2023 was the year we said goodbye to “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Ted Lasso,” “Succession” and “Reservation Dogs.”
But it was also the year we said hello to a string of streaming series, work from international producers and “second” seasons that suggested everything is right in a world rocked by strikes.
Because networks weren’t getting new material from writers and actors, they looked outside of U.S. borders and found series in Europe, Asia and Canada. (The CW had so many north-of-the-border series the “C” could have been a hat tip to Canada.)
By the time the fall television season rolled around, viewers were stuck with a lot of celebrity game shows and talk shows featuring (gasp!) authors and musicians.
Luckily, the fall brought hope – and a string of series that proved all was not lost.
Debuting in the fall, the fifth season of “Fargo” and a newcomer, “Fellow Travelers,” showed there was plenty of programming just waiting to be seen. With others expected to premiere in January and February, we can only assume one of the best years is about to unfold.
Meanwhile, the best of 2023:
1. BEEF – Korean filmmakers continue to show us there’s great material popping up just about everywhere. This slice of life drama showed how one incident could lead to a lifetime of revelations. The circuitous story was highly binge-able, largely because Steven Yeun and Ali Wong worked so well under Lee Sung Jin’s superb guidance.
2. JURY DUTY – Consider this a summons. The Amazon Freevee reality series was so filled with absurd situations and laughs you almost wished you got called to serve. Taking a longtime TV tradition (hiding cameras), adding actors (James Marsden among them) and tossing one innocent man to the wolves, “Jury Duty” produced some of the best comedy of the year. The quasi-reality show was a clever twist on those overly scripted offerings on Bravo.
3. THE BEAR – Just when you thought a perfect first season couldn’t be topped, the folks behind “The Bear” came back with an even better second Building his new restaurant, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) found he had bigger problems than he realized. Chief among them: A mother (Jamie Lee Curtis, the year’s best guest performer) who tended to spin out of control. Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who could have been a real stumbling block, turned out to be the big success story. And the show? It made us want to get reservations for a third season.
4. FARGO – After a weak season with Chris Rock, the Coen Brothers-infused anthology series got back on track with a mystery set in 2019. Jon Hamm showed his worst side (and best acting skills); Juno Temple proved she is an actress of great range and David Rysdahl (as her husband) emerged as the biggest find on television. Together, they looked at the country’s divide through a beautifully canted lens and the quirkiness that is the Midwest.
5. BABY J – Comedian John Mulaney opened a vein, got plenty of laughs and new respect. Telling the story of his untethered life and subsequent rehabilitation, he wasn’t just trying to entertain, he was hoping to education. The routine surprised and showed Mulaney wasn’t just a joke writer who could be dismissed.
6. FELLOW TRAVELERS – What could have been a lurid look at a gay couple in the 20th century turned out to be a great history lesson. Matt Bomer (at his best) and Johnathan Bailey showed how men went to extreme lengths to hide their relationships, particularly since government officials were on the rampage to out a host of people, gays included. How the two traveled the road of secrecy gave this Showtime series an edge over other McCarthy-era dramas, bent on creating enemies.
7. RESERVATION DOGS – We said goodbye to the friends who longed to live in California but realized home is really where you make it. Several farewell episodes brought big tears and confidence the four will survive because they had these strong relationships early in life. The four actors – D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai, Devery Jacobs, Paulina Alexis and Lane Factor – should have big careers, too.
8. THE LAST OF US – Hollywood hasn’t had a good record adapting video games into films and television series. Sure, there have been stray commercial winners, but artistic ones? Good luck. This gave us Pedro Pascal as a smuggler trying to escape a pandemic that threatened life as we know it. Coming on the heels of the Coronavirus, it was everything we didn’t want to see but needed to.
9. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS – Laugh for laugh, this was the funniest comedy on television. Taking a goofy premise (vampires living in Staten Island), giving it a contemporary spin and letting the chips fall wherever, “Shadows” got the kind of response other so-called comedies could only hope for. Mark Proksch (as the energy vampire) was the guy we all know and try to avoid. Harvey Guillen (as the familiar and wannabe vampire) was the person we fear we’re becoming. Roll in Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou and Kristen Schaal and this was the kind of cast that made ‘60s TV shows immortal.
10. SUCCESSION – There was so much action in the final season of “Succession” you needed an assistant to sort it all out. Luckily, the HBO drama had a drama school of great actors playing the Roy family and their satellites. While a reboot wouldn’t be out of the question, this certainly ended with a bang and let fans decide for themselves what happened next.
Movie critic Bruce Miller says "The Iron Claw" is a fascinating slice of life that suggests all the fame in the world may look great but it can’t replace a little parental love.
