Daniel's Best Television of 2023
As I have done each year since the dawn of the pandemic, I have actually consumed a good amount of television; enough, at least, to have a fairly informed opinion on the Primetime Emmys in a couple weeks. Between the writers' strike delaying the return of some beloved programs, and the conclusion of several different series that I voraciously watched and loved, I'm not very optimistic I will be able to sit here this time next year and look back with a similar sample size, so let's enjoy this for now, shall we? Here's my opinion on the best shows, programs, and events TV had to offer in the year 2023:
10. Welcome To Wrexham, Season 2 (FX)
I'll admit, I was skeptical of Welcome To Wrexham's staying power as an enjoyable docuseries; much, I imagine, as many in the UK were skeptical of Ryan Reynolds' and Rob McElhenny's staying power as co-owners of the Welsh club. But Season 2 of the behind-the-scenes look at the club and city at large picked up right where Season 1 left off, and simultaneously expanded its scope and appeal. The men's team's thrilling promotion chase is, of course, the main storyline, but with multiple episodes also devoted to the rise of the women's team and the emotional significance of the teams' success to the players, fans, and city at large, you get the sense the Hollywood co-owners feel a real devotion to this club they've purchased, and their comically big dreams for the Dragons might just not be so crazy after all.
9. John Mulaney: Baby J (Netflix)
I'll confess, I have never been as big a Mulaney-head as seemingly all of my fellow white millennial friends and family members have been; I was always more of a casual appreciator. Perhaps relatedly, I didn't experience any deep personal reaction to the comedian's very public relapse, rehab stint, divorce and then new relationship and fatherhood that so many others did. That said, I enjoyed his early 2023 special Baby J more than I have any of his previous sets. Expertly weaving the public knowledge of his crisis with personal stories in comedic fashion, Mulaney did an impressive job accepting responsibility, being honest and transparent, while still being hilarious and following a cohesive arc over the extent of this special. If the last few years have changed public perception of Mulaney the man, this show re-established that the comedian at least is still at the absolute top of his game.
8. I Think You Should Leave, Season 3 (Netflix)
Tim Robinson's bizarre sketch series I Think You Should Leave was always going to have trouble meeting the amount of hype generated by its unexpected, devoted Internet fanbase. And it’s true that the show’s 3rd season was probably its weakest yet; it failed to match the consistent hilarity of Season 2 and relied a little bit too much on the Three Stooges-esque grunting and face-pulling that truly only Robinson himself can make funny. But, just as with the previous seasons, numerous sketches worked their way into the meme universe, entered millennial and Gen Z lexicon, and have stuck in my head like a virus. If you think I can pull up to any fast-food drive-thru without being tempted to bellow “55 WINGS, 55 BURGERS, 55 FRIES”, etc., think again..
7. Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show (Fox)
The announcement of Rihanna as the halftime show performer was an earth-shaking one for a few reasons: one, she’s one of the most famous artists on Earth. Two, she hadn’t released new music and had generally stayed pretty underground since 2016. But a less-publicized but also-relevant reason for its significance was that it bucked a recent trend of halftime shows: it was the first halftime show in a while to revolve around a single artist, in a full stadium (The Weeknd helmed proceedings by himself in 2021, but the COVID-restricted fan turnout meant he had more of the stadium and concourse at his disposal than any other performers in other years would). This meant Rihanna and the organizers involve would need to figure out how to center a show all around a singular figure, who oh by the way, turns out was several months pregnant and thus not the most mobile. Not an easy task, but boy did they deliver. Regardless of whether or not you believe Rihanna was lip-syncing a good bit of her set (she was), it was a visually stunning spectacle, the shifting stage design resembling platforms from video games at time, and levitating and launching the pregnant starlet throughout the Arizona sky. As for RiRi? She opened the show with her unforgettable knowing smirk in the face of the camera, and then promptly rattled off banger after banger, to the delight of both the live and the TV audience. It was a sensation both because of how good it was, but also how well it encapsulated Rihanna's essence: she's an all-time great, she knows it, and she will show up and remind you of it but doesn't need to do anything else with it.
6. Barry, Season 4 (HBO)
Barry was, of course, at its heart always a dark show, but it still feels like you can draw a stark dividing line between its first two seasons and its last two (ironically, and perhaps not completely unrelatedly, straddling either side of the COVID outbreak) in tone. I spoke in last year’s piece about how Bill Hader and co. had “thrown off almost all trappings of being a 'comedy,' and instead leaned into the very dark trajectory of its main character, which was a fairly harsh turn from the first two seasons.” Its final season may not have fully snapped back to finding the perfect balance it established in the first couple seasons, and I agree with the popular online take that it probably could have gone on for one more season rather than taking the drastic flash-forward it did in the final few episodes. That said, it did successfully recapture a good amount of the early-season humor and beloved character traits it had gotten away from somewhat in Season 3; I think I laughed out loud more in the first few episodes of Season 4 than I did during the entire run in 2022. Hader noticeably grew as a director, too, coupling some visually stunning shots and fascinating character development with an ending for each major character that felt truly, tragically, perfect.
5. Abbott Elementary, Season 2 (ABC)
Abbott Elementary was a prominent victim of the WGA and SAG strikes-- by which I mean creator Quinta Brunson and the entire cast and writing staff admirably suspended their show to protest the big studios' and distributors' unfair practices --as a Season 3 did not in fact grace our screens this Fall. The good news? It's officially coming back in early 2024. The more good news? The second half of Season 2, which aired across Spring 2023, was good enough by itself to be some of the best television we got all year. If the sophomore season was a little bit wobbly at the start in its attempt to recapture the debut season's magic, it quickly hit its stride again. Everything you loved and were annoyed by with each character was back, as were the amazing interpersonal dynamics, the central romantic plotline, the hilarious situations, and most importantly, the warm heart underpinning this underdog success story.
4. Atlanta, Season 4 (FX)
Disclaimer: yes, Atlanta's final season technically aired in late 2022. I'm including it in this year's ranking for a few reasons. First of all, selfishly, I didn't get around to watching it until this year. But also, Atlanta took a rare step of airing both its third and fourth seasons in their entirety in the same calendar year, and I had watched the spring season (Season 3) last year, which made the season split feel even more drastic, and Season 4 is included in the current Emmys cycle, rather than last year's. It's a 2023 season!!! Just go with me on this!!
Anyways, where Season 3 marked a choppy return after a 4-year hiatus for the show, Donald Glover and co. fully rediscovered the secret sauce in its final season. Gone were the one-off, tangentially-related (at best) episodes that didn't involve the central cast (which I think I actually liked more than most fans, but still found myself craving more of Earn, Paper Boi and Darius' adventures across Europe than what we got). Back were the aforementioned trio plus Vanessa in every episode, now from a place of realized success, and figuring out how to handle that while wanting to hold on to their hometown and the people and memories they hold dear. As a season, it was a perfect send-off, and the finale, even more so. Subversive to the very end, the last episode felt absolutely nothing like a typical series finale, instead containing all the humor, heart, absurdity and surrealism that so defined this marvelous, original program. We likely won't ever see another show like it.
3. Shrinking, Season 1 (Apple TV+)
I begrudgingly have to tip my hat to my friend Alex on this one, whose pop culture opinions I typically take such joy in lording over. He put me on to this delightful little Apple TV+ comedy in the Spring, and I think I consumed the entire season in about 3 days. It's not particularly surprising, I suppose, that the creative brains behind Scrubs and Ted Lasso and a cast of Jason Segel, Harrison Ford and the hysterical Jessica Williams was a winning formula. But still, I did not expect to laugh so hard and feel so deeply from this new show. Segel's protagonist, a therapist working to process his grief over his late wife and simultaneously win back the respect of his teen daughter and repair his various relationships, is so easy to root for. But so too are his various foils: Ford as his curmudgeonly father figure, Williams his dynamic coworker and confidant, Lukita Maxwell his snarky but sharp daughter, Michael Urie his longtime best friend that you can't help but love and be annoyed by in equal measure, Christa Miller his aggressively nosy neighbor with a deceptively big heart... the list goes on and on. It's a feel-good comedy, with a huge heart, to be sure, but don't be surprised by how much you genuinely laugh out loud as well. One of the shows whose future I'm most excited to see.
2. The Bear, Season 2 (FX)
FX's high-octane "dark comedy" (read: every bit as much Drama as Comedy, if not more so) centering around an elite chef and his drive to preserve and restore his deceased brother's restaurant in Chicago was always going to have a hard time building on its debut season. It was an unlikely sensation when its first season premiered in Summer 2022, taking the Twittersphere by storm and delighting critics and awards shows alike. Similar to other shows referenced in this article, I wondered if it would stop at one season; it was such a phenomenal season, with a natural conclusion to its story, where they could possibly go from there? All over, it turns out. Carmy and co. are dedicated to making this refurbished restaurant the very best in all Chicago, and as such, the titular Bear sends his kitchen staff to every corner of the city, to culinary school, even to Copenhagen, all in the pursuit of greatness. We the viewers were treated to a chance to see this show on a macro scale, as well as the introduction of a love interest, all done without losing the very Chicagoan heart, or being untrue to the character arcs presented in Season 1. If it would have just done away with the countless (and needless) Coach K and Taylor Swift references, it would have been another perfect season. Alas, it's only 99% perfect.
1. Succession, Season 4 (HBO)
If you spend time on Twitter but have never watched this show, this is the most predictable and obnoxious #1 answer possible. I get it, I do. But to quote a real-life American president that the fictional Roy family would probably support, "sorry to the haters and losers." No matter how tired you may be of hearing about Succession, I promise you it deserves the hype. Skeptics and nonbelievers dwell on how shitty the central cast of characters is to its core, and it's not wrong, but the fact of the matter is, this show has always been about spectacular writing, and note-perfect acting. True to form, the remarkable writing staff seemed hell-bent on reminding its most loyal fans just how bad these characters they devoted their Sunday nights to truly were, and every last actor and actress portrayed it to perfection. In its 4 seasons, Succession brought various twists and turns, but it saved its biggest twist yet for its final season-- and boy, what an episode of television it produced. I could not conceive of a better, more realistic, more thought-out end to the story we were introduced to five years ago. Give this show every last damn award while we still can.
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