The Fourth Best TV Show of 2023

By The Pajiba Staff | TV | December 27, 2023 |

By The Pajiba Staff | TV | December 27, 2023 |

The thing about television shows in 2023 is that, collectively, the media has concluded that the three best shows this year are Succession, The Bear, and Reservation Dogs. The same can be said for this site. Not every staff member may individually agree that they are the three best shows, but if the staff ranked their ten favorite shows collectively, I guarantee they’d comprise the top three.

Instead of putting together a top ten list in which those three shows would invariably come out on top, we thought that this year, we’d try something new: The Fourth Best Show of 2023. Each participating staffer put forward what they thought was the best show of the year after Succession, Reservation Dogs, and The Bear. It’s not a top-ten list. In fact, if we collectively listed our top ten, some of these shows wouldn’t make the cut because that’s the nature of these lists. I love this approach because a lot of those outliers — a favorite show for one critic that another three critics didn’t even watch — gain some recognition.

Here are each of our votes for the fourth-best show of 2023.

Dead Ringers — What’s better than one Rachel Weisz? Twenty Rachel Weiszes (“Weiszi”?), that’s what! But if you can settle for just two, then playwright Alice Birch’s reimagining of David Cronenberg’s 1988 surgical thriller Dead Ringers is just the seeping, sinister ticket for you. Any hackles that got raised at the mere idea of redoing the master Cronenberg at his most Cronenbergian went out the window once Weisz was attached, and the Prime series delivered (heh get it, cuz it’s set in a birthing center) on its promise with six wildly unsettling episodes of ooey gooey gynecological Grand Guignol.

Weisz, borrowing the crimson scrubs this go-round from original star Jeremy Irons, was clearly having an absolute blast playing the dissimilar but incestuously attached twin doctors Beverly and Elliot Mantle, who seemingly most shared in common the desire to choose the creepiest path at every turn. And reworking the story from a female perspective opened up scintillating new empathetic passageways for the tale to develop down - which is to say that Beverly and Elliott weren’t just Presidents of the baby-making club, they were members too this time. Everybody’s wombs came out to play! (And a special shout-out to the great Jennifer Ehle, playing a disgusting rich lady with exquisite scene-stealing relish.) — Jason Adams

Shrinking — The assignment here is the fourth-best show, so I’m certainly not going to try and backdoor the fifth-best show about an ass-kicking, motorcycle-riding, cowboy nun trying to retrieve the Holy Grail from the stomach of a whale to prevent the world from being overrun by an AI controlled by a Buffalo Wild Wings app. We’re talking about Shrinking here, and only Shrinking. Ted Lasso, a show that dominated lists like these in its first two seasons, is nowhere to be found on these lists in 2023, and much of that has to do with the fact that the co-creators Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein moved over to Shrinking. It has all the heart of Ted Lasso and half the runtime because Bill Lawrence doesn’t dawdle and meander: He gets in, he makes you laugh, he makes you cry, and he gets out. Shrinking also boasts one of the best casts of the year in Jessica Williams, Jason Segal, and Harrison Ford, but as always with Bill Lawrence shows, once the initial premise wears off — Segal’s therapist character trying a radical honesty approach at work after the death of his wife — it’s mostly a hangout show, and who doesn’t want to hang out with these people, played by the likes of Luke Tennie, Lukita Maxwell, Michael Urie, Christa Miller, and in the scene-stealing role of the year, Ted McGinley. A stunningly funny, heartfelt series, Shrinking can also claim the TV’s best mic drop in Harrison Ford singing Sugar Ray. — Dustin Rowles

I’m A Virgo — Boots Riley’s directorial debut, Sorry To Bother You, is still one of my all-time favorite films, and that instantly put his follow-up project, I’m A Virgo, on my must-see list. I was not disappointed. The tale of a sheltered young Black man, who just so happens to be 13 feet tall, learning about the real world offers a rich opportunity for Riley’s gifts as a storyteller. It is, once again, an absurdist allegory on the surface, wrapped around warm, fully-realized characters and a richly detailed plot. It manages to explore the vast institutional injustices of our reality while also offering wonder and hope, and the performances — especially from Jharrel Jerome as Cootie — hold the emotional throughline when the series threatens to tip too far into the political. The series is a technical marvel, with vast amounts of puppetry and practical effects bringing Cootie’s magical world to life. And then there’s Walton freaking Goggins as the most perfect reflection of our superhero-obsessed culture: A rich everything-is-black-and-white vigilante in need of a perfect nemesis for his multimedia synergistic corporate platform. I don’t know what I loved most, though: The fact that the real superhero of the story is an activist with the ability to speak the truth to power, or the fact that Riley got AMAZON PRIME to foot the bill for his anti-capitalist fairytale. — Tori Preston

Poker Face — There were few greater pleasures this year than seeing Natasha Lyonne step into the role of human lie-dectector Charlie Kale, the star of Poker Face on Peacock. Lyonne is a natural at channeling the rumpled charm of Peter Falk’s Columbo while infusing Charlie with her own unique flair. From under a mop of brilliant red hair and speaking in a fabulous rasp, Charlie takes us on a murder mystery-laden road trip, stopping to help others even at a cost to herself. As Charlie, Lyonne is a paladin at heart whose alignment is not always lawful, but is always good. The show features a murderers’ row of guest stars having the time of their lives including —deep breath— Hong Chau, Stephanie Hsu, Charles Melton, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Ron Perlman, Cherry Jones, Tim Meadows, Ellen Barkin, and Chloe Sevigny among others. Mixing comedy, drama, and a retro-accented presentation, Poker Face is the triumphant return of the murder-of-the-week show, and I couldn’t be happier. — Chris Revelle

The Fall of the House of Usher — The Fall Of The House Of Usher checked a lot of boxes. It skewered the rich with aplomb. There was an overwhelming sense of dread and terror. Mike Flanagan’s signature brand of horror was allowed to breathe while being harmoniously accompanied by a sense of humor both dark and (for me) unexpected. Flanagan took the works of Edgar Allen Poe and brought them roaring into the modern age in a way that only he could. I’ll cherish this forever (or until Netflix decides it’s too “expensive” to keep). — Andrew Sanford

Scavenger’s Reign — The Fourth Best season of TV this year involved a group of people stranded and dealing with trauma in an unforgiving, unassailable and Herzogian wilderness. But it wasn’t Yellowjackets Season 2, it was what will hopefully be Scavengers Reign’s first season.
Scavengers Reign is the perfect example of the limitless potential of animation, and for once, in 2D animation form. Inspired by the style of the iconic Franco-Belgian illustrator Moebius, Scavengers Reign is quite simply pure beauty but in motion. The animators created a wholly alien planet that doesn’t just look alien by way of a few landscape shots, but it is presented to us as a living, constantly changing ecosystem through highly detailed sequences of food chains and reproduction. The beauty alone of this show justifies its ranking, but the setting allows its four human characters and one AI robot to process their grief, trauma, and guilt, as they try to survive. It is ultimately a show about evolution and adaptation, an embracing of how humans and ecosystems can be conceived of as a series of scavenging beings, somehow creating something bigger than themselves in their lowly daily struggles, whether they are helping decompose carcasses, traveling through space just to extract resources or trying to save marriages. It is a miracle that this show exists in the first place. Catch it before David Zaslav finds out about it. — Alberto Cox Délano

Perry Mason — No multi-season show had a bigger jump in quality this year than Perry Mason. The first season wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was a bit of a mess. Great acting was hung out to dry by the pieces of a compelling storyline that often meandered and dragged on. Also there wasn’t nearly enough of Perry being Perry fucking Mason. It’s a shame that we won’t get a third season, because this year’s sophomore effort was a revelation that showed what this show could really be, a pure grim delight. It wasn’t perfect, but so much of it just worked, with tweaks to the tone (staying noir but taking itself just a little less self-seriously) and relying upon a more compelling story to create a season-long momentum and never has us asking “where is this going?” Great performances from returning cast (e.g. Matthew Rhys, Juliet Rylance, and Chris Chalk) and new alike (Katherine Waterson, Paul Raci) ground a compelling mystery. Much like they did with The Knick, new showrunners Jack Amiel and Michael Begler got down in the mud on some complicated and important issues - the efficacy of the legal system, historical and systemic racism in Los Angeles, etc. - and tie their story up without making it clean or simple. Look it, even if you didn’t watch (or bailed on) the first season, you should treat yourself to a season two binge. No thanks necessary, but you’re welcome. — Seth Freilich

Vanderpump Rules — Picture it. You’ve been with your boyfriend, Tom Sandoval, for nearly ten years. Is he a doofus? 1000%. But you love him anyway. You co-own a house, share two dogs and a cat, and published a successful cocktail recipe book together. Oh, by the way, for a few months each year, you appear on a Bravo reality show. In the summer of ‘22, your beloved pooch, Charlotte York, dies. You’re heartbroken. Luckily, your friend Raquel lets you cry on her shoulder. Wow, Raquel sure is around a lot lately! All your friends think something’s going on between her and your boyfriend, but you wave off their “concerns”. Stop trying to start drama!

Fast forward to March 2023. You’re out on the town supporting Tom’s shitty cover band, when a mutual friend hands you his phone (it fell out of his pocket). Suddenly, you get the urge to check it. WAIT. What’s this? A sexy FaceTime from Raquel? That night, the truth finally comes out. Your boyfriend and close friend have been having an affair since the week your dog died. Filming may have wrapped in September, but production immediately re-assembles to capture the messy aftermath. Then, a Bravo reunion, full of lies, confrontations, restraining orders, and “you’re a worm with a mustache!” This, my friends, is Vanderpump Rules Season 10. And it’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen on TV. — Emily Richardson

Then You Run — I wanted to open this blurb by saying something along the lines of, ‘Those looking for grounded realism in a TV show may want to look elsewhere’, but I quickly realised that that would be unfair. The British-German thriller miniseries Then You Run aired mid-way through the year on Sky in the UK, and while the rapidly escalating string of action sequences and plot beats throughout its eight forty-five minute episodes may not always be the most plausible (though almost always gripping and well executed), the relationship at the heart of the show remains keenly so.

Then You Run (adapted from the 2014 Zoran Drvenkar novel ‘You’) centres around a group of teenage best friends. Tara (Leah McNamara), Ruth (Yasmin Monet Prince), Nessi (Isidora Fairhurst), and Stink (Vivian Oparah), three smart and funny inner-city kids whose much-anticipated summer trip to Zante gets derailed when Tara becomes determined to visit and forge a connection with her estranged father living in Rotterdam. What follows is best left unspoiled (seriously, avoid all promotional content if you want to maximise enjoyment), but suffice it to say that it is a wild, twisty-and frequently funny-pulpy roller coaster that through all its madness never forgets to keep focus on the empathetically portrayed connection between its (all uniformly excellent) four leads. — Petr Knava

Somebody Somewhere — Somebody Somewhere can be briefly described as a show about grief and self-discovery. Described at length, however, it’s a show about broken dreams and gingerly picking up the biggest pieces. It’s a love story, not between romantic partners but with two friends who found one another at the right time. Though the series eschews kisses for living room dance parties-the show isn’t entirely devoid of romance however-big sweeping moments are plentiful, often coinciding with the hefty (if massively hesitant) swings of vulnerability undertaken by the vivacious but deeply cynical Sam (Bridget Everett). For my money, it’s the most authentic “feel-good” series primarily because it doesn’t shy away from allowing viewers to feel badly over the occasional poor choice of words or selfish act. Somebody Somewhere is ultimately a show that thrives off of contradictions, most significantly, that there’s glory to be found within the seemingly mundane. — Kaleena Rivera

Party Down — One of the gifts/curses of modern TV is that there’s no such thing as a truly canceled series. Wait long enough, and even the most niche programming will get some sort of fan campaign for renewal and be picked up by a network or streamer you’ve never heard of. A lot of the time, alas, the results are disappointing. Mercifully, this wasn’t the case for season three of Party Down, the sinfully underrated Starz comedy that helped to launch Adam Scott and Lizzie Caplan into the spotlight. While the latter did not return for this acidic yet easygoing reunion, Scott was there alongside Ken Marino, Ryan Hansen, Jane Lynch, and Megan Mullaley, and the killer chemistry was still there. Hell, it was improved thanks to excellent guest spots from Nick Offerman and a never-funnier Jennifer Garner. Party Down captured the crushing malaise of the gig economy during a recession, and it’s all the more potent now that these former fame seekers are still in the same place but older and occasionally wiser. What happens when your dreams don’t come true? You laugh, but you’re still too attached to these self-aware losers to revel in their misery. Fortunately, the real world has recognized the talents of this cast and crew. — Kayleigh Donaldson

Jury Duty — Sometimes after consuming a backlog of dramas with three-hour runtimes (and experiencing the endless dread of living on planet earth in 2023), it’s nice to have a story told at you. Lower stakes than a true crime documentary but easier to consume than even a thirty-minute sitcom, there’s the faux doc-comedy-prank-The Truman Show-with-a-happier-ending in Jury Duty. Freevee’s little sleeper starring America’s newest nice boy, Ronald Gladden, placed the unsuspecting average Joe in the middle of a faux jury trial. The massively calculated and choreographed affair is a feat for the makers, and often for Gladden’s benefit, but for the audience, the faux talking heads and setups present an experience just as wacky for the viewer as for the mark himself. A titan-level performance from James Marsden as a jerkoff version of himself somehow adds an extra wholesome layer to the love story between Good Guy Gladden and a host of unflappable comedians stuffed into their characters long term. It’s such a silly concept that could have been buried beside trashy reality TV (no disrespect! Like what you like! My colleagues in this article will attest!) but instead nudges its way beside shows like American Vandal. A mindless laugh with a complicated epilogue, Jury Dutyis a hyper-intelligent and clever and still feel-good story for a mind looking to do something a bit more relaxing than staring at the ceiling. — Lindsay Traves

Deadloch — Absurdist comedy meets grim crime drama shouldn’t work, yet here we are. Police sergeant Dulcie (Kate Box) and hot mess Detective Eddie (Madeleine Sami) are looking for a serial killer Down Under, and their trainwreck of an investigation was the funniest thing I watched all year. The characters are ridiculous, the dialogue borders on insane, and the show’s menfolk are almost all monsters. And yet the story comes together for a finale that really works, with the hope of another season on the horizon. If you haven’t watched this brilliant feminist comedy on Prime yet, you absolutely should. — Nathaniel Parker