The best TV shows of 2023 (so far), ranked, from 'Reservation Dogs' to 'Ghosts'

With WGA and SAG-AFTRA on the picket line, 2023 has been a complicated year for Hollywood. But the fountain of new TV has only slowed, not stopped.

Yes, even amid the Hollywood strikes, only one of which is over, hundreds of new and returning series have aired or streamed in 2023. And a few of them have even been pretty good. 

The best shows so far include returning favorites (one is back after a very long time away), new thrills, new feuds, comfort TV and post-apocalyptic nightmares. They've made us laugh, cry and gasp, sometimes all at once. There are so many more adventures and romances coming our way on the small screen for the rest of 2023. We can't wait.

13. 'Ghosts' (CBS)

The second season of the delightful CBS comedy about being dead has been as strong as its debut, with plenty of romance, adventure and ghosts that make the living feel like they're high on LSD. In an era where reliably smart and funny network sitcoms are few and far between, "Ghosts" stands out for its steadfast humor and heart.

12. 'Never Have I Ever' (Netflix)

The brilliant, irreverent and hilarious high school series, executive produced by Mindy Kaling, took its final bow when its imperfect protagonist Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) graduated from high school. And Kaling certainly knows how to end a story on a high note. In the fourth and final season, Devi has a less-than-perfect senior year but still ends up where she's supposed to be: In the arms of her frenemy Ben Gross (Jaren Lewison), and in her dorm room at Princeton University. It's a romantic, heartwarming and still very funny way to say goodbye.

11. 'Schmigadoon' (Apple TV+)

The first season of Apple TV+'s musical comedy "Schmigadoon" was fine and fun, but its second season dances off the screen into your heart. Starring Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key (along with a company of Broadway regulars), "Schmigadoon" travels to the musical fantasy land of "Schmicago" in Season 2, parodying great shows from the 1960s and '70s including "Chicago," "Cabaret," "Sweeney Todd" and "Pippin." With a scintillating soundtrack, "Schmigadoon" takes this sexy, sparkly era of musical theater and creates comedy gold.

10. 'Poker Face' (Peacock)

A little bit of old-fashioned detective work never hurt anyone, least of all Natasha Lyonne and director Rian Johnson ("Knives Out"), the masterminds behind Peacock's alluring mystery series. Inspired by "Columbo," this murder-of-the-week drama sends Lyonne's lie-detecting Charlie Cale road-tripping across the U.S. and solving murders as easily as she spouts one-liners.

9. 'Barry' (HBO)

The idiosyncratic black comedy from Bill Hader about a hitman-turned-actor-turned-fugitive ended this spring, with episodes that hit many highs and a few lows. Still, even when "Barry" was frustrating, it was so singular in its tone and story, so well acted and and so utterly engaging you can forgive a few missteps. So dark at its bleakest moments that it can hardly be called a comedy, "Barry" is the kind of series that bowls you over with its brilliance. We'll need at least four years to recover from its four-season run.

8. 'Abbott Elementary' (ABC)

In a strong sophomore season, "Abbott" continued to delight and induce belly laughs every week. Star and creator Quinta Brunson leveled up the series, pushing the will they/won't they relationship between her ever-positive Janine Teagues and somber Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams) just far enough to keep the romantic tension high.

7. 'The Last of Us' (HBO)

Action-packed, emotional, tragic, violent and heartbreaking, HBO's adaptation of the popular post-apocalyptic video game was a resounding critical and commercial success for the premium cable network. Led by the delightful team of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, "Us" lived up to its hype without buckling under it. It's no new "Game of Thrones," but it's the closest HBO has had to a water-cooler series since that fantasy juggernaut bowed.

6. 'Yellowjackets' (Showtime)

Gory, gorgeous and gleefully twisted, Showtime's drama about a girls' soccer team stranded in the Canadian wilderness ― and their adult selves 25 years later ― had a bloody good time in its second season. With one of the best ensemble casts on TV, including Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci and Tawny Cypress, "Yellowjackets" drew in viewers just in time to horrify them.

5. 'Reservation Dogs' (FX)

Combining magical realism, teen angst, social commentary, deep friendship and a dozen other genres into one series about a bunch of good-for-nothing teens on a Native American reservation is an unparalleled achievement on TV. Wrapping up that series on a perfectly tuned note that satisfies without becoming cheesy or maudlin is exactly what fans have come to expect from "Reservation Dogs," which signed off in September after three short but so sweet seasons. There's a mourning for the end of a show that could have gone on far longer, but also a relief that no aspect of the sharp, fresh, hilarious and heartbreaking series ever went into decline.

4. 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' (Paramount+)

The best current "Star Trek" series (and maybe even one of the best ever), "Strange New Worlds" is a soaring space adventure that hits all the right "Trek" notes. So many TV shows in recent years have felt like homework, with overcomplicated stories and sluggish pacing. "Worlds" is effortless to enjoy, downright breezy and playful as the crew of the Enterprise (set just a few years before the original "Trek" series) gets into one conundrum after another.

3. 'Party Down' (Starz)

Reviving a little-known but deeply loved comedy more than a decade after a short two-season run on premium cable might not seem like a good idea on paper, because of all the time that has passed, but it miraculously turned into TV gold with a new season of "Party Down" on Starz. The deeply cynical comedy about cater waiters in Los Angeles who are slumming through a side hustle while trying to make it in Hollywood offers a brand of deranged, irreverent humor that made it an under-appreciated delight in its original 2009-10 run. Every ounce of that darkly hilarious tone was recaptured and then some in six new episodes that reunited most of the original cast:Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, Megan Mullally, Ken Marino, Martin Starr and Ryan Hansen. We are, in fact, having fun yet.

2. 'The Bear' (FX on Hulu))

The hyper-stressful drama set in a restaurant was last year's show of the summer, and its second season doesn't have a whiff of a sophomore slump about it. The frenetic pace, naturalistic dialogue, deeply flawed but lovable characters and muscle-spasming tension of the first season all return. But what really stands out about Season 2, which sees its ragtag team of professional chefs and learn-as-you-go cooks trying to open a fine dining restaurant, are the quieter moments, beautiful character portraits between the shouting about table numbers and medium-rare steaks. Sometimes you want to see a messy family Christmas dinner with yelling and physical altercations, and sometimes you want to see two guys who respect each other, talking about their pasts and learning how to make a delicious dessert.

1. 'Beef' (Netflix)

Netflix's black comedy about a road rage incident gone very, very bad is the best kind of TV series: Effortlessly (but also riotously) entertaining. Unique, wildly unpredictable and anchored by beloved actors, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, "Beef" follows two strangers caught up in a dangerous feud that becomes more unhinged with every careening episode. Between Wong and Yeun's superb performances and the whip-smart scripts by Lee Sung Jin ("Dave"), it will be hard to unseat "Beef" as the best show of the year.

Full review: Netflix's unhinged road rage drama 'Beef' is the best show to represent 2023

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The best TV shows of 2023 (so far): 'Reservation Dogs,' 'Ghosts'