Ben Morris’s Top 10 TV Shows of 2023

Awards Daily’s Ben Morris lists his Top 10 TV Shows of 2023, a list inclusive of a variety of television genres.

There are a lot of conversations about the state of television media.

Many are saying the Golden Age of Television is over. Or, at the very least, it’s changing in unique ways. Certainly, the abundance of television has impact across the broader media landscape as evidenced by several would-be blockbusters emerging as duds in theaters with audiences seemingly opting to wait for films to debut on streaming platforms. Those same streaming services have other issues with content, often fighting for attention in the abundance of the television landscape. Also, creatives fighting for fair pay for their work erased any momentum gained in the post pandemic world.

Despite all this, for me, it has been a great year for media content all around. Television, movies, music, and video games have all been putting out some truly great projects that have made coming to the end of the year incredibly happy. I will admit that many of my top shows on this list are ending. That makes the future more unclear, but for right now, it has been a fantastic year!

Honorable Mentions

Spy x Family

Still one of the funniest and most clever anime series with a found family of a spy, an assassin, and a telepathic child dealing with high risk espionage while passing school and making certain meals are edible. It boasts ample humor, action, and heart, and continues going strong into its second season. (Crunchyroll)

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

The show was plagued by production issues and never finished the season, so I couldn’t consider it for a top spot. But the idea of hating your job so much that a zombie apocalypse is preferable is a very intriguing concept that remained fresh throughout its run. (Crunchyroll and Netflix)

Fargo

I can’t say yet if this belongs because it isn’t done! But if it keeps up with what it is doing, it could easily make next year’s list. So I will wait ’till then. (FX)

Am I Being Unreasonable?

A wonderfully quirky show written by and starring Daisy May Cooper and Selin Hizli. It tells of two women dealing with a lot of issues around emotional abuse and the death of a loved one. Details are slowly revealed with the darkness of a thriller but also with some absolutely non sequitur hilarious moments that made me wonder where exactly that idea originated. (Hulu, BBC 1)

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

I almost didn’t watch this since I liked the original books and movie and didn’t really think I needed an animated show version. But after so many great reviews, I gave it a chance. This is how you reboot an IP, taking the original idea and giving it an entirely new journey while staying true to the style and message. It was a risk that paid off. (Netflix)

The Diplomat

A good political thriller especially with international relations is always welcomed for me with so much to explore in the world of ego-driven politicians. Add Keri Russell expertly navigating the world while also having great chemistry with a husband she respects intellectually but can’t trust.  As well as a possible new partner but is on the opposite side of negotiations makes it even better. (Netflix)

10. The Last of Us

As someone who loved both of the video games and thought Craig Mazin’s Chernobyl was one of the best miniseries in recent years, this was about as much of a slam dunk for me as could be for a new show. With such rich character work in the original game, getting actors to replicate that was going to be hard, but the show did great work anchored in our two leads, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. They captured what we knew of them from the game but also gave the characters their own personal touches that worked beautifully in this new medium. What really let the show differentiate from the game the most was how it created many new ways to observe the post-apocalyptic world of the game. It expanded into flashbacks of the outbreak’s genesis and into seeing two men grow old together in a closed off community just for them. Then, it upped the ante by showing people freeing themselves from fascist control and falling into hatred and revenge. Knowing the story of the second game, I am curious how this team will expand things and explore new aspects of the characters and this broken world in its next season. (HBO)

9. The Owl House

Even with the Disney Channel only giving the show a diminished final season, the creators of The Owl House made it appear that it was the plan all along. The ending was incredibly emotional and satisfying with Luz and her friends pulling together to beat the odds. For a children’s show where you know roughly there will be a good ending for the characters, this show was able to make the battle seem tense and that evil could win. They even made what is usually the cliched fake death moment work fantastically! The intense anger over that loss felt palpable from this cast. It made me feel like a kid rooting for characters I cared about, and I was sad to see that my time with them was at an end. (Disney Channel)

8. Shrinking

This show made me laugh a great deal, and that alone could have gotten it on this list. However, it is more than just one of the funniest shows of last year. It takes a head-on approach to grief and regret with real feelings and pain front and center while never losing the fact that it is a comedy, creating an incredible balancing act that it is able to sustain through ten episodes. There’s an outstanding ensemble cast, anchored by Jason Segel doing his best work ever as a heart-broken therapist trying something new that could help his patients but could also be incredibly dangerous.Then you have Harrison Ford doing his best work in years as a cranky, sarcastic old man who can mentor one minute and then insult with perfection the next. The whole ensemble is perfect, all given moments to express themselves and feel more than just one liner machines (though they all do that expertly as well). A strong cast, discussions of inner pain, and great humor–this was one of the best comedies of the year. (Apple TV+)

7. Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu (The Dangers in My Heart)

Took a few episodes before it really clicked but after that I was hooked! Kyotaro believes that something is wrong with him and has dark thoughts about killing Anna, the popular girl in his school who is a model and dabbles in acting. When she starts using the library he hides in to sneak snacks, he starts to notice things about her and engage with her. This dark intro morphs into one of the sweetest romance animes this year. Kyotaro has a lot of self doubt about himself so the idea that Anna likes him makes no sense to him. She is a bit of an airhead, loving her snacking and screwing up little things, so Kyotaro finds himself wanting to help her out. From these small moments, Kyotaro begins to rethink his own persona, including some of his past reasons for shutting himself off from people, and slowly builds a potential relationship. (Hidive)

6. Barry

Barry took some huge risks that paid off big time with its time jump opening several new doors for its characters, setting up endings that felt remarkably real, even when horrifying, for the ensemble’s journey. While darker than ever, the humor was still laugh-out-loud funny, ending on an incredibly high note by playing on the cynicism of Hollywood giving the character of Barry the ending he wanted but never deserved. That’s showbiz for you! (HBO)

5. Oshi no Ko

With a very complex opening episode to set up the lead characters, the basic premise is that teenagers Aqua and his twin sister Ruby have had an inside view of the entertainment industry especially the Idol industry of Japan, and openings to it but with very different views. Aqua has a great deal of conflicted feelings and is generally distrusting of it. He is actually a good actor and editor but is using his skills and involvement in the industry to solve a mystery and help out people he cares about. Meanwhile, Ruby wants to be an idol to fulfill a longtime dream to herself and to her mother. Through both of them we see the truth of the industry: how it can provide a sense of community and validation but also can create isolation, self-doubt, and suicidal thoughts. How so little is done to help these young adults deal with fame and what it can do to their mental health. Plus a less intense but equally fascinating aspect is the love triangle for Aqua’s affections between Kana, a former child star trying to reclaim herself in Ruby’s new idol group, and Akane, an actress who had a crisis on a reality show. (Team Kana all the way!!) While the show took some leaps that I didn’t quite get at times, it always knew how to land and leave an impact. Building up to a concert that lived up to the hype not in its performance but what it revealed in its characters that made me smile with joy–as well as go on YouTube to watch fan videos to relive the utterly adorable moments. (Hidive)

4. Only Murders in the Building

Season three was the best season yet for this show! For starters, I laughed more with this show than anything else this year with such great bits as Steve Martin entering the white room or hearing Matthew Broderick’s “notes” for his Nova Scotia constable, to name a few. Yet within this incredibly funny show where the comedy is the key, they still managed to create some great emotional character moments. The three leads are all dealing with changing situations within both their personal and professional lives. Oliver’s play Razzle Dazzle is a catalyst for a lot of that, opening up several different situations for the characters as well as giving me personally a repeat YouTube view of Creatures of the Night. Then there are the wonderful guest stars in Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep, doing some of their best work in years, moving easily into this world by embodying complex and funny characters while never taking the focus from our leads. I really loved this season for many reasons and could go on, but it’s a show that has made eating a cookie seem tragic and a creepy kiss into something poignant. (Hulu)

3. The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten

One of the sweetest shows this year that made you just want to squeal with joy watching two of the most likable protagonists figure out that they like each other and, more importantly, how and if they want to take it further. Mahiru Shiina, the “angel” of her high school, known as being perfect to everyone is someone that would seem beyond Amane Fujimiya being able to talk to due to his self-declared avoidance of most people except his best friend. After giving Shiina an umbrella when she seems sad, she notices that he has a cold and they discover that they are neighbors. Feeling guilty that she got him sick, she takes care of him. Then, noticing that he is a slob and eats prepackaged food, she cooks and cleans his palace. From there he reciprocates by helping her pay for the food and cleaning up while she cooks, so they do not need to eat alone at night. This leads to two people slowly getting to know each other and trust each other till they realize that this means they like each other. It is a beautiful slow burn story that makes you just happy to be around these two, with a satisfying final episode of the season that perfectly sets up the next stage in their relationship. (Crunchyroll)

2. Beef

Steven Yeun and Ali Wong tormenting each other was more about exposing how screwed up these two people already were and their own self-destructive behavior, using each other as an outlet. This dynamic created some of the most realistic viewpoints on humanity’s irrational but sadly understandable deep desire for something out of life even if that means hurting everyone around you. These two are both fantastic, with you rooting for them to clean themselves up while also being able to acknowledge why they are making these decisions.Besides the two fantastic leads I want to give a special mention to Joseph Lee as Ali Wong’s husband, who took a character who could have just been the well-meaning but dorky husband and gave him levels about his doubt as an artist living up to a famous family and real weight about his own worth as a husband and father. With all the show’s dark subject matter, the finale was ironically one of the most life-affirming things I have seen all year. The creativity of the finale lets these two open up their doubts, fears, and issues. It doesn’t fix them or forgive them for their decisions, but it lets us empathize with them and leads to one of the best final shots of the year.(Netflix)

1. Succession

There was no doubt in my mind that this was going to be number one, even before the season started. I trusted this team to finish making the best show on television. They did. The ensemble of actors have never been better, and the direction and writing continue to awe me. Plus, the finale was absolutely perfect for this show. I have written about this show so much I do not have much else to say. If you still haven’t watched it do so; this is what people are talking about when they say we are in a Golden Age of Television. (HBO)