Greetings, reader!
With 2023 now behind us, it's time for me to share my favorite TV seasons from the past year. Without further ado, these were the best shows of the year!
Here are my honorable mentions: Ahsoka (Season 1), Human Resources (Season 2), That 90's Show (Season 1), The Mandalorian (Season 3).
10. Saturday Night Live (Seasons 48-49)
Still going strong after almost fifty years, Lorne Michaels' sketch comedy Saturday Night Live remains as constantly relevant as it is hilarious with its political satire, oddball humor and zany vibe. I was worried for a while as so many longtime castmembers who were favorites of mine have left in the past two years, but the newer castmembers have done an incredible job with the room they were given - and this year, I especially want to praise Bowen Yang for his astute comedic timing and amusing celebrity impressions. The best SNL running gag of the past year has got to be his George Santos popping up in various situations.
The series also had its share of memorable guest hosts this year, from Pedro Pascal's charismatic monologue and Timothée Chalamet showing off his acting range all the way to fan favorites Pete Davidson and Kate McKinnon returning to host in a heartfelt manner. Oh, and the Weekend Update Joke Swap in the year's final episode was dark comedy at its most brilliant, and a brutally hilarious note to end the year on.
9. Sex Education (Season 4)
Interestingly enough, three different shows that I actively follow ended in 2023, ending four-season run each. Out of the three 'fourth and final seasons' this year, Netflix's Sex Education had the weakest, but it was still decent and worthwhile television.
Some storylines were better than others, but overall, the series remained true to its core tenants and gave us a season that was tear-jerking at its best. The funeral episode and the anti-ableism protest in the penultimate episode were some of the most emotional television released this year, and they leave the viewer inspired and wanting to make the world a better place with their actions.
8. Big Mouth (Season 7)
Once again, the series that looks like a less serious Sex Education at first glance was actually the slightly better series out of the two. Netflix's animated Big Mouth may not have the dramatic acting performances, realistic characters and nuanced dialogue of Sex Education, but it succeeds beautifully at what it was intended for: making you laugh, a lot, while making you think with its sex-positive coming-of-age themes, a lot.
This year, showrunners Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg proved that they are not running out of ideas despite being seven seasons into it, with zany gimmick episodes such as the culturally diverse The International Show, long-term storytelling such as the main characters finally graduating and starting high school, and new and exciting angles like the fleshed-out focus on supporting character Caleb (Joe Wengert), whose life on the autism spectrum is dealt with in a wholesome manner.
7. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Season 16)
This record-breaking sitcom is still going strong in its sixteenth season. Somehow, Rob McElhenney and company found the secret recipe that TV showrunners have been searching for all this time, the Holy Grail of sorts - how to keep a show fresh and relevant no matter how many seasons it runs.
In the newest season of the delightful anti-sitcom, the cast and writers prove that the show is still razor-sharp in its commentary (as proved by episodes like Risk E. Rat's Pizza & Amusement Center), still hysterically funny (as proved by episodes like Frank vs. Russia), and still chaotic (as proved by episodes like Frank Shoot Every Member of the Gang - the episode title alone is better comedy than any episode that most shows would come up with after ten seasons). No shortage of ideas, still a guaranteed laugh, It's Always Sunny is dynamite and will probably never end.
6. Barry (Season 4)
The second-best out of the three 'fourth and final seasons' in 2023, Barry's last season didn't disappoint. Writer Bill Hader took an interesting route to the story with its Better Call Saul -inspired turns, while director Bill Hader proved once again to be a mastermind of realistic yet entertaining action set pieces, and actor Bill Hader continued to play the main character with some serious skill&range.
Barry's final season fits prison breaks, heartbreaking betrayals, wacky concept episodes, shocking time jumps and thrilling shootouts into its run of eight half-hour episodes, culminating in a series finale that isn't one of the all-time great TV endings but is also far from disappointing - Barry was a hard series to end, and I'd like to see anyone coming up with a more fitting ending than what Hader came up with. If you liked the first three seasons, it's quite guaranteed that you'll enjoy this swan song as well.
5. Ted Lasso (Season 3)
I have such mixed feelings about Ted Lasso ending with just its third season - in a way, I would've liked to see so much more of these lovable characters, but in another way, I respect the decision of the writers to 'quit while they were ahead', leaving behind three seasons of golden TV with no unnecessary episodes or filler material. They managed to fit some of modern television's most heartwarming character growth stories and redemption archs into just three seasons, and it ends in a beautiful manner.
The football storylines themselves are a blast for fans of the sport such as myself (I was literally pumping my fist and jumping up and down when watching AFC Richmond's final match of the season, sort of forgetting that it's scripted fiction and feeling like a true Greyhounds fan for a while), but at the same time, the series was always about something bigger than football.
In the final season, we get wholesome character development, exciting romance, heartfelt moments of friendship, and so, so many tears - the storyline of gay player Colin Hughes (Billy Harris) coming out to his teammates was the biggest cry factor for me, with Sam's (Toheeb Jimoh) anti-racism protesting coming in as a close second. Ted Lasso may be my #5 of the year when considering the combination of all aspects that make TV good, but if I were to rank these purely based on their heart and humanity, I reckon it would go 'top of the table'.
4. The Last of Us (Season 1)
I know, many TV enthusiasts would put this series higher in their ranking (especially when seeing what I've chosen as my #3 and #2). As much as I enjoyed The Last of Us, I'd estimate that I consider it just slightly overrated when comparing its general reception to my subjective experience with it. Don't get me wrong - it's a cinematically brilliant series, with the hands-down best TV production values of the year, so all the praise is deserved. The story, and bear with me here, just didn't quite have me the way it had some people.
Again, don't get me wrong - the bond between Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is touching for sure. At the same time, it wasn't life-changing or profound to the degree that many fans of the show (or the game it's based on) regard it. Watching the series made me feel my share of emotions (especially the episode Long, Long Time, focusing on the gripping love story between Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett)), but as a whole, it wasn't as memorable as some of the other TV shows this year.
The Last of Us didn't totally blow my mind, like it did for many viewers, but it was still awesome enough to thoroughly earn its #4 ranking here. A very well-made and compelling series, but not quite the best series of 2023 if you ask me.
3. Kaleidoscope (Season 1)
My reasoning for Kaleidoscope being ahead of The Last of Us is not unlike why I chose Barbie over Oppenheimer as my favorite movie of the year - for a viewer like me, sticking out of the crowd with bold new ideas has more weight than production values and cinematic quality. Kaleidoscope may not have the gargantuan set design, realistic feel and Emmy-worthy directing of The Last of Us, but it was an even more memorable and enriching viewing experience for me personally.
The story of Kaleidoscope is told in fragments, with Netflix randomizing the order of episodes for each viewer so that everyone's viewing experience is one path of many. The work the writers have put into making this work is awe-inspiring to consider: in order for every possible viewing order to be compelling, the twists and reveals have to be built on layers of information, so that each episode gives the viewer new and interesting context no matter what other episodes they have/haven't seen. The premise is addictive and I applaud how it was executed, as my viewing experience at least was very enjoyable and I consider the experiment successful.
2. Futurama (Season 11)
With this, on the other hand, my reasoning is similar to why The Super Mario Bros. Movie was all the way at fourth place in my 'Best Movies of 2023' post. Sometimes, you just can't beat a good smile and the sense of nostalgia.
I always loved Futurama, considering it to be even better than Matt Groening's more famous show The Simpsons (hot take, I know). The show was cancelled in 2013, and the last thing I expected from the constantly upsetting post-COVID dystopia we've been living in this decade was new Futurama episodes. And, in the Lord's year 2023, new Futurama episodes was exactly what I needed.
Watching the new episodes made me so joyful that I quickly made them into a reward system - I'm doing my teacher training year in my studies, and after each weekly lesson I taught, I'd watch one new Futurama when I came home, as a reward to myself. And it always hit home, with every episode feeling like classic Futurama but for the modern day - from a western spoof about mining bitcoin and a simple yet silly Dune parody all the way to a feel-good time-travel Christmas story and a hilarious Covid episode (with the big joke being that we're still 'just getting past Covid' but getting hit by new waves a thousand years into the future). The season ends with a delightfully clever and philosophical simulation episode, and it's all a great time.
1. Succession (Season 4)
Like Sex Education and Barry, this prestige HBO drama also aired its fourth and final season this year, and unlike those shows, Succession saved its very best for last. Like a star gloriously collapsing onto itself, the saga of the Roy family came to a brilliant conclusion filled with twists, turns, double-crosses and betrayals befitting the series that has been described as Shakespeare's King Lear in the modern world.
The acting is once again outrageously good - between the four actors who play the Roy siblings (Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook and Alan Ruck), any one of them could nab an Emmy nomination or win for the episode Connor's Wedding. And that's not even the best episode of the season, nor is the bittersweet and poetic finale - the episode America Decides stands above both as the finest hour in the entire acclaimed 4-season run of Succession, with its intense setting, shocking plot turns, emotional impact and themes as dark and brutal as they are poignant. All in all, Succession's final season takes the cake as the year's very best television.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for a bold post, as 'Top 10 Movies with Veikko Hoffman' goes political - ahead of the 2024 Finnish Presidential Election, I'm sharing my ranking of the candidates.
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