The 12 Best New TV Shows of 2023

Every year — if you’re lucky, and TV fans usually are — there is a show that debuts to gasps, applause, and breathless wonder; a comedy that elicits tears and cackles; a genre piece that redefines world building and whose title becomes an adjective for future audiences.

For me, that show was “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” — existing IP, no question, but a reimagining that blew me away on every level. I remember watching “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” in a movie theater in 2010, wanting it to start over the second the credits finished rolling. I remember feeling the same when I finished Episode 8 of Netflix’s animated expansion, my heart full as I realized the bar for creativity had been punched to the moon and back.

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And because TV fans are lucky, it wasn’t the only time that I or the rest of IndieWire’s TV team felt that way in 2023. We got bit by “The Last of Us” same as everyone else, showed up for “Jury Duty,” counted our blessings as we watched “The Curse” with our hands covering our faces. We delighted in originality as much as formula, small-screen royalty and promising new talent, and debated the blurring lines of scripted and unscripted content. (For the record, “Jury Duty” submitted for scripted TV categories at the Emmys.) From comedies to dramas to limited series, we picked the 12 best new TV shows of 2023, for your viewing consideration.

Erin Strecker and Ben Travers also contributed to this list.

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