The Last Of Us (HBO)
The first big hit show of 2023 was HBO’s The Last of Us, an adaptation of the beloved video game of the same name. Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey with recurring assists from the likes of Anna Torv, Nick Offerman, and Murray Bartlett, this show about a fungal pandemic isn’t your typical zombie show; it’s concerned less with the scares of monsters (though there are still plenty of those!) and more with how characters grow when a new world must be developed. It’s a pretty instant modern HBO classic. As long as Neil Druckmann (the creator of the game) and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) remain in charge, The Last of Us is in good hands.
Poker Face (Peacock)
With Poker Face, Peacock has its first must-see prestige show. Natasha Lyonne leads the festivities as Charlie Cale, a woman with an innate lie detecting ability who finds herself frequently around murders—that she can’t help but solve. Creator Rian Johnson (Knives Out, Glass Onion) wanted badly to bring back shows with the episodic nature and high quality of Columbo, and he’s achieved just that with the wildly-fun Poker Face.
Shrinking (Apple TV+)
Could 2023 be the year of Apple TV+? Just as it seems like most of the other streamers on the list are starting to cut back at least a little, Apple remains on our list with easily the most entries (quantity-wise) and the most-exciting entries, in terms of actors and talent involved.
It starts with a pair of names that will certainly get you excited: Jason Segel (!) returns to TV comedies with co-star Harrison Ford (!!!) for this comedy about a shrink who makes a striking life change. Shrinking was created by Segel, along with the Ted Lasso superteam of Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein. It’s a real winner—a show that builds itself around great characters you’ll want to spend time with, but also gets into mature topics like grief and therapy.
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Party Down (Starz)
Party Down, the beloved cult-classic comedy series, finally returned for a long, long, long-awaited third season—and it delivered. The comedy hit on all of its hilarious and emotional beats, and despite being off the air for 13 years, felt like it was never gone.
Led by Adam Scott’s Henry Pollard, Ken Marino’s Ron Donald, and the rest of the original cast (with the exception of Lizzy Caplan’s Casey, who unfortunately wasn’t available due to filming Fleishman is in Trouble), this is without question one of 2023’s comedy events to remember.
Daisy Jones and the Six (Prime Video) Beef (Netflix)
A little bit of road rage goes a long way.