Unbelievably, we’ve reached the end of the year. A time to reflect and champion the best television had to offer. Perhaps more so than every other year when I compile the list, I don’t feel as if there’s a definitive show of the year. The final season of Succession will go down as one of the best final seasons of a show in all of television. In truth, I am still thinking about the final episodes of Succession and THAT episode of The Bear. Happy Valley’s final series was a long time coming but well worth the wait. It’s been a surprisingly good year for new comedies with Colin From Accounts, Shrinking, Dreaming Whilst Black and Only Murders in The Building all offering something funny and fresh. My favourite thing about compiling the list every year is the shows that really surprised us, coming out of nowhere to become favourites. Netflix didn’t have a great roster of hits, but Beef was incredibly original and fun. Apple TV’s Hijack could have been a cliched action drama, but it managed to be properly gripping. The Last Of Us was incredibly heartfelt and deeply moving while Poker Face proved that old-school TV had a place within the streaming era. huge surprise. So, here it is, our list of the best television of 2023. Did your favourite make the list?

Happy Valley January 2023, BBC One – I’ll admit to being equal parts excited and trepidatious when the final series of Happy Valley kicked off the year on New Year’s Day. It had been nearly seven years since we’d spent any time with Sarah Lancashire’s Catherine Cawood, would it really be easy to jump back into her life after such a long time away? Of course! A deliberate gap, to allow actor Rhys Connor to get to an age that Sally Wainwright needed him to be for her final chapter, the series was gripping from its opening moments. We can debate whether the mystery at its centre between a dodgy pharmacist and a controlling husband often felt like it went over ground the series had tackled before, but as with anything Sally Wainwright writes, the characters were heartbreakingly real. The real heartbreak comes for Catherine when she learns her sister Clair has betrayed her and taken her grandson Ryan to visit his father Tommy Lee Royce. The scene where she confronts Clair about this is one of the tensest scenes of the year, as Catherine keeps her cool and Clair tries to reassure her she felt she was doing the best thing she could for Ryan. Sally Wainwright is a master of dialogue and in Sarah Lancashire, she found the perfect vessel to deliver it. When Ryan confronts Catherine about whether his mother killed herself, even with all the bubbling anger she feels towards him, she still can’t bring herself to tell him the truth about who his father is and the damage he inflicted on the family. The final showdown between Catherine and Tommy Lee Royce at Catherine’s kitchen table is electric and gives fans everything they could want from a final interaction between the pair. It even humanises Tommy Lee Royce – a character we’ve seen do horrific things across the run of the series. Happy Valley isn’t just one of the best British dramas of our time, it’s one of THE best TV dramas of all time and worth every bit of the long wait to get to this incredible final series.

Shrinking January 2023, Apple TV+ – With a Hollywood a-lister double-act at its centre, it’s not surprising that therapy comedy-drama Shrinking stood out from the crowd from the off. Jason Segel’s latest vehicle at first-glance appeared to owe much to his movie hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall – about a man falling to pieces after a relationship ends – but Brett Goldstein’s writing lifts Shrinking above the bawdy comedy, and delivers a moving and totally gripping tale of grief, ageing and family. CBT therapist Jimmy (Segel) is in a downward spiral after the death of his wife, and begins giving his therapy clients controversial, blunt advice, much to the alarm of his senior partner Paul (Harrison Ford, proving he’s still got stories to tell) and colleague Gaby (Jessica Williams). On top of this his neighbours have taken over parenting Jimmy’s teenage daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) in his mental absence. There are elements of Ricky Gervais’ Afterlife in a man taking his grief out on the world, but Shrinking comes from a much warmer place and the chemistry between Segel and his mentor Ford, and the true “found family” of the ensemble cast, puts Shrinking on another plane. Newcomer Luke Tennie is a star to watch out for as Jimmy’s angry young client who comes to live in the family home, and SNL’s Heidi Gardner is a left-field heartbreaker as a victim of domestic abuse. It’s a show that keeps the surprises and laughs coming thick and fast, right up until its final seconds. Written by Dawn Glen.

The Last of Us January 2023, HBO/Sky Atlantic – I’m not a gamer. I’d never heard of The Last of Us. I’m also not overly familiar with the careers of Pedro Pascal or Bella Ramsey. Add to that I’m not interested in anything to do with zombies and you wouldn’t expect a show based on a videogame about zombies to be for me. I had quite expected it to be another Game of Thrones – a show with a huge fanbase that just wouldn’t speak to me. But, almost immediately it won me over. Perhaps because we’ve all just lived through our own life-altering pandemic, the themes here of a fungus that turns those it infects to plant-like zombies feasting on others were far-fetched but not enough to that I couldn’t lose myself in the beautifully crafted world and characters. Also, ‘the infected’ were used sparingly making any time they did pop up genuinely shocking and scary as for big swathes of the series you’d forget the danger that lurked for the characters. Pedro Pascal is perfect as Joel, the perfect action hero who is roaming the wilderness to reconnect with his brother and still grieving the loss of his teenage daughter. His pairing with teenager Ellie isn’t an easy one initially, born after the infected wiped out big areas of America, her references are different and she’s an irritant. Eventually, though, they grow close, reliant on each other as they traverse a vast unknown landscape where danger lurks around every corner. It’s a deeply human story, a man grieving the loss of his daughter finds a surrogate in a young orphan who needs him to keep her safe. My lack of knowledge of the source material meant everything was either a surprise or deeply shocking. The third episode, which starred Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett as unlikely couple Bill and Frank was one of the most genuine and sweet depictions of a love story I’ve seen. The series would often break away from Ellie and Joel’s journey to explore the characters more deeply. The sixth episode, which looked at Ellie’s life in the orphanage and her relationship with Riley (Storm Reid) was another great example. Sneaking away to an abandoned mall, the pair play in the arcade, ride the merry-go-round and enjoy being kids before Riley drops the bombshell that she’s moving away. It’s a rare glimpse into Ellie’s life not only before she met Joel but also a look at the difficulties Ellie has faced in her young life. Everyone who is left behind has suffered so much loss and seen so much violence no one is immune to the hurt Joel is feeling. I won’t spoil what happens there but it’s another example of how creator and writer Craig Mazin was able to make you feel for his characters. The Last of Us, was moving, exciting and unpredictable. A world populated with people I cared about deeply.

Extraordinary January 2023, Disney+ – Disney+ may not be the platform foremost in your mind when it comes to off-the-wall British comedies, but Extraordinary was one of the funniest and most innovative British comedies in years. Set in alternative current-day London, where everyone gets a superpower when they turn 18 (some less useful than others, such as being able to summon fish), it focuses on one of the few power-less, Jen (Mairead Tyers). Hapless in life, Jen feels – unsurprisingly – hard done by with her lot in life, particularly compared to her talented violinist, and superstrong half-sister Andy (Safia Oakley-Green), and best friend, and conduit-for-the-deceased, Carrie (Sofia Oxenham). When a seemingly stray cat comes into her life, Jen, Carrie and her boyfriend Kash (Bilal Hasna) take it in, only to discover Jizzlord (Luka Rollinson) (said cat) is a shapeshifting human who had been stuck in cat form. Jen is desperate to uncover her own power, while her roommates struggle with theirs, in a clear metaphor for desperately trying to find your place in life in your early 20s. First-time writer Emma Moran captures the angst and self-doubt of the characters beautifully, with sharp dialogue, inventive world-building, and a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. Written by Dawn Glen.

Poker Face January 2023, Peacock/Sky Max – Anyone who has seen Rian Johnson’s film Knives Out knows the director can craft a compelling and satisfying mystery, and anyone who saw Russian Doll knows what an incredible screen presence Natasha Lyonne is. It’s no surprise then that when the two come together they create one of the best shows of the year. Poker Face is by far, the least revolutionary of any shows on this list but that’s the point. Johnson and Lyonne wanted to make a show like the ones they loved as children. Even before they collaborated, Johnson had said how much Lyonne’s performance in Russian Doll had reminded him of Peter Falk’s Columbo. With Poker Face, the pair has gone back in time to deliver a show that is so retro and well-made that it feels fresh. A mystery of the week show, with new characters each week only connected when Lyonne’s character Charlie Cale enters their lives. Unlike their inspiration for the show, Charlie isn’t a detective but does have a very special skill that helps her solve mysteries, uncover murderers, and save people’s lives. A long-time poker player, Charlie has an uncanny knack for knowing when someone is lying to her. It’s a gift that even she can’t explain. When a man drops his elderly uncle off at a nursing home Charlie is working in, she immediately knows the pair aren’t related. A clever device in the opening episode, explains why Charlie would need to pop up in various places, taking jobs and infiltrating people’s lives she otherwise wouldn’t have. The settings are brilliantly varied, as well as the nursing home, Charlie finds work as a roadie for an ageing rock band, a waitress at a BBQ restaurant, and at a go-kart track. Each time the characters are really interesting and each mystery different from the last. The structure of each episode, which sees the audience somewhat in on the culprit before it goes back to explain how Charlie got involved, is borrowed from Columbo but no less effective here. Johnson and Lyonne have both spoken of their desire for Poker Face to go on and on and I really hope they get the chance to keep making this brilliant show.

Unforgotten February 2023, ITV – Still the jewel in ITV’s drama crown, Chris Lang’s crime drama about a police team tasked with solving crimes from the past, is showing no signs of its age. That might have something to do with its clever structure, focusing on a group of seemingly unconnected people who will eventually be revealed as crucial players in the victim’s life. Their lives have moved on in the time since the horrific event took place. I think its longevity has a lot to do with the central team working on the case. Their methodical, passionate, and calm.  TV is awash with stereotypical hot-headed detectives, but Chris Lang’s team feels like real people who are always sympathetic to the victims and the possible suspects. Unforgotten fans always knew series five would be different. The first without the wonderful Nicola Walker after her shock death. But, we didn’t need to worry because Unforgotten handled her departure expertly. Sanjeev Bhaskar delivered perhaps his best performance to date as DI Sunny Khan throws himself into work despite still grieving the loss of his closest friend and colleague and being passed over for her job. His grief impacts his home life, even his girlfriend announces she’s pregnant he can’t force a smile. As with everything where Unforgotten is concerned, the loss of Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker) is handled delicately and sensitively. The introduction of Sunny’s new partner Jessica Jones (Sinéad Keenan) arrives at a bad time in her personal life and the pair spend the majority of the series at odds. Jess doesn’t see the need to investigate the crime if it happened such a long time ago and when she is drawn into things her interview style and the way she interacts with possible suspects is abrupt and not the way Sunny is used to working. The scene where the pair finally bond and offload all they’ve been holding onto to that point is brilliant and proves the two will be able to work together going forward. Unforgotten without Nicola Walker was hard to envisage, but Chris Lang crafted another properly compelling and heart-felt six-part mystery that both paid tribute to a character the audience loved and set the series up for what will be its sixth series next year.

Abbott Elementary March 2023, ABC/Disney+ – After a successful debut last year, school-based US sitcom Abbott Elementary returned for the difficult second season on Disney+ this spring. Thankfully, Quinta Brunson’s writing and leadership steered the ship onward in a smooth, satisfying, and humorous manner. Brunson’s Janine continues on her path of self-discovery and self-confidence as a teacher and woman, whilst life, pupils and her mother, throw obstacles in her path. The staff at Abbott deal with the threat of Abbott becoming a “charter school” – which would mean less of their needy pupils would be provided for, and their own jobs would be under threat – with the same chaotic brilliance they face all challenges their teaching jobs are lumbered with. The female cast continues their award-winning best with Sheryl Lee-Ralph and Lisa Ann Walter impeccable as fairy godmother/sexy aunt partnership Barbara and Melissa, and Janelle James adds comedic finesse to her role as fame-obsessed, but secret-heart-of-gold, headteacher Ava. But the male cast more than holds their own, with custodian Mr. Johnson stealing many of the funniest scenes. The sweet relationship between Janine and fellow teacher Gregory (Tyler James Williams) moves forward in a satisfying way that never feels either rushed or artificially stalled, remaining believable and tantalising. With Abbott, comedy and character development always goes hand-in-hand with shining a light on the lives of those in deprived areas, and always highlighting the absolute heroes that teachers are in simply coming to work every day.

Succession March 2023, HBO/Sky Atlantic – At this point, it’s hard to find new adjectives to describe how much I admired, respected and loved the Succession’s final season. Bowing out after 39 episodes (damn you pandemic!), Jesse Armstrong’s incredible drama about the mega-rich Roy dynasty cemented itself as one of TV’s greatest achievements by not only ‘sticking the landing’ but by delivering one truly stunning episode after another. Which of the Roy siblings would take control of their father’s powerful media business has been baked into the DNA of the show since its inception but that didn’t mean the eventual death of the omnipresent and brutal Logan Roy (Brian Cox) came as any less of a shock. Especially so early into the run. I’m not sure I’ve been this shaken by a screen death before especially as we didn’t see it happen. The show could have had Logan drop to his knees in agony in the middle of one of his trademark explicative-filled rants, but the decision to have Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) deliver the news to the siblings over the phone as their father lay dying aboard his private plane hit 100 times harder than that would have. Watching Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Shiv (Sarah Snook) process the news, each taking the phone to deliver their final words to their father was heartbreaking. The trio had impressed me so much already but I genuinely don’t know they pulled off a performance like this. It works because it feels so achingly real. However awful and morally corrupt these people are, hearing their father is dying turns them into young children again. They’d all been so desperate for his approval and now they know they’ll never get it. It was a monumental episode of television that I’m still thinking about but I’m also still thinking about Logan’s funeral and the various eulogies that he received. From his elder brother shedding light on a horrific incident in Logan’s childhood that might not excuse his behavior but might go a tiny bit of a way to explaining it, to Roman finally succumbing to his grief when he sees his father’s coffin, to Shiv’s story about being terrified of her father when she and her brothers would play outside of his office as children. The series had so much depth, so much so that it felt even as it ended that we’d only just scratched the surface of these complex people. The final episode was utterly perfect. Staying true to the story at the heart and worryingly true to the true nature of these characters.

Race Across the World, March 2023 BBC One  – After a long delay (damn you pandemic!) Race Across The World finally returned this year and with it came a promotion to the BBC’s flagship channel. I don’t watch a lot of reality competitions anymore. They’ve all become a bit too predictable, skew too young, or rely on ridiculous premises to hook viewers (Rise and Fall and Are You Scared of the Dark being two recent silly examples). I’ve always had a soft point for Race Across The World. Part reality show, part travelogue, part couples’ therapy, the series has always cast really nice people who you want to succeed. Old friends Cathie and Tricia see the race as one last big adventure before Triaca completely loses her eyesight. Father and daughter Kevin and Claudia use it as a reason to reconnect after Kevin’s job as a pub landlord when Claudia was growing up often meant the pair spent very little time with each other. Whatever each team’s reason for taking part, the show sees their relationships tested, most often for the better as they see parts of the world they never would otherwise and grow as people throughout the experience. Although restrictions eased enough for them to film a new series, the setting of this year’s series, stretching the entirety of Canada meant the ‘race’ element of the series was perhaps the least exciting part of the series. The lack of public transport in the country meant a lot of show was devoted to the teams trying to secure rides with friendly locals. When there was public transport available it often meant the teams were on it together meaning the ‘race’ felt obsolete at points. Ultimately, any minor niggles didn’t stop me enjoying the series. The teams were all lovely and I love that even though there is a competitive side to the show, each of the teams is just as happy when someone else in the race succeeds as they are when they do well. The show does well at giving each of the teams equal focus, and the races to each checkpoint still feel as exciting as they did. Race Across The World shines a light on the genuinely nice people that walk among us and for that it should be applauded, I just wish more of this type of television would take a leaf from its playbook.

Barry, April 2023 HBO/Sky Comedy – Succession wasn’t the only big HBO critical darling to finish its run in the first part of the year, Bill Hader’s Barry took his final bow too. The story of a hitman for hire who falls in love with amateur dramatics was every bit as daring and surprising as Succession. Bill Hader and Alec Berg’s series has grown steadily darker since it began, but its sillier moments still cut through and remind you how ridiculous everything is. The chase sequence where Barry is pursued by a team of assassins on motorbikes on a busy LA freeway was one of the best set pieces in all of television last year and I could make the argument that the violent showdown that sees Barry escape his imprisonment rivals that in scope and ambition. These characters may have begun with a comedic edge, though Hader admitted to me during a press call that he still very much views Barry as ‘an idiot’, but everyone in the series is far more complex and damaged than they were in the first series. Sally (Sarah Goldberg) is a character without the emotional intelligence to process the trauma she’s been through and despite knowing how dangerous Barry is, she tells him she feels safe with him. Barry’s acting teacher, Gene Cousineau (the ever-brilliant Henry Winkler) begins the season determined to bring Barry to justice after learning he’s responsible for killing his girlfriend, but like each of the characters, he’s deeply selfish and when he’s painted as the hero in Barry’s initial capture he can’t revert to type and grab the spotlight. The series can also hit emotionally. The relationship between cartoonish Chechen mobster NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) and his lover Cristobal, is really well observed and genuinely sweet, but even Hank (who at times is the happiest of anyone in this final season) can’t help but revert to type and save himself over others. The final season belongs to Bill Hader who co-wrote, produced, and directed every episode of the run. His time shadowing the minds behind Better Call Saul comes in handy for a device he employs in the latter half of the season, which changes the series forever. Another great series with a deliciously satisfying conclusion.

Beef, April 2023 Netflix – Sometimes, a show you know nothing about comes out of the blue and knocks your socks off. That was certainly the case with Beef from Netflix which felt completely unique in both its storytelling and its perspective. A random road rage incident between stressed-out Danny (Steven Yeun) and supposed happy and successful Amy (Ali Wong) sets in motion a vendetta that neither can control. The running theme as I write this list is complex characters. It’s unclear why Amy and Danny get under each other’s skin so much. As much they loathe one another (she cuts him off and gives him the finger so he tracks her down, gains access to her bathroom, and purposely urinates all over it) they clearly get something out of the fight that is lacking in their lives. When Amy discovers what Danny has done in her bathroom she chases him down the street full of anger but as his truck speeds out of sight, a smile comes across her face. Both of them are lacking something that this exciting and eventually dangerous feud provides for them. Speaking of the particular stresses placed on Asian Americans to attain a near-impossible level of success, Beef tells a deeply personal and unique story.  When we are let into both of these characters’ private lives, it shows us that money and class are merely symptoms of their bigger issues. These are two people with generational issues that they don’t have the emotional tools to deal with. Danny is living in the shadow of causing his parent’s failure at the motel business. Letting his cousin Isaac (David Choe) use the motel for stolen goods led to them returning to Korea in shame, while Danny and his younger brother Paul (Young Mazino) try to build their business up to bring them back. While Amy is trapped in the life she was always told she should have, and not the life she wants. As the danger increases in their lives, the closer they become. Wong and Yeun are incredibly good together and Beef is definitely one of the most original Netflix Originals in a long long time.

Jury Duty April 2023, Amazon Freevee – Critics are supposed to be the ones with their finger on the pulse of what’s new and exciting, but sometimes, and I stress only sometimes, a show takes hold that we miss. The fact that Jury Duty was a hit is nothing short of miraculous. First of all, it appeared without any promotion and secondly, it lives on a streaming platform – Amazon Freevee which most people aren’t aware exists and finally, it didn’t feature any BIG names, unless you’re a big fan of James Marsden. The premise – a documentary getting unique access to the inner workings of a Jury during a civil trial was interesting enough but when you learn that the case is a fake and that court workers, judge, and all but one of the jurors are all actors the series becomes really interesting. Filmed in the style of the mockumentary, the casting directors didn’t realise they’d stumbled upon a new TV star when they picked Ronald Gladden, a solar panel contractor from San Diego to be the focus of all the madness going on around him. The initial idea was to see how much the talented group of improv performers could get away with before Ronald would snap or realise he was part of an elaborate prank. The joy (and it is a properly joyous viewing experience) is that Ronald is so lovely, he’s just happy to go along with anything the production throws at him. When one of his fellow jurors, a budding inventor arrives for court wearing a pair of ‘chairpants’ he’s designed so he can always sit down whenever he likes, Ronald finds it amusing (the camera is very good at catching Ronald whenever it looks he might break) but when he’s asked by the juror later if his invention is stupid, Ronald urges him to keep coming up with things sure he’ll invent something of note soon. Ronald talks throughout to the camera crew and we see excerpts of his video diaries where he’ll often say how crazy things are happening but he never one suspects he’s part of something more than he signed up for. He’s vocal throughout that he doesn’t want to be the foreperson on the jury, but when it is engineered to do just that, Ronald doesn’t moan, he takes the role seriously even when everyone around him is trying to disrupt things. Ronald ingratiates himself with everyone and genuinely cares about the other people on the jury. His kindness and generosity takes everyone in the cast and production by complete surprise and the moment when Ronald is let in on what’s actually been going on right under his nose is possibly my favourite moment of television so far this year. Again, he takes everything humbly, blown away by how good the actors have been and truly interested in how the experiment played out. Perhaps with someone in the spotlight, Jury Duty might not have worked as well but in Ronald Gladden, they found a properly nice person who was a joy to watch.

Colin From Accounts April 2023, Binge/BBC Two – Along with Jury Duty, it’s fair to say this delightful comedy from Australia was one of the biggest surprise hits of the year so far with word of mouth spread like dog doodoo on a flip-flop. Created, written by, and starring, husband and wife team Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, Colin From Accounts is a rip-roaring romcom that ploughs new ground in the meet-cute territory, by centering it around a disabled dog. Brammall is “Flash” Gordon, a 40-something brewer desperate to be cool and looking for meaning in life after a brush with cancer, while Dwyer is Ashley, a live-wire trainee doctor whose life is falling apart at the seams. Their paths literally cross when Ashley flashes Gordon a boob for letting her cross in front of his car, causing him to distractedly run over a stray dog. Forced to spend time together due to their shared responsibility over the now disabled dog, the unlikely duo finds a connection and chemistry that takes them down the reluctant road to love. Brammall and Dwyer’s chemistry is, understandably, easy and warm, with a depth that makes the romance second-nature, while Gordon and Ashley’s friends and workmates highlight their differences and threaten to pull them apart. But Colin – Colin From Accounts is the full-name they give their new dog – and their attraction keeps them connecting and fighting for their combined happiness in this delightful, easy romcom. Written by Dawn Glen.

Somebody Somewhere April 2023, HBO/Sky Comedy – One of my favourites from last year returned with a possibly better second season. It’s strange really because the second season stripped away a lot of what I liked about the first season. The death of actor Mike Hagerty who played Sam’s (Bridget Everett) father before filming meant some re-jigging. I can understand why the show sent Hagerty’s character off on a fishing trip with his brother rather than burden Sam and her family with more grief. It also did away with the choir where Sam found sanctuary following the death of her sister, but whilst elements were missing, the show’s central beautiful platonic between Sam and Joel (Jeff Hiller) is explored with greater depth evolving into the show’s best asset. Somebody Somewhere isn’t exciting, it isn’t as high-octane as something like Barry or Happy Valley but it’s a brilliant underseen gem. It’s a show that focuses on a friendship between two people TV would ordinarily ignore and their friends within their tight-knit community. It’s quietly revolutionary when it comes to LGBQ+ representation and in the moments when Sam does get to sing (including a rousing rendition of Laura Braningan’s ‘Gloria’) it’s like a warm hug. It was recently confirmed that it had been ordered for a third season proving HBO will stick with these smaller shows and give voices to people who wouldn’t have one in such a crowded TV landscape.

Silo May 2023, Apple TV+ -Apple+ may have finally found a genre show that will sit comfortably on its platform alongside the brilliant Severance, with dystopian drama Silo. Set in an unknown future where civilisation appears to consist of only 10,000 humans, living life in a silo far beneath a barren world for an unknown length of time. However, what is clear is that a judicial and class-based system has kept the remaining humans from asking too many questions about the past, in the 140 years since their records were destroyed. Silo opens with two brilliant, brave episodes that tell the story of married couple Sheriff Holston (David Oyelowo) and IT expert Allison Becker (Rashida Jones), and their attempts to have a child. The Beckers find themselves illuminating the dark corners of the silo and opening doors – both figurative and literal – to what really lies outside their underground home. And, quickly, their story passes to engineer Juliett Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) who takes on the torch of truth when she’s given the job of Sheriff and tasked with explaining the deaths of several high-positioned residents of the silo. Class warfare, totalitarianism, justice, and the media are themes that all ride along the sci-fi elements of the story comfortably, and Ferguson is a strong lead as the quiet, reluctant-hero Juliett. Tim Robbins and Legend play the ominous, menacing faces of power and corruption brilliantly in this story where the real terror is the answers that lie in our past, our humanity, and our ability to stand out from the crowd. Written by Dawn Glen.

The Great, May 2023, Hulu/Lionsgate+ – Consistently one of the smartest shows on television, Tony McNamara‘s ‘occasional’ true story of Catherine The Great reached new emotional depths in its third and sadly final season. Pushing the brilliant Nicholas Hoult and Elle Fanning to dizzying heights as the pair perfectly balanced the ridiculous with the heartbreaking. The supporting cast are all wonderful with stories every bit as fascinating as the central couple. This season asked the question if rather than leave Catherine the Great and her husband Peter at odds with one another, it asks what might happen if they were actually on the same side—and in doing so finds its strongest, most human story yet, one that extends beyond its central royal couple in ways both large and small. The decision to have the normally dueling couple working as one makes the events after a certain episode feel extra heartbreaking and poignant. Its cancellation (arriving during a crowded time for television meaning it got annoyingly lost) hits particularly hard it felt there was so much left to say about all these characters. Tony McNamara’s scripts were always full of silliness and pathos and the world of the show so lavish and unique, it leaves a big hole in the TV landscape. I’m just grateful we got the three seasons we did and I look forward to seeing what the creative team does next.

Deadloch June 2023, Prime Video – Following hot on the heels of Colin From Accounts as the best Australian export of the year, Deadloch brings the well-told tale of a dead body on the beach of a small town to life, with a feminist, LGBTQ, comedic slant. Dulcie Collins (Kate Box) is the senior sergeant at Deadloch police, having left behind a detective career in Sydney, and moving to the sleepy town as part of a lesbian influx along with her wife, vet Cath (Alicia Gardiner). When a naked body washes ashore, a detective is sent to lead the investigation, and chaotic, clumsy, uncouth Eddie Radcliffe (Madeleine Smai) crashes into Dulcie’s territory in more ways than one. A homage to the crumpled, broken TV detectives of the 70s, Eddie initially clashes with Dulcie (and everyone she meets) before finding her feet (albeit wrapped in duct tape and cardboard) and becoming a significant crime-fighting team with Dulcie and her constables. Several threads of social issues including domestic violence, classism, racism against First Nation locals, misogyny and progress are all woven into the complex machinations of the reluctantly progressive town and its troubled residents. Taking the Nordic Noir genre and turning into something far wittier and warmer, Deadloch created a genre of its own and populated it with endearing, captivated characters you long to stay with. Written by Dawn Glen.

The Change, June 2023, Channel 4 – Bridget Christie’s menopausal comedy seemed to set off as a chaotic family sitcom with an underappreciated wife and mum, lazy husband and sniping sister, but the Channel 4 show swiftly gets on a motorbike, takes a left turn and ends up as a wonderfully warm and earthy story about nature, community and finding your passion. Linda (Christie) has been keeping a log of every moment of unpaid, unappreciated labour she has done for her family, and decides to take that time back for herself. She sets off to find a memory box she left in a tree in the Forest of Dean, and ends up becoming part of a colourful community concerned with a by-pass threatening their land and just who will become King of the Eels festival. Monica Dolan and Susan Lynch are outstanding as the sisters who end up taking in Linda as one of their own, and Tanya Moodie shines as the local DJ and Linda’s new best friend. A fantastic rumination on womanhood, it still gives airtime to complex and sweet male characters with terrific supporting performances by Jerome Flynn, Omid Djalili, Jim Howick, and a star turn by Paul Whitehouse. Thankfully, it has already been commissioned for a second series.

The Bear, June 2023, Hulu/Dinsey+UK – Appearing somewhat out of nowhere, the first season of Christopher Storer’s nailbiting kitchen set ‘comedy’ took my breath away. The majority of the time, you weren’t a viewer but a participant in the thick of the action. Sweating in the heat of the kitchen, full of stress and desperate to breathe. The Bear is more of an immersive experience than it is a TV show. The performances are so visceral you forget these are actors, you believe every second of it. The first series was a masterpiece – introducing us to Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), a brilliantly talented chef who is brought back to the family sandwich shop when the older brother he idolised commits suicide. Clearly still grieving, Carmy is back in a world he tried to escape and desperate to honour his brother’s legacy and make ‘The Bear’ a success. Jeremy Allen White is a revelation in the role, often lost in a world of his own, but an inspiration to everyone on his team who are all talented in their own right but desperate to please him. Each of the virtually unknown cast is at the top of their game. Ayo Edebiri is wonderful and Sydney, someone so desperate to see her culinary dreams come true, she often neglects those outside of the kitchen, but everyone here is fascinating. I was worried that a second season wouldn’t match the incredible heights of the first, but if anything, the second season was more powerful than its predecessor. Every character was given their moment to shine. Ambitous pastry Chef Marcus  (Lionel Boyce) was sent to Holland to perfect his craft, whilst loudmouth ‘cousin’ Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) learnt new kitchen skills in an episode that explored his origins for the first time. Everything about The Bear feels delicate and purposeful. The sixth episode, ‘Fishes’ ties only with Succession’s gut-punch ‘Connor’s Wedding‘ for the title of episode of the year. Taking us away from the stresses of The Bear, and transplanting us in Carmy’s mother’s kitchen as she prepared a Christmas dinner for her large family. Immediately engrossing, the episode functions as a way to explain why Carmy, his sister Sugar (Abby Elliott) and older brother Michael are the people they are. Carmy’s mother Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) is every bit as manic in the kitchen as her chef son. Her cabinets and appliances are stained with past big meals and pots on the stove are boiling over as she deals with a bustling kitchen with family jostling to be heard and talking over each other. It’s as frenetic as the series gets, culminating in a brutally tense scene around the dinner table when Donna’s boyfriend Uncle Lee (Bob Odenkirk) continually prods an angry and on edge Michael about his living situation and his prospects after Michael throws a fork at Lee. It shows how Michael was clearly struggling in the time before he took his own life and how stressful life in the Berzatto house has always been. The episode, the longest of the series so far, is simply brilliant, giving a supporting cast of famous faces to turn up and act their socks off but feel entirely part of this family. The second season of The Bear isn’t just one of the best shows of this year, it’s one of the best in all of television, it’s one I’ve been thinking about almost continually since the summer, which is some achievement given how much TV we’re consuming at the moment.

Hijack June 2023 Apple TV+ – On paper, Apple TV’s thriller sounded generic. Idris Elba stars as a successful negotiator Sam Nelson (a very generic name) who is the only one who can protect passengers when a flight he’s on is hijacked. We’d never seen it before, but we’d seen various incarnations of it, albeit starring Liam Neeson, where a hard man brings down a plane, or train or foils a kidnapping – so far so what, but Hijack proved to be the complete opposite to what we’d be conditioned to expect. Really good fun, properly tense and completely unpredictable. The direction from Jim Field Smith and scripts from George Kay elevated what could have been a soulless action drama into a smart and properly edge-of-your-seat thrill ride. The characters were all interesting, the hijackers themselves had a fascinating backstory that made them far better than your bog-standard angry villain. Unusually for the streaming era, Hijack worked so well and held the conversation thanks to Apple’s strategy of releasing the episodes weekly meaning that the cliffhanger that ended each episode had you desperate to tune in for the next one. If it were a Netflix show those cliffhanger endings would lose all their power because you’d just go onto the next episode without letting the events of the episode wash over you. Watching Hijack reminded you of the old days when the week’s gap between episodes of shows was properly agonising. British broadcasters are churning thrillers at a crazy rate and let’s be honest, most are forgettable, Hijack knew it was, and it achieved it to such a high level. Funny, properly exciting and tense and all over 7 densely-packed episodes, Hijack was perhaps the biggest and most pleasant surprises of the year and further proof we should stop judging things before we see them! I’m talking to myself there hoping it’ll sink in.

The Sixth Commandment July 2023, BBC One – Another true crime series, The Sixth Commandment was a difficult watch. The story of how a calculated and narcissistic killer was able to worm his way into the lives of vulnerable people who needed a friend. Sarah Phelp’s scripts made it clear how these older people would be easily charmed by softly spoken and gentle student Ben Field (Éanna Hardwicke). His first victim, Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall) a hugely respected educator was flattered when this young man paid him compliments and wanted to spend time with him. A closeted man for most of his life, Peter couldn’t quite believe that this young man was interested in him at all, trusting Ben implicitly, making him executor of his will and falling head over heels in love. Timothy Spall delivers an utterly heartbreaking performance as Peter, a man who had finally found happiness at a time of life when society starts to forget about you. Ben had a plan for Peter, slowly drugging him, causing Peter to have upsetting episodes in public where he’d blackout, when he came to Ben would tell him how much he’d embarrassed himself. By the time Peter’s family started to suspect something awful was happening Peter was dead and Ben had moved to his next victim, Peter’s elderly neighbour Anne. Éanna Hardwicke was truly chilling as Ben – a man who calmly carried out his plans to take from these people and move on to the next without being suspected. He employed the same tactics with Anne. Helping her with jobs around the house to win her trust before moving into bed, writing her loving poems and having her change her finances for his benefit. The Sixth Commandment was truly shocking and Ben’s crimes horrifying preying on the trust of people who are more grateful than most for the attention he showed them. It spoke of a time of life when you can feel isolated and forgotten, Ben preyed on both the kindness and the vulnerabilities of his victims and showed no remorse for his crimes. Like all the best true crime stories, The Sixth Commandment used its four episodes to pay tributes to the wonderful people unlucky enough to fall victim to meeting Ben Field and celebrate their lives.

Dreaming Whilst Black. July 2023, BBC Three – BBC Three has been the saviour of British comedy this year, with crime-caper Black Ops and journey in film-making Dreaming Whilst Black breaking free from the pack in 2023. Created by and starring Adjani Salmon as Kwabena, a desperate dreamer whose head is in the world of movie production as he yearns to make his family’s history into a short film, while his body is stuck in a dull office job in recruitment. Kwabena’s journey to get Jamaica Road off the ground is engrossing, cringey and filled with setbacks and false starts that are his depressing reality, but told with great humour and fantasy scenes that lift the story out of the ordinary. A tight, chemistry-filled ensemble gives us all the characters invested in Kwabena’s success, from his long-distance girlfriend, platonic producing partner, and new baby nephew (who repeatedly points out his failings, in Kwabena’s mind at least). Running gags pepper the smart, perceptive comedy, with Kwabena’s dreadlocks repeatedly being the focus of overt and unconscious racism that he encounters daily. Speaking strongly to a generation of 30-somethings who find themselves house sharing and stuck in dead-end jobs, Dreaming Whilst Black still manages to feel uplifting and aspirational, though there’s nothing aspirational about the racist micro-aggressions it painfully highlights. And your body will want to turn inside out with embarrassment at an early karaoke scene. Self-aware and stuffed with rich characterisation, Dreaming Whilst Black will hopefully be the first of Salmon’s successes. Written by Dawn Glen.

Good Omens July 2023, Prime Video – After Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Bible-fanfiction fantasy Good Omens used all the source material in its initial televised series in 2019, fans were stunned but delighted when Amazon announced a second season of the show. COVID slowed down the arrival of the sequel, but 2023 brought the much-awaited second outing for angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and fallen angel Crowley (David Tennant), based on plans Gaiman and Pratchett had discussed before Pratchett’s death. Thus, Good Omens 2 retained all of the magical essence of the original work, but added depth to the age-old battle of Heaven versus Hell, and fleshed out the unexpressed love-story between the angel and demon. This time the pair are not joined together to prevent Armageddon, but find themselves hosting a memory-less Gabriel who has arrived naked in Aziraphale’s bookshop. While the pair work together to uncover why Gabriel is there, and not in his usual Heavenly position, they find themselves trying to matchmake two unhappy shop owners, and revisit their own exploits through history that have brought them to where they are – both physically and emotionally. A revisit to the truth behind the Biblical tale of Job (with guest appearances by half of Tennant’s family), and a moral-testing time in Burke and Hare’s Edinburgh, all build a picture of Aziraphale and Crowley’s true characters and real feelings for each other. Beautifully shot, sparkling with wit and warmth, and always shining a light on the beauty and tragedy of humanity, Good Omens 2 never fails to land its messages, and swirls it all around the immaculate chemistry of Tennant and Sheen. No TV kiss has been as wished for or as heartbreaking as the one at this show’s climax, which thankfully has already been confirmed to return for a third and final season. Written by Dawn Glen.

Only Murders in The Building August 2023, Hulu/Disney+UK – The second season of Only Murders in the Building was a disappointment. The less we say about the inclusion of Cara Delevingne the better. The central mystery was less compelling too with too much time taken up with secondary characters who had the annoying habit of keeping Charles, Mabel and Oliver apart. The show works best when the unlikely friends are together, bouncing off of each other and recording their podcast. Season 3, was, for the most part, a return to form. The team behind the scenes seemed to learn lessons from season two, bringing the central trio together more often and filling the ensemble cast with people with interesting stories to follow. The central mystery got slightly muddled as the story progressed but it didn’t matter as the setting of Oliver’s return to the stage with his musical ‘Death Rattle’ provided a ton of fun away from the whodunnit. Steve Martin and Martin Short were clearly in the element lampooning Broadway and musical theatre and I defy anyone to watch the episode where Charles finally nails ‘Which of the Pickwick Triplets did it’ and not have the song stuck in your head for the rest of time. Even in its weaker moments (we don’t need Mabel to have a love interest every season) the show exuded the charm and wit that make it such a fun watch. Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd weren’t used enough but when they were they brought new energy to the show and Meryl’s song as the nanny in the show was far more moving than it had any right to be. Boldy, as has become its way, the end of season 3 set up a fourth season, I’m not sure I’ll tire of seeing Martin, Short and Gomez together but I hope the team can create another properly engrossing mystery.

Top Boy September 2023, Netflix – It is perhaps something of a miracle that Top Boy, a show axed by Channel 4 in 2013 and given a new life over at Netflix got to reach its end on its own terms. The final series was a masterpiece, tying up every loose end and pushing every character to their dangerous breaking points. When I wrote a review of the series I said it wasn’t sacrilege to discuss this uniquely British story in the same breath as The Wire. That’s the highest praise I can bestow on it. The parallels are clear: both series are about how illicit drugs ravage a place and how the people selling them are in a constant battle to survive and remain on top, but for me, the series most resembles The Wire in the way it handles its sense of place. The fictional Summerhouse estate in Hackney where the majority of the series takes place feels so real that it can be easy to forget you’re watching a fictional drama. It speaks to a part of British culture rarely spoken about on British television. The council estate where everyone keeps themselves to themselves but where everyone will come together as one to defend their neighbours. This is best exemplified in the first episode of the final series when everyone on the estate comes together to prevent officers from Immigration deporting Kieron (Joshua Blisset). Kieron’s mother, who is undergoing cancer treatment, begs the officers explaining how she has written to the Home Office and explained that when they first came to the country Kerion wasn’t required to have a passport but now rules have changed. Everyone on the estate works together blocking the officers in, chanting and making their voices heard, and to their surprise, they succeed. It’s a big victory for a place that has been conditioned to expect the worst. It is incredibly telling when later on in the series Mandy (Natalie Athanasiou ‘Nolay‘) the woman who first arranged the protest to keep Keiron in the country, soulds him and tells him he’s wasting his life when she sees him selling drugs to young kids. Their exchange shows how hopeless and cyclical life in Summerhouse is. These themes are pushed to their breaking point in the final six episodes of the series with the final episode deserving of its place among the best final episodes of all time. There won’t be another Top Boy but I look forward to seeing what this incredible cast does next. Ashley Walters, Jasmine Jobson and Kano are all remarkable talents.

The Long Shadow, September 2023 ITV1 – There was the usual outcry of ‘why do they want to make another TV show about the Yorkshire Ripper? Can’t they let the victims lay? Those people missed the point of George Kay’s tender retelling of the ripper story. Told over seven episodes, The Long Shadow left the ripper out of the story until the very end, choosing instead to look in detail at the reasons the women he murdered found themselves in his car. When his first victim is discovered, four children are waiting at the bus stop for their mum to come home. When the police learn she left them home alone to prostitute herself they’re quick to blame the victim and dismiss it as another prostitute murdered. Lead investigator Dennis Hoban (a brilliantly measured Toby Jones) looks at things differently. He wants the press and his fellow officers to focus on the fact that this woman was a mother. It’s a strategy that only works until more women are found dead and the officers working for him revert to type. Kay’s scripts balance the inept and wide-ranging investigation spanning a jaw-dropping five years, three senior investigators and countless missed opportunities and dead ends with the fear that gripped the community as they grew tired of police seemingly going around in circles. This wasn’t the Peter Sutcliffe story, but more the story of the investigation and the people unfortunate enough to find themselves caught up in it either as a victim or suspect. Towards the end of the final episode, the story moves to 2005 when a police officer meets a man, now in his thirties to update him on the case. It transpires that the man was one of the children of the first victim. His life has been dominated by the case and by the haunting voice of the Geordie man who sent chilling tape recordings to the police which meant they became fixated on his accent and missed chances to apprehend Sutcliffe sooner. Delicate, respectful and a great showcase for actors like Toby Jones, David Morrissey, Jack Deam, Liz White, Katherine Kelly and Daniel Mays The Long Shadow was a triumph.

Time, October 2023, BBC One – After a massively successful first series starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham in 2021, Jimmy McGovern’s prison series returned this year with a focus on 3 female prisoners. Jodie Whittaker, Bella Ramsey and Tamara Lawrence played the women who meet on their induction into a relaxed prison, and despite their very different circumstances, come to rely on each other. Whittaker is steely and frustrated as a single mum desperately trying to keep her family together in the face of poverty, while Ramsey is a lost teenager, caught up in a world of drugs, who finds herself pregnant in prison and is determined to turn her life around. Lawrence has the hardest job in making us care about a child killer, but the circumstances of her baby’s death, and Lawrence’s contained devastation and acceptance ensure we can’t help but be on her side. Siobhan Finneran returns from the first season as the gentle, reassuring presence of nun Marie-Louise. While the first series was a journey of redemption and rehabilitation for Sean Bean’s character, this season is much more an exploration of the societal issues that lead to female offenders ending up behind bars, and makes us all look at our own lives and how easily we could find ourselves in their circumstance given one bad day or wrong turn. A moving, enraging and certainly not comfortable watch, that leaves no doubt about McGovern and his co-writer Helen Black’s talents. Written by Dawn Glen.

Ghosts, October 2023, BBC One – With heavy heart and dragging our feet, we are leaving the residents – both living and dead – of Button House, and spent our final series with Alison, Mike and their ghostly, bickering family. Knowing it would be the last episodes put a great deal of pressure onto the writing team, but – as ever – they met the expectations with aplomb and ensured that all the magic that made our visits to the haunted manor so special, remained intact. Alison falling pregnant was the only major change in the 6 episodes, and while the living couple’s stories focused on this huge life-altering news, the dead residents continued with their usual inane, trivial time-wasting. And yet, a competition between Pat and Robin over a TV weather presenter, a game of Blankety Blank, and Kitty’s belief she is exhibiting pregnancy symptoms are all as much life-blood to Ghosts’ end as the Coopers debate over whether to sell the ancestral home or not. We did, also, finally learn the devastating and tragic events behind Kitty and The Captain’s deaths, in ways which were as surprising as they were moving. It was just and right that disgraced MP Julian had the final pivotal emotive speech (as he began the entire thing by pushing Alison out a window in the first episode), but as brilliant as that speech was, the lasting memory of those final visits is of the formerly-living found-family and their living housemates heel-toeing it to Achy Breaky Heart in the grand room. Thankfully we have one last Christmas hurrah with Ghosts still to come. Written by Dawn Glen.

Yes, it’s been a great year of television with new favourites and new shows that quickly became favourites I want to use this as an opportunity to thank you if you’ve interacted with me across social media, listened to our podcast or visited the site this year. This is a passion project for us all and your support means the world. I’d also like to thank two special colleagues Matt Donnelly and Dawn Glen who have taken charge of the podcast this year. Their enthusiasm and help is appreciated much more than they realise and I hope 2024 brings even more.

– Luke Knowles

Editor of www.thecustardtv.com