Favorite TV shows of 2023
Hey everyone and welcome today we will be talking about some of my favorite tv shows from the year that was 2023. There’s so many to talk about so without further ado lets get right into it.
While I wish I could talk about every show I enjoyed and tell you why I have decided to narrow it down to my particular favorites which may not be your favorites and that’s ok. There are some that aren’t on this list but I do want to mention because they are also great and you should watch. Those are My Adventures with Superman, Blue Eye Samurai, Castlevania: Nocturne, Sex Education Season 4, the final season of Succession, and The Wheel of Time Season 2.
Starting things off strong we have Gen V season 1 on Prime Video which is a spinoff of The Boys. Gen V follows Marie who is in her first year at the superhero college Godolkin and along with some new friends she finds out that the school is hiding something called the woods but what they don’t know is that the woods is experimenting on supes and finding a way to kill them and its being ran by the principal of the school. The show doesn’t shy away from violence or blood and is a action packed ride that will have you on the edge of your seat wondering how these supes will deal with not only the school but also Vought who has a crazy amount of influence and power. My favorite part of the show was seeing the different characters powers grow throughout the season and showing what their true potential is. I can’t wait to see how they tie together these characters in The Boys season 4 and Gen V season 2.
Lessons in Chemistry on Appletv is a show I watched late in the year and every episode had me wanting more and I really needed to see how it was all going to play out. This is a perfect example of a book adaption that wouldn’t fit as a movie but also doesn’t need multiple seasons so it’s a nice little limited series that I really enjoyed. It follows Elizabeth Zott through her life following all of her ups and downs and showing how got her own feminist cooking show and inspired lots of women to do things they were told they would never be able to do. At the end of each episode I was heartbroken knowing everything that Elizabeth went through but by the end of the season I love that she overcame so much and followed her dreams of getting her PHD in chemistry. My favorite part is one where Calvin who was her partner tells her that he rereads a book because while the book doesn’t change, the reader does which spoke to me because I do this and I notice something different each time.
A weekly who done it is not what I thought it was needed but Poker Face delivered. Poker Face which is on Peacock follows Charlie who can tells when someone is lying and when she figures out a powerful man killed her best friend she goes on the run and while on the run she meets lots of people who have done some shady crimes and helps to solve some of the mysterious things happening in these different areas. Each episode has really familiar faces and had me curious as to how they would tie into Charlies story. My favorite part of this show was how in every intro we would see an event happen and somehow even though you don’t see Charlie, she is involved in this event and as the season went on I tried to figure out where Charlie was.
Media about zombies aren’t really my thing but I decided to give The Last Of Us a try which is adapted from the ultra popular video game and it did not disappoint. The show follows Joel who has been tasked with delivering Ellie to some doctors because it is believed that she is the cure for the zombie infection because she is immune. This show was a show set in a world with zombies but really made you question if the zombies were the problem or if it was the humans that were left. There was some shocking moments that had you heartbroken and made me feel apprehensive on rooting for a character because you truly didn’t know if they would survive. This show was so good that it heavily influenced me getting a playstation so I can play the game. My favorite part of the show was the heartbreaking episode 3 with bill and frank that chronicled their love and eventual death in the most beautiful and tragic way and made for one of the best episodes in tv this year.
Heartstopper on Netflix is a show that is a love story but also so much more and deals with coming out, eating disorders, toxic family relationships, friendships falling apart and just how to be teenager navigating your own feelings. Heartsopper season 2 continues the story of Nick and Charlie who are navigating their romance with not many people knowing as well as seeing all their friends and even teachers romances blossoming. The show is adapted from books and I have read the books and think that the show does a great job adapting those books. My favorite part of this season was how there is representation across the board of the LGBTQIA+ community that I feel like I have never seen on tv and they take this idea of what would different letters in the LGBTQIA+ community look like in real life.
The Bear season 2 picks up with Carmy trying to open a more upscale restaurant in a tight timeline while also getting some of the staff trained so they can be better than they were before. The bear is a show that stresses me out because being in that kitchen can be stressful since it’s a tight space and there are so many different personalities and everyone is yelling. The Bear has so many great performances that it’s hard to praise just one because they are all phenomenal and this season further proved that everyone in that kitchen deserved a spot even if they didn’t think they did and every role was important. I love that Tina and Richie got to learn more about their particular roles and really made them better by not only boosting their skills but also confidence. I think my favorite part of the season was the Christmas episode which was the most stressful and filled with so many cameos and probably one of the best performances i’ve seen from jaime lee Curtis and gives a little insight into why Carmy doesn’t spend time with his family and the episode ends on a bang when Carmys mom drives her car through the living room.
The Legend of Vox Machina is an animated show on amazon prime that I feel like is marketed poorly and is a great show that people should be focusing more on. The show focuses on a rag tag team who in season one takes down a dragon and the evil briarwoods and in this season we see them returning as heroes but then the consequences of killing one dragon come to bite them in the tushy when the Chroma Conclave, a group of dragons comes and destroys the city that they are in and starts to take over and the team must find these vestiges to take them down. I just love how in this show they are the most dysfunctional team and we see across both seasons how they are slowly learning how to utilize each others strengths to work together. In this season some people on the team get powers and it was great to see that either happen naturally or with a piece of equipment to show that they might be dysfunctional but they’re still deadly. My favorite part of this show was when Grogg was up against his uncle and Scanlan and Pike were captured and all seemed lost until the rest of Vox Machina comes in and saves the day and the most epic battle occurs and in the end the team has each others back and completes the mission.
2023 was filled with some great tv shows that really sparked my interest and I’m glad that I could squeeze in some time to watch as many as I could. TV shows are much more of a time commitment than movies so I’m always happy when they pay off and leave me wanting more. If there was a favorite of yours please leave it in the comments because I would love to know.
