Honorable mentions: 19 other TV shows we loved in 2023
These series also deserve to be part of the best-of-the-year conversation
TV Features Costello Jones
Craig Robinson in Killing It (Photo: Adam Rose/Peacock), Last Call: When A Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York (Photo: HBO), Gary Oldman in Slow Horses (Photo: Apple TV+) Graphic: The A.V. Club
At the start of the month, we unveiled our 30 favorite TV shows of 2023, which included sendoffs like Succession and Reservation Dogs, worthy returns such as The Bear and Heartstopper, and the confident debuts of Poker Face and Beef. But you know what? There was a lot of great television this year. Here, in alphabetical order, are 19 other gems released in 2023—everything from sharp dramas and under-the-radar comedies to riveting true-crime docuseries—that also deserve a bit of the spotlight.
A different version of this list, about new hidden-gem TV shows, originally published in August.
56 Comments
We almost turned Deadloch off about halfway through ep 2.
Madeleine Sami was almost unbearable. She was just being too extra. We stuck through it and she calmed down finally. It got a lot better towards the end.
I’m so grateful I stuck around through it because, yeah, the character was so wildly overwritten that it was embarrassing to watch. Obviously she was going to have an arc and cool it a bit, but it was like they didn’t trust themselves to do it clearly so they started her at such a pointlessly bad level so they’d have somewhere to go. But yet, the back half was absolutely worth it.
This is good to hear. I only have seen the first episode and loved everything about it – especially Box and her partner on the show – except the other detective! She had some funny moments, but she is sooooo over-the-top that it almost breaks the show right off the bat. You really have to suspend your disbelief that she is a legitimate detective. Happy to hear that it gets better in that area and actually serves a purpose.
If this were last year I’d include “Killing It” on Peacock.
Deadloch was really great, a rare comedy/ mystery where both elements work & enhance the other
Yeah, I was quite impressed at how they managed tone.
I thought Kate Box as Dulcie in particular was really stellar, really grounded it but also was a quite funny, a great straight man
Agreed. It’s always been my contention that playing a good ‘straight man’ character is harder than being ‘the funny one’ and she nailed it.
She was a worthy successor to Stan Laurel and Bud AbbottAnd also understatedly very hot
Bud Abbott (Lou Costello’s straight man), got the bigger salary because good straight men were (are?) so hard to find.
Bud Abbott (Lou Costello’s straight man), got the bigger salary because good straight men were (are?) so hard to find.
That’s why Bud Abbott got paid more than Lou Costello.
Agreed, Deadloch was brilliant — and it manages that balance so well.
Deadloch was so much fun. Hopefully they come back with a Darwin season.
Rain Dogs had an amazing first two episodes, and then became a show about codependency that didn’t have much to offer other than some fantastic performances. I really loved Am I Being Unreasonable with Daisy May Cooper though (I know it was 2022, but worth watching).
Does Rain Dogs ever make use of the Tom Waits song with the same name? I actually turned on the first ep and skipped to the opening and ending credits to see. And, it didn’t.
They can’t all be season 2 of The Wire.
🤘 🤘
Silo is good, but slow. It’s very well made with stellar production values, solid performances (minus numerous slips of Rebecca Ferguson’s accent and Common) and good character interactions. But it’s quite slow. It’s a fairly enjoyable watch but it takes ten episodes to unfold three episodes worth of plot.
Have you read the books (the “Wool” series by Hugh Howey, one of the very few self-published works worth reading)? I haven’t seen the series (it’s on Apple TV) but I did like the books.
I haven’t, so I can’t tell you how closely the show hews to the books.
I haven’t read it for a while but I liked both and didn’t find my impression of one sullied my impression of the other. It’s hard to really give a knowledgeable overall impression of the TV series yet in comparison to the books because there’s just so much left for them to cover that could make or break it.I’m not going to get into the minutiae of specific differences between the books and show because each is a separate entity trying to do different things… like The Expanse, I enjoyed both the books and the series for what they are, even if they have a lot of differences.
In the case of Silo, I don’t remember as many glaring differences, but I only sat with the books once. I followed The Expanse from the first book release, eagerly waited for the next installment every year, and re-read them a couple times in that span, so I knew the details better.
Also, I’ve read a lot of self-published authors, or authors who have at least some self publishing going on, in both sci-fi and fantasy genres. Michael J Sullivan’s a big one for fantasy, Olan Thoranson for scifi… it’d take me a bit to put together a list, but there are good ones out there
I liked the episodic release. It reminded me of Babylon 5 in good ways.
I don’t agree that it’s a slow burn, there is enough material for the 10 episodes and it’s really good.
How is it that shows with 85%+ on Rottentomatoes (shows like Silo and Dead Ringers, to name but two) qualify as underrated?
Unless you’re an asshole who needs EVERYONE to agree with you, how do you possibly call these shows “underrated”?
Silo seemed to earn itself a pretty decent amount of buzz and praise, so I don’t know if I’d consider it as underrated as the rest of these. But yes, it’s pretty good. UnPrisoned starts strong, but I think it dips after a few episodes. Neat to see Washington do comedy, but she turns out to be a pretty whiny character to spend this much time with. And the cuts to her sassy child-self don’t work at all and feel very out of place. The show is really carried by Delroy Lindo’s ability to charm everyone he meets.Does that criticism allow me to counter this suggestion with The Muppets Mayhem on Disney+? Yes. Yes it does. The show is delightful! My Dad the Bounty Hunter is also pretty good, a space adventure bringing a Pixar-type energy to the small screen on Netflix. I also want to shout out School Spirits on Paramount+. Dead girl trying to solve her own murder… You know, that old hat. But I’m reminded of media like Life is Strange when I watch it, and it also feels like a throwback to early 00s teen mysteries. I don’t even know if I’d call it ‘good’ so much as a guilty pleasure, but to my surprise, it hooked me.
The show is really carried by Delroy Lindo’s ability to charm everyone he meets.He’s a riveting presence in any kind of role, a reminder that The Chicago Code wasn’t given nearly enough time to build an audience…
Given the numbers Apple claims it’s pulled, Silo’s only problem has been getting critics to write about it – including AV Club not bothering with any coverage save for this blurb and a ‘review’ of the trailer.Which as I’ve mentioned before, kind of fits for a site that kept putting For All Mankind on its ‘best of list’ without coverage until Season 3.
They already made Extraordinary. It was called Encanto.
No.Just ..look the very basic premise ( a person doesn’t have powers while other people do) is similar…and thats it.In Extra , its the entire world that has powers , not just a family , and instead of regular powers , most people have one , and some are odd, like the guy who can give people orgasms just by touching them , or the guy who can turn anything into a pdf , or the power to turn back tine about 2 minutes (which leads to a guy nearly destroying himself by constantly rewinding things over and over to avoid having a break up argument with his girlfriend , and say the right thing (real time elapsed , 5 minutes , to him 3 days ).Or the guy who turns into a cat ,then gets stuck for several years as one. I mean the regular , strength , speed, flight etc are there , but most people get one , non crimefighting power that is their job , like being able to be posseded by ghosts , and then interviewed by historians ..Its silly , funny touching , and also well horny as hell . If anything it reminded me of the show London Irish (which was created by the person who would go on to write Derry Girls ) , crossed with Misfits.
If only there was a website dedicated to reviewing these kinds of shows and helping them to reach and engage with the kind of audience they deserve
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It’s a fucking shame that more people aren’t watching Deadringers. The original movie is amazing, and the series does a great job of capturing the themes of the film while adding some pretty cool subplots.
I haven’t seen the TV show, but just reading the summary here it strikes me as interesting/useful that they reuse the names that Cronenberg gave his male twins, Beverley and Elliot, which are rarely-male and usually-but-not-always-male at least in the US. (As in Will&Grace’s Beverley Leslie, I guess. Maybe a Southern thing?) The real people the story is inspired by were Cyril and Stewart.
I watched Deadringers as soon as it dropped, it was pretty damn good. And Rachel Weisz was outstanding.
Me and about 2 other people watched it , but The Royal Crackers was really really good (albeit very weird) and thankfully got a season 2
Royal Crackers was fantastic! I can’t wait for season 2.
class of 07 was so much fun. im happy to see it finally make a list of something.
i would love to see a list of shows you may have missed that covers gems of the last few years. streamers, especially appl+ and prime, have a habit of just throwing stuff out there and hoping people find it. hulu does teh same to an extent, but their algorithm seems to suggest things i end up liking better than other streamers. netflix suggestions are basically just them pleading with you to watch their original shows and movies, which feels like giants ads on a redbox.
I started watching FISK on Netflix last week and cant stop. This is just soooo goood! Sort of an Aussie version of The Office. But maybe, dare I say, better!
I loved Extraordinary. Glad to see it’s getting a second season at some point.
I loved Rain Dogs, SO good!
I enjoyed From season 2 quite a bit, but I can’t remember AV Club paying any attention to it.
Class of ‘07, Extraordinary, and Killing It were great shows!
Sorry, Dead Ringers was bad.
Still no Star Trek? Might need to revoke your geek card.
Silo, Slow Horses, and Starstruck ALL deserve to be on BESTS lists!!!
I started Dead Ringers months ago, and then absolutely forgot it existed until I saw this article.
Here are my favorite 2023 shows that didn’t make either list:
Beavis and Butt-Head
While still not quite having the unique identity that made the original so original and fresh, they’re still doing a lot of fun things and riffing on targets that are considerably more mockworthy than Grim Reaper and Kenny G.
Invincible
While I find the show extremely derivative, and the Atom Eve special just lifted an entire bit from The Avengers, the show is still effective with its characters and story. I binged the entire series in a couple weeks and am looking forward to the show coming back.
Foundation
I’ve been a Lee Pace fan since Wonderfalls, so seeing him play these complex characters with so many different sides to them is the best thing about it. While it’s not a perfect show, the worldsbuilding, effects, cinematography, and acting is top notch. Better than Dune, fight me.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Anyone that loves Star Trek but has not seen this show is seriously missing out. It is classic Trek that uses strong, well-defined characters and how they play off each other to tell high-concept stories about morality. This year, they’ve gone where no Star Trek has gone before with a musical episode and crossed over animated Lower Decks characters into live action. Also, watch Lower Decks.
Star Trek: Picard
I passionately hate the first two seasons of Picard. It’s worse than Discovery, Star Trek V, Into Darkness, the series finale of Enterprise, it is the bottomest of rock bottoms for the entire franchise. And yet, season 3 of Picard gives me everything I’ve ever wanted from TNG cast. If you haven’t seen the show at all, skip to season 3 and don’t look back. Terry Matalas (who you should love if you enjoyed the 12 Monkeys series) became the showrunner in season 3 and breathed new life back into Jean-Luc Picard, no longer the passive, defeated old man, but someone with actual agency and intelligence that gets and deserves respect. It is the best Star Trek finale since All Good Things.
Justified: City Primeval
While hardly the best version of Justified, it’s still fun to spend time with Raylan Givens again.
Shrinking
Bill Lawrence’s latest show with yet another perfect ensemble cast is like a more somber Cougartown, plus we get to see Harrison Ford in a role we’ve never seen him in before: basically himself, with a massive potty mouth.