Well, thank fuck, we’re now in Listmas Season which means 2023 is almost over. It’s been an exhausting one, to put it mildly, but you (reading this) and I (writing this) are still here which I guess counts for something. This marks the fifth Listmas series we’ve put together for you fine folks – having missed out on 2017 due to us only being a few months old, and 2020 due to that whole pandemic thing – and Oldheads should know what to expect by now. Joel Thornton will be giving you his rundown of the year’s best albums, Amy Walker has poked her head back out the comic cave to run down the best issues of the year, and we have our group pieces on both the best films and our favourite non-2023 media. Before all those, though, we kick off with TV.
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Since I’m making the executive decision to hold off on talking about the Writers and Screen Actors Guild of America strikes which ran throughout the Summer, bringing this industry to a greed-gorged standstill and practically writing off an entire year’s televisual slate due to stubborn corporate dipshittery, until the film list to avoid repetition… I must confess to finding it harder than ever to pull together some kind of grand summary introduction about the medium’s landscape for the year. Despite having personally watched the most non-archive TV in years – shout-outs to The Last of Us, Everyone Else Burns, Time, Only Murders in the Building (which had its best season to date), The Legend of Vox Machina, and BEEF amongst others not written up here – I can’t help but feel like we’re actually on the verge of something ending. Is it just me?
Some of that is perhaps down to the number of watercooler-adjacent shows which wrapped up their runs this year: Succession, Barry, Big Mouth (though that still has one season in the can), Archer, Yellowstone, Sex Education, The Crown, to name just a few from the exhausting list of the dead/dying. Some of that could be the torrent of news headlines, combined with that raft of endings and cancellations, announcing losses for all the various streaming services which stretch into the billions in some cases, leading to rumours of cable-like bundles being the next stage in that evolution. Some of that could be because, for the first time ever in the US, linear TV viewing accounts for less than 50% of the public’s chosen method of watching, with YouTube and TikTok beginning to trounce broadcast television in the preferred viewing habits. Some of it could be the increase in shows owned by studios who run their own proprietary streaming services which find themselves erased from history for tax write-offs, whilst the mega-corp CEOs continue to take home sickening salaries for their efforts in destroying any notion of art from this artform. Some of that might be because the British TV industry right now is in a hole from which it may not recover.
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I dunno. The strikes definitely made it harder to be able to disentangle the joy of the art which gets beamed to screens across the world from the despair of knowing the dysfunctional machinery that makes it possible is currently in the process of, through capitalistic avarice, being sold for parts with no long-term goal in mind. Get that knowledge out of one’s mind, however, and the stuff that made it to screens was as excellent as always. Below you’ll find sitcom revivals which somehow don’t suck, an old-fashioned whodunnit formula reinvigorated for the 2020s, and concentrated stress-inducers that are unlike anything else on the box right now, amongst others. Let us know what your favourite shows of 2023 were in the comments or on Twitter (no I will never call it “X” and you cannot make me). – Callie Petch
Frasier (2023)
Frasier is my favourite sitcom of all time. Between the DVD box-set on my shelf and TV reruns, I’ve seen the whole 11 series through at least a dozen times and will still sit to attention whenever I find it on a channel. But when it was announced that Frasier would be returning after a 20-year absence, I was unsure about it. The more I learned – that it would be set somewhere else, that only the titular character would be coming back – I began to hate the idea. Spin-offs and reboots are rarely as good as the original, and this would be a spin-off of a spin-off.
But a friend of mine saw the first couple of episodes and advised me to try it. And I’m so glad he did. Though taking a while to find its feet, I soon saw that this was still the show I loved. The first episode had some jokes that made me laugh out loud, and some heartfelt moments that moved me to tears. The Frasier spirit was still kicking. As the season went on, it began settling into itself and became a show that I looked forward to each week.
The new cast bring a unique energy to things, to a degree which may even have worked better than simply just bringing the original cast back. Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) gets put into a new life, forced to adjust to a changed environment and figure out his relationships. It’s great to see the inevitable clashes and hi-jinks that brings, as well as the tender moments too. The various nods to the late, great John Mahoney help, not only reminding viewers of the history, but also showing that the new showrunners care about the on and off-screen history too. – Amy Walker
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Poker Face
In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death, taxes, and detective dramas clogging up the telly schedules like knotweed. In fact, after the surely inevitable cataclysm of a nuclear apocalypse, the only things that survive will no doubt be cockroaches and detective shows.
For somebody who loathes that particular format, the ideal antidote is Columbo, the inverted detective story – strip away the ‘whodunnit’ element, and watch the methodical, forensic unravelling of the crime by someone who is wildly underestimated. While Columbo is no longer with us, its spirit lives on in Poker Face, brought to us by Rian Johnson, the brilliant mind behind Brick, Looper, and Knives Out.
Johnson gives us a ‘case-of-the-week’ format, with our lead – Charlie Cale (played by the superlative Natasha Lyonne) – being a human lie detector, always able to tell if someone is telling the truth or not. Charlie has to go on the lam from her job as a casino worker as her boss is on her tail, leading to her criss-crossing the country and embroiling herself in a series of homicides, using her unique skill to help solve the crimes while trying to stay one step in front of her pursuer. It brings to mind the likes of The Incredible Hulk and The Fugitive in its continually shifting locations.
Lyonne seems to be channelling the late Peter Falk, and is so magnetic to watch. Poker Face is not only smart and funny, but also stylishly put together, each shot being so carefully constructed. This really is the detective show for people who hate detective shows. As far as Charlie Cale is concerned – to quote Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ – she’s got me like nobody. – Lee Thacker
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The Bear
The first season of The Bear was one of those ‘holy shit, where did this thing come from?!’ shots in the arm that eventually became all television connoisseurs could talk about for the Summer of 2022. Its ultra-high-intensity, uniquely rapid visual and editing styles, and disarmingly vulnerable emotional centre, bolstered by star-making turns from Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri, won over seemingly everyone that came across the show. But much populated is the graveyard of series which burst out of the gate with a hellacious first season, only to prove utterly incapable of sustaining that heat for even an episode longer – Homeland, Heroes, Glee to name a few. The real test for creator Christopher Storer’s acclaimed kitchen drama would be whether or not it joined those graveyard residents.
Not a chance. The Bear Season 2 was, by some miracle, even better than its first whilst expanding its scope and changing its rhythms. The show is absolutely still capable of shredding a viewer’s nerves to such a degree that it drives non-smokers to take up the habit – the extended Xmas episode, ‘Fishes’, is a car-crash at Altman-esque volume. Yet, shockingly, it can also become genuine comforting television, so invested is it in its characters and allowing them to grow and open up without clashing too hard against the grounded realist tone established.
Some of the most cathartic bits of TV this decade can be found in this season – shout-out to ‘Forks’ and the only Taylor Swift moment in 2023 pop culture that truly matters. Some of the most keenly observed and heartbreaking scenes of TV this decade sit right alongside each other – this is what Jamie Lee Curtis deserved to win her Oscar for, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach gets his breakthrough moment to shine like twenty times over in Richie’s redemption arc. And that gorgeous, hyper-kinetic, attention-grabbing visual, audio, and editing language remains one-of-a-kind.
If The Bear had only been a miniseries, or collapsed spectacularly, I think it would still have been worthy of praise but carried a slight asterisk for what could’ve been. In nailing the sophomore season, it’s become a series I want to see run for years and years and years. Nothing else on TV right now is like it and nothing else on TV right now is better than it. HANDS. – Callie Petch
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Loki
Marvel Phase 5 has been as hit and miss as a blindfolded archery tournament, which is the perfect analogy for Loki Season 2. After Season 1 introduced one of the most badass characters for a while in Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie, they downgraded her to wanting a quiet life flipping burgers. There was no real exploration or emotional investment in time lines branching off from the sacred timeline, so when billions of lives were snubbed out it had no real impact on the viewers. The fact that the god of trickery was suddenly extremely pro the Time Variance Authority didn’t really sit well, and besides, the TVA had lost the kooky charm of season one.
Then there were the positives. Ke Huy Quan was a very welcome addition to the cast and, focusing purely on what’s happening on screen, Jonathan Majors is absolutely amazing. So, for about four episodes, we had a series watchable enough to enjoy. Then the last two happened and we were given some of the most exciting, enthralling, and all-round enjoyable television the MCU has managed so far.
To see Tom Hiddleston’s mercurial Loki finally realising what it takes to truly be a god was the character arc payoff we all deserved. In fact, it was perhaps the single best episode of television Marvel has yet delivered. Fans shouldn’t have to put up with about three hours of good enough to get to the pay off, but it somehow made it all worth it. Besides, it was definitely better than Secret Invasion. – Paul Regan
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Star Trek: Lower Decks
I was discussing Star Trek with my partner recently and said that there isn’t a Trek show that didn’t take a while to get good, using the spectacular Deep Space Nine as an example – boy, were the first two seasons bad in places. Yet as I was making that argument, I realised that I actually couldn’t find fault with Lower Decks at all. Since it premiered, the animated excursion has been firing on all cylinders, mixing the Trek we know and love with wacky animated comedy, in a balance that must be hard to do but the show makes look effortless.
The latest season continues to do just that whilst, in addition to adventure-of-the-week antics that add to the overall universe, introducing a season long arc that feels like a genuine mystery. It also turned out to be a surprisingly satisfying season for long-time Trekkies. Not just content to bring back Rom (Max Grodénchik) and show the progress he’d made as the Grand Nagus, the show also connected things back to the original ‘Lower Decks’ episode of The Next Generation in a genuinely heartfelt way.
If you’d have told me an animated comedy Star Trek series that featured evil holographic com-badges out to kill people, a tiny bone-eating monster called Moopsy, and jokes that poke fun at recycling the same actor in multiple roles was going to end producing the most consistently excellent Trek ever made, I’d have laughed at you. But here we are. A show that isn’t afraid to try wild, wacky new things which bring a brand new life to this long running universe. A love letter to the series that came before, Lower Decks might just be one of the most perfect shows in the franchise. – Amy Walker
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Doctor Who
He’s back on form, and it’s about time.
After what seems like so many years in the wilderness, telly’s venerable Time Lord is back with a bang. With viewers having drifted off under Chris Chibnall’s stewardship of Doctor Who, poor Jodie Whittaker having been woefully poorly served by the material she was given, Russell T. Davies has shown us all you can teach an old Doc new tricks. Whilst the 60th anniversary could have felt more akin to a wake than a celebration, now it seems as though the series has a spring in its step once more and Joe Public is actually talking about it again.
Davies has returned to the fold and managed to reunite one of the greatest of all the TARDIS teams – David Tennant and Catherine Tate – for three specials, giving us a chance to see them back in action, as well as bidding the duo a fond – and fitting – farewell, with a happy ending which they were both denied over a decade ago. Yes, for this anniversary trilogy, we have briefly turned back the clocks, whilst clearing the decks at the same time for Who’s bright new future playing on the global stage, all thanks to the BBC’s partnership with Disney.
Now, the stage has been set for Ncuti Gatwa to take over as a young, fresh and exciting Doctor, giving both the character and the series a completely new vibe, and attracting a new audience from those viewers who know him from his role in Sex Education. Doctor Who may just have regenerated into a hot property which is simultaneously very cool. In the words of Gatwa’s illustrious predecessor: Allons-y. – Lee Thacker
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Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Being completely truthful with y’all, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off could’ve been the more-faithful near-1:1 adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s generation-defining graphic novel saga that it was advertised as, and likely still have ended up one of my favourite TV experiences of 2023. What can I say? I adore this franchise, deeply-problematic elements and all, especially because its big mainstream inflection point, the 2010 Edgar Wright-helmed live-action movie whose star-studded cast all reprise their roles for Takes Off’s English dub, turned out to be the exact series my nerdy teenaged ass needed at the time. So, the prospect of an animated do-over, spearheaded by the demented stylists over at Science SARU (Lu Over the Wall, Devilman Crybaby), was hitting all my freakout buttons before even a single frame dropped.
Then Take Off’s first episode hits its big cliffhanger ending and everything goes off the rails in the most glorious manner possible. O’Malley and co-writer BenDavid Grabinski make their Matrix Resurrections/Rebuild of Evangelion equivalent, earnestly reflecting on and grappling with valid critiques of the original text from a more mature perspective whilst still remaining true to its spirit. In doing so, the series functions as equal parts deconstruction, send-up, apology letter, and eventual reconstruction by significantly expanding its character scope and capacity for empathy whilst making the subtext unavoidable text. The reinterpretations of each cast member, particularly the Evil Exes, are both hilarious and shockingly nuanced, revealing each capable of perhaps leading their own multi-part miniseries down the line. And when fights do occur, they’re even more inventive and slickly-animated than anticipated.
Much like Matrix Resurrections, so many people are going to hate this and I couldn’t give a toss. I adored every single second of Takes Off and it’s the perfect full-stop for this series, if everyone involved so chooses. – Callie Petch