The 10 Best TV Shows of 2023

It was a strange year in television. The looming finales of critical darlings like Succession, Barry, and Ted Lasso, coupled with reports of a new era of cost-cutting and show-purging from streamers once flush with seemingly limitless budgets, prompted much hand-wringing over the end of Peak TV in exchange for a flood of algorithm-informed chum, shameless IP plays, and hastily thrown-together true-crime dreck ripped straight from the latest gory headlines. No wonder the writers and the actors went on strike, bringing Hollywood to a grinding halt for a period that history books will remember as “hot labor summer.” The effects of the dual strikes have been felt these past few months—and will continue to be felt heading into 2024—as release dates get pushed back and our sudden streaming-queue gaps get filled with more reality television, documentaries, and overseas productions.