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While this year's lineup of new tv series was somewhat underwhelming, 2023 was one of the most competitive years for returning series of all time. A total of 34 shows were considered for this list, which means 11 did not make the cut, including Apple's final season of Ted Lasso.
It was also a year of bitter-sweet endings. Three of the biggest streaming services aired the final season of their flagship dramas: Netflix's The Crown, Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and HBO's Succession. In the comedy/drama hybrid category, Barry on HBO and The Great on Hulu also aired their final episodes.
The year also saw a few resurrections of shows that have been away for multiple years. The Coen-inspired anthology, Fargo, returned for a 5th season after a somewhat forgettable 4th installment in 2020. Neil Gaiman's Good Omens also debuted its second season, which was a particularly pleasant surprise because most of us thought it was a limited series when it aired a lifetime ago in 2019. We even got more Black Mirror out of Charlie Brooker for the first time since 2019, although some might argue that some of this latest 6th season is not Black Mirror at all, but rather "Red Mirror."
Without further ado, here are my picks for the best 23 seasons of a returning television series in 2023...
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Annual "Best New Shows"
23. Sex Education (Season 4)
Netflix | Laurie Nunn
A teenage boy with a sex therapist mother teams up with a high school classmate to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
First aired: 2019
Total episodes from start: 32
Length per episode: 46-83 min
Continuation: Completed
22. Foundation (Season 2)
Apple TV+ | David S. Goyer & Josh Friedman
A complex saga of humans scattered on planets throughout the galaxy all living under the rule of the Galactic Empire.
Genre: Sci-fi Drama
First aired: 2021
Total episodes from start: 20
Length per episode: 45-69 min
Continuation: Renewed for a 3rd season
21. Minx (Season 2)
Starz | Ellen Rapoport
In 1970s Los Angeles, an earnest young feminist joins forces with a low-rent publisher to create the first erotic magazine for women.
Genre: Comedy
First aired: 2022 (#19 on my best new shows of 2022)
Total episodes from start: 18
Length per episode: 24-35 min
Continuation: Cancelled (again)
20. Black Mirror (Season 5)
Netflix | Charlie Brooker
An anthology series exploring a twisted, high-tech multiverse where humanity's greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.
Genre: Sci-fi / Dystopian anthology
First aired: 2011
Total episodes from start: 27
Length per episode: 40-89 min
Continuation: Renewed for a 7th season
19. The Dragon Prince (Season 5)
Netflix | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond
Two human princes forge an unlikely bond with the elfin assassin sent to kill them, embarking on an epic quest to bring peace to their warring lands.
Genre: Fantasy / Adventure
First aired: 2018 (#15 on my best new shows of 2018)
Total episodes from start: 45
Length per episode: 25-33 min
Continuation: Renewed for a 6th and 7th season, which will be its last
18. Schmigadoon! (Season 2)
Apple TV+ | Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio
A couple on a backpacking trip discovers a magical town in which everyone acts like they're in a classic musical.
Genre: Musical / Comedy
First aired: 2021
Total episodes from start: 12
Length per episode: 25-35 min
Continuation: Not yet renewed
17. The Crown (Season 6)
Netflix | Peter Morgan
Follows the political rivalries and romances of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped Britain for the second half of the 20th century.
Genre: Historical Drama
First aired: 2016
Total episodes from start: 60
Length per episode: 39-72 min
Continuation: Completed
16. Dark Winds (Season 2)
AMC | Graham Roland
Follows Leaphorn and Chee, two Navajo police officers in the 1970s Southwest that are forced to challenge their own spiritual beliefs when they search for clues in a double murder case.
Genre: Drama
First aired: 2022
Total episodes from start: 12
Length per episode: 39-53 min
Continuation: Renewed for a 3rd season
15. Perry Mason (Season 2)
HBO | Rolin Jones & Ron Fitzgerald
In booming 1932 Los Angeles, a down-and-out defense attorney takes on the case of a lifetime.
Genre: Detective Noir, Legal Drama
First aired: 2020 (#11 on my best new shows of 2020)
Total episodes from start: 16
Length per episode: 56-64 min
Continuation: Cancelled
14. The Righteous Gemstones (Season 3)
HBO | Danny McBride
Follows a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work.
Genre: Satire comedy
First aired: 2019 (#11 on my best new shows of 2019)
Total episodes from start: 27
Length per episode: 26-60 min
Continuation: Renewed for a 4th season.
13. Only Murders in the Building (Season 3)
Hulu | Steve Martin & John Hoffman
Three strangers who live in the same New York City apartment building and share an obsession with true crime suddenly find themselves embroiled in a murder.
Genre: Comedy / Murder Mystery
First aired: 2021 (#9 on my best new shows of 2021)
Total episodes from start: 30
Length per episode: 26-38 min
Continuation: Renewed for a 4th season.
12. Heels (Season 2)
Starz | Michael Waldron
Two brothers and rivals - one a villain, or "heel," in the ring; the other a hero, or "face," war over their late father's wrestling promotion, vying for national attention in small-town Georgia.
Genre: Drama
First aired: 2021 (#3 on my best new shows of 2021)
Total episodes from start: 16
Length per episode: 57-62 min
Continuation: Cancelled unceremoniously after a cliffhanger
11. What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5)
FX on Hulu | Jemaine Clement
A look into the nightly lives of four vampires who have lived together on Staten Island for over a century.
Genre: Comedy Mockumentary
First aired: 2019 (#14 on my best new shows of 2019)
Total episodes from start: 50
Length per episode: 22-30 min
Continuation: Renewed for a 6th and final season
10. Slow Horses (Season 3)
Apple TV+ | William Smith
Follows the British intelligence agents of "Slough House" which serves as a dumping ground department for MI5 agents who made career-ending mistakes.
Genre: Drama, Spy Thriller
First aired: 2022 (#5 on my best new shows of 2022)
Total episodes from start: 18
Length per episode: 41-53 min
Continuation: Season 4 already filmed and coming soon
9. For All Mankind (Season 4)
Apple TV+ | Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, Ben Nedivi
In an alternative version of 1969, the Soviet Union beats the United States to the Moon, and the space race continues on for decades with still grander challenges and goals.
Genre: Sci-Fi Drama, Alternate History
First aired: 2019
Total episodes from start: 40
Length per episode: 42-82 min
Continuation: Not officially renewed, but writers have said are planning 7 seasons.
8. Good Omens (Season 2)
Amazon Prime Video | Neil Gaiman
A naked archangel turns up at the door to renegade angel Aziraphale's bookshop, with no memory of who he is or how he got there, and Aziraphale and retired demon Crowley's lives become extremely complicated.
Genre: Fantasy comedy
First aired: 2019 (#18 on my best new shows of 2019)
Total episodes from start: 12
Length per episode: 45-58 min
Continuation: Renewed for a 3rd and final season
7. Fargo (Season 5)
FX on Hulu | Noah Hawley
Various chronicles of deception, intrigue, and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. All of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.
Genre: Dark Comedy / Crime Drama Anthology
First aired: 2014
Total episodes from start: 51
Length per episode: 39-68 min
Continuation: Anthology (each season is a complete story)
6. Our Flag Means Death (Season 2)
HBO Max | David Jenkins
The year is 1717. Wealthy land-owner Stede Bonnet has a midlife crisis and decides to blow up his cushy life to become a pirate. It does not go well. Based on a true story.
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Pirates
First aired: 2022 (#15 on my best new shows of 2022)
Total episodes from start: 18
Length per episode: 26-36 min
Continuation: Not yet renewed
5. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 5)
Amazon Prime Video | Amy Sherman-Palladino
After her husband leaves her, young mother of two Miriam "Midge" Maisel discovers that she has a talent for stand-up comedy.
Genre: Comedy, Period Drama
First aired: 2017
Total episodes from start: 43
Length per episode: 43-76 min
Continuation: Completed
4. Barry (Season 4)
HBO | Alec Berg & Bill Hader
A hitman from the Midwest moves to Los Angeles and gets caught up in the city's theatre arts scene.
Genre: Dark Comedy
First aired: 2018 (#7 on my best new shows of 2018)
Total episodes from start: 32
Length per episode: 26-34 minutes
Continuation: Completed
3. The Great (Season 3)
Hulu | Tony McNamara
The Great is a satirical, comedic drama about the rise of Catherine the Great from outsider to the longest-reigning female ruler in Russia's history.
Genre: Historical Farce, Dark Comedy
First aired: 2020 (#4 on my best new shows of 2020)
Total episodes from start: 30
Length per episode: 26-34 minutes
Continuation: Cancelled, but honestly Completed in my opinion
2. Succession (Season 4)
HBO | Jesse Armstrong
The series centers on the Roy family, the dysfunctional owners of Waystar RoyCo, a global media and entertainment conglomerate, who are fighting for control of the company amid uncertainty about the health of the family's patriarch, Logan Roy
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Tragedy
First aired: 2018 (#13 on my best new shows of 2018)
Total episodes from start: 39
Length per episode: 56-88 minutes
Continuation: Completed
1. The Bear (Season 2)
FX on Hulu | Christopher Storer
A young chef from the fine dining world comes home to Chicago to run his family sandwich shop after a heartbreaking death in his family.
Genre: Drama
First aired: 2012 (#2 on my Best New Shows list)
Total episodes from start: 18
Length per episode: 20-66 minutes (avg ~30)
Continuation: Renewed for a 3rd season.
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