35 best TV shows to watch in 2023, from The Crown season 6 to The Buccaneers
We have always been entertained by the best new TV shows, which provide us with a much-needed sense of escapism from the stark realities of everyday life. Luckily, we have always been spoilt for choice when it comes to what we want to watch, and with the emergence of subscription-based streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, NOW TV etc., in the past few years, there have been more choices than ever before for when we want to curl up on the sofa with a warm drink in hand.
We can't help but notice that the catalogue of 2023 TV shows has been incredible so far, and we seriously cannot wait for all the other upcoming shows in the rest of the year! I mean, first of all, we have some of our favourite shows returning for their next instalments, such as the nail-biting drama set in the world of royals, The Crown and the terrifying series American Horror Story: Delicate (co-starring Kim Kardashian!).
The heiress is set to executive produce the series alongside sisters Elle and Dakota Fanning.
Then there are some big-name movie stars bringing their star power to the small screen, such as Elizabeth Olsen in the limited series Love & Death and Brie Larson in Lessons in Chemistry, which is based on the book of the same name. Oh, and also, like everyone else, we're super curious to check out Squid Game: The Challenge. Eeek!
So you might as well cancel all your pre-booked plans for next year to settle in for binge-watching all the best TV shows for 2023.
However, if you're looking for best sad movies, click here. For best television series ever, click here. For best Korean dramas, click here. For best thriller movies, click here. For best date night movies, click here.
Des Willie/NetflixThe Crown S6
Starring: Meg Bellamy, Ed McVey, Rufus Kampa, Elizabeth Debicki, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton
What's it about: Prince William and Kate Middleton's romance will be chronicled in the sixth season. From their first meeting at university to the years following, we will see how the pair transformed into a royal power couple. The sixth season will also depict the final summer of Princess Diana's life before her tragic death on 31 August 1997 in a car crash in Paris's Pont de l'Alma tunnel. However, the actual moment itself will not be covered.
Release date and platform: Part 1 will be released on Netflix on 16 November, while the second part will be available on 14 December.
The Buccaneers
Starring: Christina Hendricks, Kristine Froseth, Alisha Boe
What's it about: Think Bridgerton, but with Americans. Yes, this regency-era-style drama will see a group of young Americans disrupt the Victorian London season of the 1870s. With the girls encouraged to find husbands and prestigious titles, they actually set out to do much more than that. Period dramas are our favourite!
Release date and platform: 8 November 8 on Apple TV+
A Murder at the End of the World
Starring: Emma Corrin, Brit Marling, Alice Braga, Clive Owen
What's it about: A Murder at the End of the World is a whodunnit with a new Gen Z amateur sleuthing spin, including the central character, savvy tech-hacker Darby Hart. Darby is invited by a reclusive billionaire to a remote retreat alongside eight other guests when one of them ends up dead. Before the killer takes another life, Darby must use her skills to get to the bottom of the murder.
Release date and platform: 14 November on Disney+
Pete DaddsSquid Game: The Challenge
Starring: There are apparently 456 players, so the full, confirmed list of the cast has yet to be revealed.
What's it about: Squid Game: The Challenge will see hundreds of players competing in a series of games inspired by the hugely popular 2021 Netflix series for a huge prize of $4.56 million (£3.8 million). The stakes will undoubtedly be high as they plan strategies, form alliances and try to outsmart their fellow competitors in a bid to win the cash prize and, most importantly, avoid meeting their terrible fate by getting sent home empty-handed...
Release date and platform: 22 November 2023 on Netflix.
Copyright 2023, FX. All rights reserved.American Horror Story: Delicate S12
Starring: Emma Roberts, Kim Kardashian, Matt Czuchry, Cara Delevingne
What's it about: After years of hoping to become a successful actress and becoming a mother, Anna attempts to make her dreams come true simultaneously. However, things take a disturbing turn... While Emma always kills is in the American Horror Story franchise, we want to shout out to Kim K for her acting chops in this!
Release date and platform: on Disney+
Erin SimkinThe Morning Show S3
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon
What's it about: While the plot for season three is largely under wraps, the official synopsis hints at more drama between daytime news powerhouses Bradley and Alex as "loyalties are pushed to the brink when a tech titan takes an interest in UBA" leaving the "future of the network is thrown into question". It's added that "unexpected alliances form, private truths are weaponised, and everyone is forced to confront their core values both in and out of the newsroom."
Release date and platform: On Apple TV+
COURTESY OF NETFLIXSweet Magnolias S3
Starring: JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Brooke Elliott, Heather Headley
What's it about: Season three of Sweet Magnolias will see the next instalment of the lives of BFFS Dana Sue, Helen and Maddie as they navigate the next stage of their relationships. This includes Dana Sue officially getting back with Ronnie and Helen facing the dilemma of choosing between two great men. Also, who is that mystery woman who caused mayhem at the end of season two? You'll soon find out!
Release date and platform: On Netflix
Love & Death
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Jesse Plemons and Lily Rabe.
What's it about: Inspired by the real-life story of a housewife driven to kill in suburban Texas in the eighties, Love & Death follows a churchgoing mother and wife, Candy Montgomery, who was accused of killing her friend Betty Gore after embarking on an affair with Betty's husband, Allan. She later said she used an axe in the act of self-defence against Betty, with a polygraph proving it. She was later acquitted on the grounds of self-defence.
Release date and platform: On ITVX
COURTESY OF NETFLIXVirgin River season 5
Starring: Alexandra Breckenridge, Martin Henderson
What's it about: The fifth instalment of the feel-good romantic drama continues the story of recently widowed nurse practitioner Mel leaving her life in LA for a fresh start in the sleep titular town where she falls with local bar owner Jack Sheridan.
Release date and platform: On Netflix
Michael BeckerLessons In Chemistry
Starring: Brie Larson, Aja Naomi King
What's it about: Based on the novel of the same name by Bonnie Garmu, Lessons in Chemistry centres on female scientist Elizabeth Zotts who, after being fired from her own lab in the early sixties when falling pregnant, begins hosting a TV cooking show to education housewives on scientific topics.
Release date and platform: On Apple TV+
Heartstopper season 2
Starring: Kit Connor, Joe Locke
What's it about: Centred on the tale of teen LGBTQ+ love, the second season will continue to explore the romance between Nick and Charlie.
Release date and platform: On Netflix
Only Murders in the Building season 3
Starring: Selena Gomez, Martin Short, Steve Martin
What's it about: True-crime-obsessed trio Charles-Haden Savage, Mabel Mora and Oliver Putnam are back for another dose of chaos and mystery when there's another horrifying murder in the Arconia.
Release date and platform: On Disney+
Disney+Loki season 2
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tara Strong, Eugene Cordero, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino
What's it about: The next chapter in Loki's plight as he finds himself entrapped and taken over by the nefarious Kang, who is part of the shady multiversal organisation, Time Variance Authority
Release date and platform: On Disney Plus.
ANA BLUMENKRONBlack Mirror season 6
Starring: Annie Murphy, Josh Hartnett, Kate Mara, Michael Cera, Aaron Paul
What's it about: After a four-year wait, six new episodes of the anthology series created by Charlie Brooker will drop and leave your jaws dropped. Guaranteed.
Release date and platform: On Netflix
I'm A Virgo
Starring: Jharrel Jerome, Mike Epps, Carmen Ejogo, Brett Gray, Allius Barnes, Kara Young, Olivia Washington
What's it about: The series follows the life of a 13-foot-tall man Cootie who, after being shielded from the world due to his height, escapes to form friendships, find love, and navigate awkward life situations.
Release date and platform: On Prime Video
Aidan MonaghanHijack
Starring: Idris Elba, Archie Punjabi
What's it about: Hijack is a tense thriller that centres on a hijacked plane as it makes its way to London during a seven-hour flight as authorities on the ground scramble for answers while passengers step up in a bid to save their lives.
Release date and platform: On Apple TV+
Disney+Secret Invasion
Starring: Emilia Clarke, Samuel L.Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Olivia Colman
What's it about: Based on the Marvel Comic storyline of the same name, this series sees a group of alien shapeshifters known as Earth by the Skrulls who invade Earth to replace many superheroes.
Release date and platform: On Disney Plus
Sam Taylor/NetflixSex Education season 4
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa, Gillian Anderson, Aimee Lou Wood
What's it about: Season four will pick up where the last season left off — Moordale Secondary school closing due to a lack of funding, Maeve leaving Otis with her big move to the USA, and Eric dumping Adam.
Release date and platform: On Netflix.
The Last Thing He Told Me
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Angourie Rice
What's it about: A worried woman is forced to form an unexpected relationship with her sixteen-year-old stepdaughter as she attempts to get to the bottom of her husband's mysterious disappearance.
Release date and platform: On Apple TV+
© 2022 Netflix, Inc.Firefly Lane season 2 part 2
Starring: Sarah Chalke, Katherine Heigl
What's it about: After they parted ways in less than favourable ways (and a major cliffhanger), the final instalment of Kate and Tulley's decades-long relationship unfolds.
Release date and platform: On Netflix
Tiny Beautiful Things
Starring: Kathryn Hahn, Merritt Wever
What's it about: A woman reluctantly takes on the unpaid and anonymous position of an advice columnist but ends up forming special relationships with those turning to her for help.
Release date and platform: On Disney+
The Power
Starring: Toni Collette, Auli'i Cravalho, Halle Bush, Alice Eve
What's it about: A twist of nature leaves teenage girls worldwide the ability to electrocute people through their fingertips at their own will, leading them to have the world's power in their hands.
Release date and platform: On Prime Video
SKY UKA Town Called Malice
Starring: Tahirah Sharif, Jason Flemyng, Jack Rowan, Martha Plimpton
What's it about: A Town Called Malice follows a crime family from South London called the Lords, who aren't too happy about falling to the bottom of the criminal food chain. They're hoping to reinvent themselves and recapture their former glory with a move to Spain, but not all goes according to plan.
Release date and platform: On Sky Max and NOW.
Fifteen-Love
Starring: Aidan Turner, Ella Lily Hyland, Harmony Rose Bremner
What's it about: Power, lust and obsession within the tennis world are explored as a former Grand Slam tennis prodigy named Justine makes an unexpectedly explosive allegation against her former coach, Glenn. This forces everyone to reconsider what they once thought about Justine and Glenn's past success on the court.
Release date and platform: On Prime Video
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies
Starring: Marisa Davila, Jackie Hoffman, Cheyenne Isabel Wells, Madison Thompson
What's it about: Taking place in 1954, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies is set four years before the events of the beloved musical Grease starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. The series follows four Rydell High misfit students who band together to form the 'Pink Ladies', giving birth to moral panic among their fellow students.
Release date and platform: On Paramount+
Prime VideoDaisy Jones & The Six
Starring: Riley Keough, Sam Claflin, Camila Morrone, Will Harrison, Suki Waterhouse, Josh Whitehouse, Sebastian Chacon, Nabiyah Be, and Tom Wright.
What's it about: The limited musical-drama series details the rise and precipitous fall of a renowned rock band called Daisy Jones & The Six in the seventies. The series will follow a similar format and story to the book, seeing the band reflect on their experiences in documentary style twenty years later.
Release date and platform: On Prime Video.
HBO / Warner MediaThe Last of Us
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Storm Reid, Nico Parker
What's it about: This upcoming sci-fi drama is based on the games of the same name and focuses on Joel and Ella, who journey through post-pandemic America while trying to avoid the virus that turns humans into deadly zombie-like creatures. Danger indeed lurks around every corner...
Release date and platform: On Sky Atlantic and NOW.
© 2022 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved.The Idol
Starring: Lily-Rose Depp, The Weeknd, Jennie Kim, Troye Sivan
What's it about: A self-help guru and leader of a modern-day cult develops a complicated relationship with an up-and-coming pop idol.
Release date and platform: On Sky Atlantic and NOW.
Disney+The Mandalorian season 3
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Katee Sackhoff,
What's it about: One for all the Star Wars geeks, the third season continues to follow the journey of the titular bounty hunter character who travels to Mandalore to redeem his past transgressions with Grogu.
Release date and platform: On Disney Plus.
LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIXQueen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Starring: Golda Rosheuvel, India Ria Amarteifio, Adjoa Andoh
What's it about: Serving as a prequel to Shonda Rhimes' Bridgerton, this limited series is based on Queen Charlotte's rise to prominence and power, including her marriage to King George and her influence in creating the world of the 'Ton.
Release date and platform: On Netflix
© 2022 Netflix, Inc.You season 4
Starring: Penn Badgley, Charlotte Ritchie
What's it about: Joe heads across the pond where he'll continue his dark, twisted antics in London following the deadly and fatal fallout with his wife, Love.
Release date and platform: On Netflix
Natalie Seery / Sky UKDreamland
Starring: Lily Allen, Freema Agyeman, Gabby Best, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Frances Barber, Sheila Reid, Kiell Smith-Bynoe
What's it about: Set in the British seaside town of Margate, the comedy-drama Dreamland is about multi-generational female relationships and dysfunctional family dynamics.
Release date and platform: On Sky Comedy and NOW.
HBO / Macall PolaySuccession season 4
Starring: Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfayden, Nicholas Braun
What's it about: Ooo, the Roy family's shenanigans continue to get better, and in season three, the tension and angst begin to rise between the clan as the sale of media conglomerate Waystar Royco to tech visionary Lukas Matsson inches ever so close.
Release date and platform: On Sky Atlantic.
Photographer: Cos AeleneiDjango
Starring: Matthias Schoenaerts, Nicholas Pinnock, Lisa VIcari, Noomi Rapace
What's it about: Set in Texas in the late 1800s, Django is a jaded cowboy searching for the daughter he thought he'd lost. Upon arriving in the city of New Babylon, he learns his daughter is very much alive and will do anything to stay in her life - even though she wants him gone.
Release date and platform: On Sky Atlantic and NOW.
Ben BlackallFunny Woman
Starring: Gemma Arterton, Arsher Ali, Clare-Hope Ashitey
What's it about: Blackpool beauty queen Barbara Parker journeys to London for something more and to conquer her ambitions of breaking into the heavily male-dominated world of comedy.
Release date and platform: On Sky Comedy and NOW.
