Once again, the series reign dominates home entertainment, and it’s excellent news. Not only because viewers have many titles to choose from but because the chains are putting the batteries to improve their proposals. It shows in the quality of the television format, which improves yearly.
That is why it has been challenging to prepare this list of the best series of 2023. In just six months, many productions have stood out: Netflix and Prime Video, Disney +, and HBO Max.
Great titles that have left us with our mouths open are the best example that talent in the industry has not died but has been transformed and multiplied.
Many dramas have received less attention. Many series shocked us with their story. Many new dramas achieved critical attention like few others.
Here is the series you should see before the end of the year to keep up to date.
‘STRANGER THINGS’ Season 4 (NETFLIX)
The almost three years of waiting to enjoy the new installment of one of the most iconic series on Netflix have been worth it. We have seen the protagonists much more grown.
Still, everything was in order in Hawkins when we could finally resume the plot of the incredible story of the Duffer brothers. The series has maintained that essence that always made it so special.
In the fourth season of Stranger Things, the group is separated. Then a dangerous new monster named Vecna kills one teenager one day. It gives a vibe that this season will be one of the darkest chapters of the series.
And after knowing more about the origins of Once and the Upside Down World, we are getting closer and closer to an outcome that promises to be truly epic.
‘HACKS’ Season 2 (HBO MAX)
After winning three Emmy Awards in 2021 (Best Direction of a Comedy Series with its first installment), Hacks has returned this year with season 2 to continue falling in love with the public.
Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) is a comedian working low hours, while Ava (Hannah Einbinder) is an unemployed screenwriter. They must put aside their differences to move forward and evolve professionally and personally.
There is no doubt that Deborah and Ava will make you laugh and smile. But you will also experience emotional moments that make them your new favorite couple.
‘THE PEACEMAKER’ (HBO MAX)
James Gunn joined DC to bring The Suicide Squad to the big screen. But his path within this comic book universe continued later with The Peacemaker.
The fiction, set after the film’s events, follows the character of John Cena. A macho, idiotic, and a friendless man forced to work for a covert operations team in the mysterious Butterfly Project.
Through this fiction, Gunn turns empathy into understanding rejection generated by a character as ridiculous as the protagonist. The comedy, action, and surreal moments work perfectly together.
‘FILE 81’ (NETFLIX)
One of the most exciting and original series of the year. The story of Melody Pendras and Dan Turner is told in two stages in Archivo 81. It’s an adaptation of the podcast of the same name.
First, he receives a mysterious commission to restore Melody’s videotapes from 1994. Past and present intertwine during the protagonist’s reconstruction of what happened.
‘VIKINGS: VALHALLA’ (NETFLIX)
I wanted to see the new Vikings after the History series ended. So many fans became fond of Norse mythology and its heroes. So they poured all their energies into Vikings: Valhalla.
It did not have the same protagonists, it happened in the same universe, and that was enough. As expected, the result has been satisfactory. Ambition, action, and good characters make this a perfect mix.
‘SEPARATION’ (APPLE TV+)
When all the critics agree to praise a series that few people know, you know that you are facing an essential title. Separation was one of the jewels on Apple TV + that has generated an important debate despite its limited reach.
Adam Scott stars in this series halfway between The Office and Black Mirror. It presents us with a company in which they have been able to keep work and personal life separate.
‘EUPHORIA’ Season 2 (HBO MAX)
It premiered at the beginning of the year, perhaps in 2023. We are not thinking about the second season of Euphoria. The reality is that the one starring Zendaya has earned more than its place on any list that highlights the best shows of the year.
Unfortunately, it was made to wait after a first installment that placed it among the best fiction of our time.
But, season 2 of Euphoria has managed to overcome it. The plots in Sam Levinson’s work are very powerful and intense. He has a talented and brilliant cast that is impossible not to surrender at their feet.
The series continues to explore complex and controversial plots in this new installment. Such as the development of certain relationships and drug use by the hand of adolescent characters.
‘PAM & TOMMY’ (DISNEY+)
Pam & Tommy raises the question of whether it is consistent with telling the story of how Pamela Anderson’s intimacy was exposed without her consent in The Watchers of the Beach.
However, the Hulu series we have seen on Disney+ is still respectful fiction that denounces a real event that did not serve Her day. The series stars Sebastian Stan and Lily James as Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson’s former marriage.
The story tells how in the early 90s, a spiteful former worker stole a homemade ‘sex tape’ and circulated the couple to take revenge and enrich themselves.
It became the first viral video when the Internet didn’t exist. But it also exposed the privacy of the victims in a social context where nobody gave a damn.
‘OZARK’ Season 4 (NETFLIX)
One of Netflix’s most successful series also said goodbye forever this 2023. Of course, we refer to Ozark, the fiction starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney that began its journey on the platform in July 2017. After 44 episodes -and three Emmy Awards-the outcome of the Byrde has finally been revealed.
The fourth season begins after the shocking outcome of the previous installment.
Far from leaving the laundering business for one of the most influential Mexican cartels, Marty and Wendy ascend the ladder of power and become Omar Navarro’s, right-hand man.
As if that were not enough, they must deal with the new member of the cartel, Javier. Javier is Navarro’s nephew, willing to do anything to become his uncle’s replacement.
Finally, we do not forget Ruth, for whom this last season will be an important blow in her life. In short, the last batch of episodes where betrayal, revenge, and loyalty to the family will leave you breathless.
‘SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE’ (HBO MAX)
Another case revelation series that has almost immediately become a jewel is Somebody Somewhere. Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen create the series.
It will never top the charts of the most watched or passionate groups of fans. But it can be something other than a real wonder. Comedian Bridget Everett plays Sam, a woman who returned to Manhattan to care for her sister and, after her death, is lost.
He meets Joel, a co-worker who is an old acquaintance from high school. A brilliant dramatic comedy.
‘MINX’ (HBO MAX)
HBO Max gives us candy like Minx, a series that did not make too much noise in its premiere but keeps inside 10 episodes that are enjoyed to the fullest.
The premise from which it starts is already worthwhile. It is set in the 70s when Joyce Prigger decided to create the first erotic magazine for women. A striking plot, with a very well-signed cast and a dialogue full of laughter, what more could you ask for?
‘BETTER CALL SAUL’ Season 6 (MOVISTAR+)
The sixth season of Better Call Saul was another of the most anticipated premieres this year. As expected, it has not disappointed fans.
Finally, this outcome will show how Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) became Saul Goodman. He is the corrupt lawyer with contacts in the criminal world who worked for Walter White and Jesse Pinkman in the second season of the original series.
‘THE CITY IS OURS’ (HBO MAX)
The City of Ours is based on Justin Fenton’s book. It chronicles the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Weapon Tracking Task Force.
Corruption, drug prohibition policies, and mass arrests mark the day-to-day life of the police. With Jon Bernthal as the protagonist, fiction has earned comparisons to The Wire.
Yet, the quality and topics covered in this magazine are only some of the things that make it worth reading. But also because the person behind them is the same: David Simon.
‘THE BOYS’ Season 3 (PRIME VIDEO)
The second installment had left the bar very high with Stormfront.
Boys season 3 has picked up the baton from its prequels and raised it to another level. The clash against the Homlander team, the 7 and Butchers team, was hot to watch.
True to its essence, the new episodes of the Prime Video series continue to bet on the absence of limits and hairs on the tongue while growing the story by the hand of its genuine protagonists and new additions.
This season highlights that of Soldier Boy, the original superhero played by Jensen Ackles. He is perhaps the only one with enough power to make things difficult for Homelander.
You can see more violence, more disturbing sex scenes, more blood, and more viscera in the series. But, above all, addictive dynamics and lots and lots and lots of fun.
‘MOON KNIGHT’ (DISNEY+)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow. This first half of 2023 has added a new series, Moon Knight. The fiction starring the character Doug Moench and Don Perlin was created. Starring Oscar Isaac, the plot follows Steven Grant, a seemingly ordinary man who works in a gift shop.
Every day he suffers episodes of memory loss, in which he also experiences visions of another life.
He soon begins to suspect that a dissociative identity disorder triggers these outbreaks and that his other self is a mercenary known as Marc Spector.
This discovery immerses him in a thrilling adventure in which he will have to discover what is hidden behind this mystery related to the Egyptian gods.
‘LOVE, DEATH & ROBOTS’ (NETFLIX)
More than a series, Love, Death & Robots is a love letter to animation. Each of the small fragments makes up its three seasons. We are already going for 35 short films – it is a delight to taste.
The best thing is that they can be enjoyed without following the proposed order or the number of seasons.
So if you have 15 free minutes while you go by subway or after dinner, a fantastic way to take advantage of them is to discover this world of robots, death, and love. And on top of that, we have a season just out of the oven this year.
‘HEARTSTOPPER’ (NETFLIX)
2023 has given us the most beautiful and least toxic love story in television history. And it’s about time. Last April, Heartstopper arrived on Netflix. Far from stopping viewers’ hearts, put them beating to go with the endearing protagonists.
Charlie is a high school kid who likes music and art. He is openly gay and can’t help but fall hopelessly in love with Nick, a rugby player and very popular with students.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t had good experiences with guys who haven’t yet discovered their sexual orientation. So he believes they have no future together. Still, Nick is willing to break down any assumptions about him.
‘THE HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’ (HBO)
Is the Pope Catholic? Does water wet and fire burn? That The House of the Dragon is on the list of the best series this year should not catch anyone by surprise.
HBO’s fiction, a prequel set 173 years before Daenerys Targaryen, has managed to maintain the spirit of Game of Thrones without disheveling.
Each episode retains what had so many people glued to the screen for eight seasons. Intrigue, surprise, betrayals, and falling in love with characters without caring how bad people they are (or can become).
Unlike the original fiction based on the novels of George R.R. Martin, The House of the Dragon focuses on a single family and chronicles its destruction from within.
And it doesn’t need to expand further for the series to clutch its claws, and you don’t want it to let go as much as it hurts.
‘THE BEAR’ (DISNEY+)
One of the year’s surprises has been The Bear. It’s a fiction of Hulu -Disney + that puts the viewer in the exhausting and fast-paced kitchen of a restaurant in Chicago.
Starring Jeremy Allen White, the story follows a young chef who returns home to run the premises of his older brother, who has committed suicide.
Besides moving the business forward, he will have to face the debts he left him and mourn his loss.
Eight episodes, about 20 minutes each, are devoured like the appetizing beef sandwiches prepared by the protagonist and his team of cooks.
‘BAD VEGAN: FAME, FRAUDS AND LEAKS’ (NETFLIX)
Indeed Chris Smith sounds like it could be a lot better to you. Still, if I tell you that he is the producer of documentary series such as Tiger King or the director of The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, surely I have been able to catch your attention.
In Bad Vegan: Fame, fraud, and leaks, the story focuses on the case of Sarma Melngailis. She is a woman who managed to position herself as the queen of vegan cuisine in New York just when it was not yet fashionable.
But upon meeting Shane Fox, his life falls apart, an escape, crazy connections with Alec Baldwin.
An unconditional love that could have easily been Stockholm syndrome or an arrest worthy of appearing in an episode.
‘THE BRIDGERTON’ Season 2 (NETFLIX)
If the first installment captivated us with the love story of Daphne and Simon, the second season of The Bridgerton has raised the bar of romanticism even more with Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma.
A seemingly impossible couple that accumulated such an amount of sexual tension on screen that we are still recovering.
Meanwhile, the high society of the London Regency continues to be the victim of the gossip of an increasing runaway Lady Whistledown but is about to be exposed. Is it better than the first one? I say yes. Take out the popcorn.
‘DAHMER’ (NETFLIX)
Nicknamed the “cannibal of Milwaukee,” Jeffrey Dahmer is one of those serial killers whose story is known worldwide for the chilling and terrifying of his acts.
For more than a decade, he was “active.” Dahmer claimed the lives of at least 17 men, mostly of non-white race and homosexuals, without the police tracking him.
After the crimes, the murderer performed necrophilia, tore corpses to pieces, devoured some parts, and kept others as trophies.
His shocking story has been brought to the screen several times.
Still, the last of them is the miniseries developed by Ryan Murphy for Netflix. He has been the subject of enormous attention and various controversies.
Still, it has also given us one of the best interpretations of Evan Peters. One that smells like Emmy.
‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER’ (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO)
Developing a new story in Middle-earth was a challenging task. Peter Jackson’s trilogy left the bar very high. The passage of time, far from detracting from its epicness, has added an aura of mysticism with which it is impossible to compete.
It was comforting to see that Amazon had managed to create a place where Tolkien fans could relax every Friday after the premiere.
The series has flaws – we do not deny them. But, above that, it is a pleasant experience that maintains the essence of the fantasy universe that so many fans longed for.
It rescues characters we did not know we needed. Who would have thought that Galadriel would be the definitive heroine? We want more from her, and hopefully, we will have it in a second season that has overcome all its weak points.
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