TV lost some of its best titles in the first half of 2023.
Fans have already waved goodbye to beloved series like Succession, Snowfall, Barry and (possibly) Ted Lasso, and their departures have left deep voids in our TV viewing schedules. Thankfully, shows like The Bear are returning with new seasons, while Secret Invasion and I’m a Virgo are debuting soon, giving us much more to watch, tweet, and talk about.
In the first six months of the year, we also saw some major TV debuts like The Last of Us and Swarm that left fans yearning for more. The Emmys race is going to be a tight one this year as these shows delivered incredible writing and performances that will stay with us for years to come.
Whether shows like Snowfall and Dave will finally get the awards recognition they deserve is up in the air, but in Complex's ranking of the best shows of 2023 so far, those two are high on our list.
Check out the top 10 best shows that have premiered this year to see where your favorite landed or to discover something new to dive into.
10. Poker Face
Network: Peacock
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy drama
Where to Watch: Peacock
There’s a special sort of alchemy to a hangout show. Audiences need to continue caring for a character to keep coming back and seeing their adventures week in and week out—a slightly easier bar to clear in a comedy wherein solid jokes make it a breeze to watch. There’s a higher degree of difficulty in a murder mystery series like Poker Face, where the subject matter is inherently weightier. And yet, the Rian Johnson-created Peacock series fronted by Natasha Lyonne feels breezy and light—and, most importantly, is a thrill to watch from episode to episode.
Much of that is due to Lyonne’s performance as Charlie Cale, winningly charming in every moment. For me, the fun of watching Poker Face isn’t about watching Charlie figure out the details behind the week’s latest murder but it's seeing how she’ll build connections with the people who cross her path and the impact she’ll make in their lives accordingly. Combine the effervescent charm of Lyonne’s performance with impeccable direction, vividly memorable supporting characters, gripping plots, and great humor, and you’ve got a special sort of magic going that makes Poker Face easy to watch over and over again. — William Goodman
9. Perry Mason
Network: HBO
Seasons: 2
Genre: Drama
Where to Watch: Max
HBO’s Perry Mason reboot worked well in its first outing, but its second (and sadly, final season) took the foundation and built a rich tapestry upon it. Perry Mason found its groove under the guidance of new showrunners Michael Begler and Jack Amiel of The Knick (another underwatched series that only lasted two seasons). The premise of the Perry Mason’s sophomore outing—the murder of a wealthy socialite—serves as a springboard to dive deep into the social, political, and racial climates of 1930s Los Angeles.
With the shift, Mason also allowed the show to expand its gaze past its titular lead (played wonderfully by Matthew Rhys) and turn its supporting cast (led by Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk, Paul Raci, Hope Davis, and Justin Kirk) into extremely fleshed-out characters, developing a wonderful ensemble series in the process. It felt like Season 2 was proof that a good show can become a great one in the process with just a slight tweak. A shame we won’t get to see more, but what a gift that it’s such a complete and well-rounded effort just waiting for you to discover. — William Goodman
8. Bupkis
Network: Peacock
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy drama
Where to Watch: Peacock
Pete Davidson is so damn good at playing himself that he’s making a career out of it. After his incredibly entertaining film King of Staten Island (please watch if you haven’t), the comedian is once again returning to his NYC borough to continue telling the story of his life. While the semi-autobiographical film is loosely based on his life pre-fame, his new Peacock show Bupkis follows present-day Pete as he deals with his family and his day-to-day life post-fame. The Bupkis cast is also stacked, featuring Joe Pesci as Pete’s grandfather, Bobby Cannavale as his uncle and Edie Falco as his mother—and those three alone are more than enough of a reason to tune in.
The show is ridiculous in the best ways. Davidson is hilarious and shines like Adam Sandler and Larry David, who have made an art of consistently acting as themselves in any project they are in. The show also explores how Davidson processed his father’s death when he was a child and how he has carried that into adulthood. Half-way through the first season, though, the show gets a bit darker and explores his drug addiction and other struggles.
The series also has possibly the most outlandish intro scene I’ve ever seen: it features Pete’s mom walking in on him watching porn through a VR headset. That pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the show’s eight episodes. At the end of the day, Bupkis is a comedy but it also has a level of emotion and charm that sticks with you after the end credits roll in and it is one of my favorite debuts of the year. —Karla Rodriguez
7. Barry
Network: HBO
Seasons: 4
Genre: Comedy drama
Where to Watch: Max
Barry was sadly one of the shows we had to let go of this year. For four seasons, fans followed a hitman from the Midwest named Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) who moves to Los Angeles for a job and discovers he has a passion for acting. While that plot was eventually left behind in the series’ four seasons, Barry has made a mess out of his life and everyone he came across when he arrived in LA. Bill Hader created the show alongside Alec Berg and together they crafted a story and characters that are deeply flawed, dangerous, and broken, yet you somehow feel compassion for them and root for them to make it.
The show is a master class in making unlikable characters likable despite their shortcomings, and it also demonstrates that all of our actions have consequences. In the final season, Barry can no longer escape his past and has to hide in order to preserve the shell of a life he has created with his girlfriend Sally Reed and their son. But he ultimately answers for his crimes. Hader shines not just in his behind-the-scenes involvement with the series but also as the lead. His performance was further elevated thanks to a fascinating supporting cast made up of Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Henry Winkler, and Anthony Carrigan.
Carrigan starred as a playful mobster named NoHo Hank, who is by far one of the best TV characters in the past decade. He also faced an unfortunate ending and losing him feels like saying goodbye to my funniest, most eccentric friend. Barry was compelling and deserves all the awards it picked up over the years. This awards season it is up against Succession's final season so chances are that the cast and crew won’t receive the recognition they rightfully deserve. But with that said, this story and the characters in this world will be deeply missed. —Karla Rodriguez
6. Beef
Network: Netflix
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy drama
Where to Watch: Netflix
The most brilliant aspect about Beef, in my eyes, is that it boils down to a commentary on anger and how everyone reacts to that emotion. Anyone who drives has experienced something that Danny Cho (Steven Yeun) and Amy Lau (Ali Wong) go through in the show’s opening moments, but for the large majority of us, it ends right after that first fit of rage. However, the show's two lead characters let their beef, for lack of a better word, spiral completely out of control and consume the entirety of their lives thereafter.
Beyond rage, Beef takes a deep dive into obsession and explores what it really feels like to have one singular driving force engulf you. It would be easy for Danny and Amy’s polar opposite economic status to be a major theme in the show, but it is more used for character development, avoiding a trope that would take away from what Beef is really about. Lee Sung Jin’s show is completely out of control and hyperbolic, but it manages to still feel grounded and relatable. With Yeun and Wong as lovable leads, Beef comes perfectly acted and cleverly written. I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t eat an Original Chicken Sandwich from Burger King after I finished my binge. — Ben Felderstein
5. Dave
Network: FXX
Seasons: 3
Genre: Comedy
Where to Watch: Hulu
Dave continues to be one of the best comedies on television. Season after season, the Lil Dicky/Dave Burd-created comedy delivers some of the most brilliant writing on a show that genuinely elicits a hearty laugh out of me week after week. The show is clever, smart, wacky, and incredibly entertaining. Season 3 started off with Dave and his friends going on tour as he searched for love, but after an incident where he fakes his own death, he blows up, gaining the fame he had been desperately seeking in the first two seasons.
Now he’s invited to the Met Gala, he rubs elbows with the industry’s biggest stars and he finds enough financial success to buy a stunning home in Los Angeles. The show is also known for featuring impressive celebrity cameos and it spared no expense this season.
When speaking to Complex about Season 3, Burd hinted at the massive cameos the season would bring and he was not exaggerating. Brad Pitt and Drake appeared in the same episode; Jack Harlow, Rick Ross and Usher also dropped in, and Rachel McAdams appeared in multiple episodes as herself. If there is anything you learn from this list, let it be that Dave should be next on your must-watch list if you haven’t already tuned in. —Karla Rodriguez
4. Snowfall
Network: FX
Seasons: 6
Genre: Drama
Where to Watch: Hulu
No other show has left as heavy of an impression on me as Snowfall did in its final season. For six seasons, Franklin Saint—splendidly acted by Damson Idris—has been toying with fire as he ascended in the drug game in LA. At the start of the series, you root for his success as he is providing for his family and building a better life for himself (at the expense of the people in his neighborhood whose lives were ruined by the products he was selling.)
Like a true anti-hero, Franklin made enemies along the way and even his own family and his partner turned against him in the end. We watched along as his life progressed and regressed, and in the final scenes, fans meet a disheveled, destroyed and empty Franklin who is a shell of the young eager kid we met in Season 1. The John Singleton-created drama may not have been an award show favorite, but it will be remembered in the same breath as other classic shows of its kind. —Karla Rodriguez
3. Swarm
Network: Prime Video
Seasons: 1
Genre: Dark comedy
Where to Watch: Prime Video
Donald Glover did it again with Swarm. After delivering Atlanta, one of TV’s greatest shows, Glover teamed up with writer Janine Nabers to bring the world of fandoms and stan culture to our screens. As usual, Glover found a way to create a story using internet culture and memorable pop culture moments while also telling a fresh and unique story with incredible performances. Swarm was led by Dominique Fishback as Dre, a young, obsessive fan of pop star Ni'Jah (inspired by Beyoncé,) whose life spirals out of control after the death of her foster sister, Marissa.
Each episode finds Dre in a new space in her life as she travels from city to city wreaking havoc on anyone she encounters, swiftly evolving into a cold-blooded serial killer. Dre has nothing to lose and she behaves like it. She gets so lost in her grief and her own mental struggles that even an encounter with Ni'Jah is not enough to save her. It’s hard to tell if any of the show is real or if it’s all a fever dream, but that’s what Glover and Nabers do best. They turned this thriller into a show that left fans talking and once again proved that TV is in need of groundbreaking, disruptive stories we haven’t seen before, like this one. —Karla Rodriguez
2. The Last of Us
Network: HBO
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama
Where to Watch: Max
HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us is about as perfect as it comes. Translating a story from one medium to another is always tricky, but you wouldn’t know it based on how effortless the creative team behind TLOU (Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin) made it seem. By toeing the line between going deeper where it made sense to do so and reframing the events of the original game, they brought one of the most beloved stories in videogaming to life for a brand new audience.
The show was anchored by a momentous set of performances from Pedro Pascal and Bell Ramsey. The duo made the brutal world at the core of TLOU feel human and real. Heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure, The Last of Us proves the lasting impact of a well-told great story. —William Goodman
1. Succession
Network: HBO
Seasons: 4
Genre: Comedy drama
Where to Watch: Max
Final seasons of any show are a tightrope walk unto themselves, but Succession’s conclusion felt like an even more delicate highwire act than others. Even with so much pressure for the reigning best show on television, Succession provided plenty of thrills throughout its last stretch of episodes. The HBO series reached a deeply satisfying conclusion, tying all of its thematic parts together cohesively.
The final season consistently upended expectations—particularly in its massive third episode, titled "Connor's Wedding," which completely reset the show’s status quo—but still provided meaty, quotable, and emotional material for its leads (Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, and Brian Cox.)
With one classic installment after another, this fourth season provided one jaw-dropping moment after another, all the way up until its hauntingly beautiful and poetically fitting final shot. But above all else, Succession deserves its place at the top because Season 4 cemented the fact that it’s a show we’ll continue to talk about in years to come and will be remembered as being one of the very best series to ever grace our screens. —William Goodman