feel so uniquely different from anything that’s come before it, but Reservation Dogs is a perfect example even leading into its third and (sadly) final season. After traveling to Los Angeles in the Season 2 finale to bid their late friend Daniel farewell, Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Elora (Devery Jacobs), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), and Cheese (Lane Factor) must discover the next chapter of their lives and are doing so in Season 3 with as much hilarity and heart as they have since Season 1 debuted in 2021. A show about young Indigenous people by Indigenous creators, Reservation Dogs is both making TV history and some of the best episodes on it right now. Quite a few shows have come to their end in 2023, but this one will hurt to say goodbye. —Meaghan Darwish
The Righteous Gemstones
HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones might be the funniest show on television. Stars Danny McBride, Adam DeVine, Edi Patterson, John Goodman, Tim Baltz, Walton Goggins, Tony Cavalero, and more are all firing on all cylinders. Every character is strange, fascinating, and hilarious. Goggins’ Uncle Baby Billy and Cavalero’s Keefe are fan favorites.
It’s full of linguistic delights like “Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers” and excellent physical comedy. Cavalero moves his body in a totally unique way. It’s a biting satire of American evangelism and megachurches. Gemstones also quietly has one of the sweetest queer love stories on TV now, whose recent kiss had Twitter cheering. —Leah Williams
Succession
No “best TV shows of all time” lists will be complete without Succession among its ranks. Each installment in the 10-episode final season is fantastic in its own right (though Episode 3 is the series’ best), with exemplary writing from creator Jesse Armstrong and his writers’ room and tour-de-force performances from its stellar cast. While devoted fans hoped for redemption arcs for the Roy siblings, Succession was never about this offensively wealthy family becoming better people. By giving a microscopic look into America’s most wealthy and influential, Succession is a searingly critical look at how absolute power corrupts absolutely, how the corrupted few affect the lives of millions, and the tragedy of knowing they’ll never face true consequences outside of their miserable personal lives. —Kelli Boyle
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