Best of 2023 - Comics

 Ongoing Comics:

Last year I read about 350 comics, and this year I read 450, which is the most I've read in the last three years.

It seems like there's a lot more miniseries than anything else, just like last year. I had 10 best new series and 9 best ongoing series.  

Best Ongoing Series:

1. Nightwing (#100-109) (Last year #1 Ongoing)

A very satisfying 100th issue that brought back the Titans lead to a slightly down year for Nightwing, as it spent a lot of time setting up Titans, and playing around in a supernatural story featuring Z-list villain Neron, but it came on strong at the end with a fun pirate-themed story. Even lower tier Nightwing by Taylor is still pretty great, though, and it remains my favorite ongoing title.

2. Fantastic Four (#3-14) (Last year #7 New Series)

A bunch of good done-in-one sci-fi superhero stories, closing out with dinosaur Dr. Doom and a cliffhanger payoff to the missing Baxter Building that was set up in the first two issues makes this my favorite Fantastic Four run in a long time. I might even put it above Byrne and Waid/Wieringo if it keeps up this pace.

3. Moon Knight (#19-30, Annual #1) (Last year #3 Ongoing)

Starting the year off with the deep cut villainy of The Commodore and closing it off by seemingly killing off Marc Spector to start a relaunch in 2024, this got almost too in-the-weeds Moon Knight continuity at times, but McKay's Moon Knight continues to be a fantastic take on the character, and the strong supporting cast and Midnight Mission setting gives me a lot of hope for the new Moon Knight in the new year.

4. Doctor Strange (#1-10) (Last year #4 New)

I enjoyed McKay's series focused on Clea, but the return of Stephen Strange, working with his warlord wife, has been even better. General Strange is a really exceptionally adversary, and I like the setup of W.A.N.D. and various other trappings of this book.

5. Star Trek (3-16, Annual 1, Day of Blood, Day of Blood Shax's Best Day)

2023 was the year I finally watched all of Deep Space 9 and finally fell in love with Lower Decks, which made it the perfect year for this series, which like Lower Decks, uses every bit of Star Trek continuity, and like Deep Space 9, is not afraid to explore the darker aspects of Trek. The Day of Blood crossover, finishing off the story started in Star Trek #1 last year, was really strong, and the new status quo for the Theseus is really working well so far. Better than at least half of the Star Trek shows, and as strong as some of the best.

6. Spider-Man (4-11) (Last Year #10 New)

I'll be honest, I think Dan Slott's story, introducing Spider-Boy, is merely OK compared to the work he did on Amazing Spider-Man, but with maybe the worst Amazing Spider-Man I've ever seen by Zeb Wells as a backdrop, this is a welcome port in the storm for Spider-Man fans who don't want to tear their hair out every month.

7. Punisher (9-12) (Last Year #8 New)

Turns out this was a miniseries, but I'm counting it in the ongoing series list, because I've got too many miniseries already. This was a satisfying end for Frank Castle, and while I'm almost certain they'll bring him back, this story will resonate better if they don't.

8. Daredevil (7-14) (Last Year #2 Best Returning)

Zdarsky's Daredevil ended... kinda weird, to be honest. But there was a lot to like throughout, and it remains another great run for a character who has had a surprising number of great runs.

9. Saga (61-66) (Last Year #4 Best Returning)

There was a time when Saga was my runaway favorite series, and the loss of Marko and the many delays have turned it into one I merely like. But I do still like it.

Best New Series:

1. Transformers (#1-3)

We're three issues into Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers run and it's the best Transformers I've ever read. I'm a mild Transformers fan, but DWJ is doing something really interesting and unique. Specifically the action sequences are fantastic, but the tie-in to the new Energon universe is making me like the G.I. Joe/Transformers connection in a way I haven't previously.

2. Duke (#1)

It may seem a little crazy to put a book on the #2 spot when I've only read one issue, but it's a great first issue, and it plays very well with what has been going on with the Energon books Transformers and Void Rivals. There's a lot of promise in the G.I. Joe universe for the first time in a while, and since G.I. Joe is what got me into comics, I'm pretty excited about it.

3. Avengers Inc. (#1-4)

Well as it turns out this is canceled with the next issue, but that doesn't change the fact that this Wasp-led P.I. book is the best Avengers book in a long time. Al Ewing does some great work with B- and C-list villains and heroes, and I'm sad we won't be getting more of it.

4. Birds of Prey (#1-4)

Kelly Thompson has a fresh take on this team that I've always liked, with some great moment-to-moment writing and a fun concept. Leonardo Romero's art is at least half the selling point, though. I've always liked his art but his new style is really beautiful.

5. Star Trek Defiant (#1-10)

This companion book to Star Trek, putting Worf together with a crew including Spock, Lore, Sela, Ro, and several others, is just as good as the primary series. And the post-Day of Blood status quo, turning them into bounty hunters dealing with other Next Gen-era threats, has been great so far.

6. Titans (#1-6)

While I really like the idea of Titans as the replacement for the Justice League, based out of Bludhaven, and Taylor is always good with the moment-to-moment writing, I've been a little let down by the plot so far. It's still fun, but I hope that the story re-aligns after Beast World ends.

7. Immortal Thor (#1-5)

Al Ewing's take on the Hulk was a great ride, and his take on Thor is completely different, but of the same

level of quality and fitting the character just as well.

8. W0rldTr33 (#1-6)

One of the creepiest horror series I've ever read, Tynion continues to be the best horror writer in comics.

9. Void Rivals (#1-6)

The launching point of the Energon Universe, it's an interesting sci-fi story so fr.

10. Green Lantern War Journal (#1-4)

This new series focused on John Stewart has been not only good for him, but the best use of Steel I've seen since Priest wrote him. 

Miniseries:

1. Peacemaker Tries Hard

2. Batman Santa Claus

3. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees

4. Adventures of Jon Kent Superman

5. Rare Flavours

6. Dark Knights of Steel (#9-12) (#1 best miniseries)

7. Marvel Unleashed

8. Star Trek Holo-Ween

9. Star Trek Deep Space Nine The Dog of War

10. Secret Invasion

11. The Deviant

12. DCeased War of the Undead Gods (#1 best returning)

13. Quest

14. TMNT/Usagi Yojimbo Wherewhen

15. Seasons Have Teeth

16. Clear

17. Dungeons & Dragons Fortune Finder. 

18. Titans Beast World

19. Batman City of Madness

20. Fishflies

21. Usagi Yojimbo Ice and Snow

Best One-Shots:

There were not a lot of great one-shots this year.

1. Batman One Bad Day Ra's Al Ghul

Tom Taylor's chapter in this mostly forgettable series of one-shots was really good, giving Ra's Al Ghul a little bit of a Poison Ivy-esque makeover while not completely selling out Batman.

2. Batman/Catwoman Gotham War Battle Lines

The crossover story that followed was good until it ended in a pretty terrible way, but this one-shot, setting up a Civil War type story where a Zur-En-Ah influenced Batman took on a Catwoman who was reforming henchmen, leading the Bat-family to have to take sides, was a pretty interesting setup.

3. Superior Spider-Man Returns

I'm not sure we really need Superior Spider-Man back, but this was a good way to bring Otto back into this part of his life.

4. Fallen Friend The Death of Ms. Marvel

Killing off Kamala Khan for shock value in Amazing Spider-Man only to bring her back a month later was unbelievably stupid. But this tribute to the character, with work from G. Willow Wilson, Mark Waid, and others, was really good.

5. Space Usagi Yokai Hunters

Fun to see Space Usagi again, but I would have preferred a new miniseries to a one-shot that spends a lot of time in feudal Usagi times.

Best Graphic Novels for the Year:

1. Where The Body Was HC
2. Nightwing Vol 3-4 HC
3. Night Fever HC
4. Nice House on the Lake HC
5. Dark Knights of Steel Vol 2 HC
6. DCeased War of the Undead Gods HC
7. Adventures of Superman Jon Kent HC
8. Superman Son of Kal-El Vol 3 HC
9. DC Universe by Dwayne McDuffie HC
10. Spider-Man Animals Assemble HC
11. Parker Girls HC
12. D&D Endless Nights of Adventure TP

Best of 2023 - TV

I had been seeing television gets better each year, and even though this year there were less shows, although the quality level across the board was still pretty high. For television. Last I year I watched 87 shows and had 21 that I didn't finish. This year I had 71 and 17 that I didn't finish. Given that next year is gonna see the effects of the strikes, I don't see it being the same next year.

Of the 15 shows in my Top 10 new last year (I combined Marvel and Star Wars into one entry), none of the Marvel shows had a second season, nor did Peacemaker, Sandman, Severance, or Cabinet of Curiosities. Strange New Worlds, The Afterparty, and The Bear both had excellent second seasons and landed in the top 10 ongoing, Julia had an excellent second season and landed just outside of it. Reboot I completely lost interest in.

In the Top 20, 0 came from Disney+ (3 less than last year), 4 came from Netflix (1 more than last year), 4 from networks and Hulu (1 less than last year), 4 from Apple+ (3 more than last year, 1 from Prime (same as last year), 2 from Peacock (1 more than last year), 1 from Paramount+ (same as last year) and 3 from HBO Max (2 less than last year), and 1 from Starz.

Network Breakdown:

Apple+
Just like last year, Apple+ had 6 shows I liked.

Disney+
Disney+ had 8 shows for me, 6 of which were Star Wars and Marvel. The other two were Doctor Who and Muppets Mayhem.

HBO Max
Last year Max had a lot of my favorite shows, and as expected, Zaslav changed it this year. Last year they had 11 shows I liked, 5 of which were in my top 20. This year it was 7, 3 of which were in the top 20.

Hulu
Hulu had 14 shows, a little more than the 13 from last year, and of those, 4 are in my top 20, which is 1 less than last year.

Netflix
Netflix had 14 shows, 2 less than last year, and of those, five of them are either finished or unlikely to have another season.

Paramount+
Paramount+ had 10 shows, 2 less than last year, 3 of which were Star Trek, and 3 of which (True Lies, Bass Reeves, Rabbit Hole) were pretty terrible.

Peacock
Peacock had 9 shows, 3 more than last year, and I underestimated them, because Poker Face was one of the best shows of the year, and I quite liked Twisted Metal and and Mrs. Davis, although only one of those will continue on. 

Prime
Prime had 4 good to great shows this year, 3 that were ok, and 2 that I really disliked. 

All of the streaming services had a downturn this year. Disney+ in particular is looking to have a rough 2024 with no MCU shows except January's Echo, and a skip year for most of Star Wars. I'm not sure what to expect from 2024 on any of the streaming services, but I expect I won't watch as much on any of them.

1. Hulu (#4 last year)
2. Netflix (#6 last year)
3. Apple+ (#2 last year)
4. Peacock (#8 last year)
5. Paramount+ (#7 last year)
6. Disney+ (#3 last year)
7. Max (#1 last year)
8. Prime

Top 10 Ongoing Shows:

Interesting to see how many of these have been gone for one, two, or in one case four years. Better Call Saul, Harley Quinn, and Hacks jumped way up for me. The first one is the big surprise, because I've always loved it, but I guess there was just a lot of competition in 2020.

1. Ted Lasso (Apple+)
2. The Bear (Hulu)
3. Barry (Max)
4. Star Trek Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)
5. Afterparty (Apple+)
6. Party Down (STARZ)
7. Fargo (Hulu)
8. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
9. Sex Education (Netflix)
10. What We Do In The Shadows (Hulu)

Top 10 New Shows:

1. Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)
2. Poker Face (Peacock)
3. Shrinking (Apple+)
4. Last of Us (Max)
5. My Adventures with Superman (Max)
6. One Piece (Netflix)
7. GenV (Prime)
8. Blue Eye Samurai (Netflix)
9. Monarch Legacy of Monsters (Apple+)
10. Mrs. Davis (Peacock)

Just Outside the Top 10:

I know, I'm cheating even more than usual, but this was such a good year for TV. Any of these shows would have been top 10/20 in a slower year. If I extended out to Top 20 on New and Ongoing, here's roughly where everything lands. And honestly, I could extend out another 10 places.

1. Star Trek Lower Decks (#11 Ongoing)
2. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (#12 Ongoing)
3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (#13 Ongoing)
4. Loki (#14 Ongoing)
5. Quantum Leap (#15 Ongoing)
6. Primo (#11 on New)
7. Special Ops: Lioness  (#12 on New)
8. Never Have I Ever (#16 Ongoing)
9. Harley Quinn (#17 Ongoing)
10. The Mandalorian (#18 Ongoing)
11. Justified City Primeval (#13 on New)
12. Last Week Tonight (#19 Ongoing)
13. Julia (#20 Ongoing)
14. Muppet Mayhem (#14 on New)
15. Hijack (#15 on New)
16. Bupkis (#16 on New)
17. White House Plumbers (#17 on New)
18. Twisted Metal (#18 on New)
19. Ahsoka (#19 on New)
20. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (#20 on New)

Complete List of Shows:

1. Ted Lasso
2. The Bear
3. Fall of the House of Usher
4. Barry
5. Poker Face
6. Shrinking
7. Star Trek Strange New Worlds
8. Last of Us
9. My Adventures with Superman
10. Afterparty
11. Party Down
12. One Piece
13. Fargo
14. GenV
15. Only Murders in the Building
16. Sex Education
17. What We Do In The Shadows
18. Blue Eye Samurai
19. Star Trek Lower Decks
20. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
21. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
22. Loki
23. Quantum Leap
24. Monarch Legacy of Monsters
25. Mrs. Davis
26. Primo
27. Special Ops: Lioness
28. Never Have I Ever
29. Harley Quinn
30. The Mandalorian
31. Justified City Primeval
32. Last Week Tonight
33. Julia
34. Doctor Who
35. Muppet Mayhem
36. Schmigadoon
37. Hijack
38. Bupkis
39. White House Plumbers
40. Top Chef
41. Ghosts
42. Star Trek Picard
43. Minx
44. The Good Fight
45. Star Wars Bad Batch
46. Twisted Metal
47. Good Omens
48. Grand Crew
49. Ahsoka
50. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
51. The Simpsons
52. Shoresy
53. Mayor of Kingstown
54. The Other Black Girl
55. I'm A Virgo
56. The Recruit
57. Cunk on Earth
58. Not Dead Yet
59. Horror of Dolores Roach
60. History of the World Part II
61. Star Wars Visions
62. The Consultant
63. The Night Agent
64. Secret Invasion
65. Silo
66. Based on a True Story
67. Tiny Beautiful Things
68. Up Here
69. Beef
70. Kaleidoscope

Shows I Didn't Finish:

1. Strange Planet
2. The Great
3. Yellowjackets
4. American Born Chinese
5. Citadel
6. Shadow & Bone
7. Florida Man
8. Dead Ringers
9. True Lies
10. Night Court
11. Gotham Knights
12. Hello Tomorrow
13. Rabbit Hole
14. Lawmen Bass Reeves
15. Extrapolations
16. Junji Ito Maniac
17. Swarm

Best of 2023 - Food

Last year I ate out about 450 times, this year...about 400. So I cut back a little bit. I tried out 26 new places this year, 7 of which landed on my favorites list.

New Places:

1. Aster's Ethiopian
2. BBQ Ramen Tatsu-Ya
3. Budare's
4. Buddha Burger
5. Gangnam Korean BBQ
6. Jade
7. Jai Chi Korean
8. Kanji Ramen
9. KG BBQ
10. La Popular
11. Marufuku Ramen
12. Mum Foods
13. Odaku Sushi
14. Revelry on the Boulevard
15. San Francisco Bakery & Cafe
16. Sangnam
17. Soupleaf
18. Southside Market
19. Spicy Boys Fried Chicken
20. T'Loc's
21. Taste of Home Dumplings
22. Thai Lada
23. Thai Lotus
24. Uptown Sports Club
25. Walnut Creek Pub
26. Whiskey Cake

These are my top 20 favorites, the ones that are accessible, not crazy expensive, *and* delicious enough that I went there numerous times during the year. Ziggy's Kielbasa dropped off the list because I just don't go up to Cedar Park enough, Torchy's has kinda lost it for me, and Smokin Beauty closed, which is really sad.

Favorites:

1. KG BBQ (My new favorite place, the combo rice bowl with lamb and brisket is my go-to)
2. Jewboy Burgers (This is the place I ate most in the year, 16 times. Still my favorite burger place.)
3. Jewboy Subs (I ate here almost as many times as Jewboy Burgers, it's just as good with a completely different menu.)
4. Hopdoddy (I had four of their burgers of the month, and ate there about five more times beyond that)
5. Jack Allen's Kitchen (My go-to lunch place for a chicken fried steak, Liberty BBQ has gotten a little pricey for me)
6. Texas Roadhouse (Still my favorite affordable steak place)
7. Deckhand Oyster Bar (Like to go here for crawfish etoufee and cowboy boudin)
8. T'Loc's (New to me this year, delicious Sonoran hot dogs)
9. Buddha Burger (Also new to me this year, just a really solid burger)
10. Julie's Noodles (I didn't go as often this year, but still the best soup dumplings in town)
11. Pinthouse Pizza (my go-to pizza place for lunch)
12. Chuy's (Still my basic tex-mex option, close to my house and to the store)
13. Brotherton Black (I don't go often, but their brisket reuben and grilled cheese are both great)
14. El Dorado (I don't get here as often as I'd like, but it's really good tex-mex. Their mexican remix of a shepherd's pie is amazing)
15. Kenny Fort Pub (Great fish and chips, at some point I'll try some of their other stuff)
16. Sushi Nini (My semi-regular lunch outing for sushi near the store)
17. Tropicana (I mostly order in, but this Cuban place has really good sandwiches and other cuban food)
18. Tso Chinese Delivery (My go-to Chinese delivery place)
19. Taste of Home Dumplings (Near the house, really delicious dumplings, the fried crawfish dumplings are especially great)
20. La Popular (I've only been once, because it's so far south, but this is a great Mexican food place)

I also kept track of where I ate lunch this year, and these are my favorites, based on how often I ate there. It's not just quality of food, here, but also closeness to work, where I'm usually eating lunch. I doubled my options this year.

Lunch Favorites:

1. Popeye's (My favorite fast food chicken, and I ate here almost as often Jewboy Burgers)
2. Golden Chick (This one climbed onto the list because of their zesty wings)
3. P. Terry's (Still my favorite quick burger place)
4. Whataburger (It's right next to the store, and they offered up a ton of free food for using the app)
5. Arby's (All about those curly fries)
6. KFC (Pretty much only for chicken pot pie, but I got that eight times. Why don't more people do pot pies?)
7. Smoky Mos (Near the store, I tend to go for their brisket-topped potato)
8. Tumble 22 (Not as special anymore, but it's now near the store and I eat pretty often)
9. Culver's (Aaron's favorite place, and there's one near the store and the house)
10. Jersey Mike's (This jumped onto my list mostly for cheesesteaks)
11. Vera Cruz (Really good tacos)
12. Firehouse Subs (This is where I go when I'm craving a meatball sub)
13. Shake Shack (A little pricey, but always tasty and now near the store)
14. ModPizza (They added one near the store, and it was already close to the house)
15. Raising Cane's (If this were closer to the store or my house, I'd go here more often)

Other places I like but only went to a couple times: Via 313, Hoody's Subs, Velvet Taco, Cotton Patch Cafe, Panda Express, Tarka, Waffle Love, Wendy's, Wingstop, Wiseguys, and Rodeo Goat (delicious burgers in Dallas).

Then there were the places that I ate at once or twice, due to either it's location (downtown especially) or price, or because it's too new to have tried many times. This list is purely down to my favorites, where I'd eat if location and price were no object. 

On my list last year that I never made time for this year were Franklin BBQ, Cork & Barrel, Valentina's Tex-Mex, Tiki Tatsu-Ya, and Culinary Dropout.

Rare Treats:

1. Kemuri Tatsu-Ya (quite possibly my favorite restaurant in Austin, I usually manage it once a year)
2. Interstellar BBQ (This has become my favorite BBQ, in particular the duck and frito pie sausage they have on Fridays)
3. Gus's Fried Chicken (If it wasn't so hard to park, I'd go here at least every month)
4. Perry's Steakhouse (Really delicious but expensive steak, I manage it every few years, and this was one of them)
5. Salty Sow (great happy hour)
6. Soupleaf (all you can eat hot pot, this place is great)
7. Gangnam Korean BBQ (all you can eat Korean BBQ, really delicious but super far south)
8. Estancia (Didn't go last year, but this was my birthday dinner this year)
9. Thai Lada (fantastic crab fried rice)
10. Jade (a little pricey but good dim sum)

I also liked Salt Traders, Uptown Sports Club, and Whiskey Cake, but they're all extra pricey and not quite good enough for the price.

Best of 2023 - Boardgames

Last year I played 94 different games, 250+ times, with 70 of them being new to me. However... 82 of those plays and 3 of those new games were on BGA, but still, that's 170+ plays, 67 new games, and over 90 different games. This year I played 92 different games, 133 times, with 69 of them being new to me. So about the same number of games, really.

Top 20 Favorite New Games:

1. Cosmoctopus
2. DC Comics DBG Injustice
3. Star Wars Deckbuilding
4. Empire's End
5. Kutna Hora City of Silver
6. World Wonders
7. Sanssouci
8. Spellbook
9. Thunder Road Vendetta Maximum Chrome
10. Diced Veggies
11. Fliptown
12. Marvel Age of Heroes
13. Marvel D.A.G.G.E.R.
14. Paleovet
15. Splendor Duel
16. Spots
17. Apiary
18. Horrified Greek Monsters
19. The White Castle
20. Express Route

Other New Games, In Order of Favorites:

1. Motor City
2. Tapple 10
3. Wandering Towers
4. Leaf
5. Last Light
6. Forbidden Jungle
7. Perfect Wave
8. Tesseract
9. Nucleum
10. Purrfect Match
11. Castles by the Sea
12. Nekojima
13. Search for Lost Species
14. Steam Up A Feast of Dim Sum
15. MLEM Space Agency
16. Broken and Beautiful: A Game About Kintsugi
17. Waterfall Park
18. The Glade
19. Evil Upheaval
20. Tequila

Favorite Games:

1. My Father's Work
2. 7 Wonders Architects
3. Canvas
4. Cosmoctopus
5. DC Comics DBG
6. DC Comics DBG Injustice
7. Deep Sea Adventure
8. Dice Throne Season Two
9. Empire's End
10. Heat Pedal to the Metal
11. Kutna Hora City of Silver
12. Namiji
13. Parks
14. Return to Dark Tower
15. Space Base
16. Star Wars Deckbuilding
17. World Wonders
18. Azul Summer Pavilion
19. Clank!
20. Diced Veggies
21. Dog Park
22. Fliptown
23. Sanssouci
24. Spellbook
25. Thunder Road Vendetta Maximum Chrome
26. Trekking through History
27. Apiary
28. Azul
29. Azul Master Chocolatier
30. Dune Imperium
31. Ethnos
32. Horrified Greek Monsters
33. Libertalia Winds of Galecrest
34. Marvel Age of Heroes
35. Marvel Champions
36. Marvel D.A.G.G.E.R.
37. Marvel Remix
38. Meadow
39. Paleovet
40. Roll Camera! The Filmmaking Game
41. Splendor
42. Splendor Duel
43. Spots
44. Star Realms Nova Collection
45. Starship Captains
46. The White Castle
47. Unmatched Teen Spirit

My "to play" list of games I have

1. 7th Sea City of Five Sails
2. Abstract Academy
3. Canopy
4. Chronicles of Crime 2400
5. CULTivate
6. Dawn of the Ulos
7. Deep Dive
8. Fox Experiment
9. Galaxy Trucker
10. GI Joe DBG
11. Ka-Pow!
12. Marvel Mayhem
13. Meeples & Monsters
14. Mercurial
15. On Tour
16. Pandemic Legacy Season 0
17. Point City
18. Retrograde
19. Roll Player Adventurs
20. Sagrada Artisans
21. Smash Up Marvel
22. Stifling Dark
23. Starfinder Pirates of Skydock
24. Unmatched (lots of them)

My "to play" list of games I don't own

1. Ark Nova
2. Bad Company
3. Barcelona
4. Between Two Cities Essential Edition
5. Cakes!
6. Cartographers Heroes
7. Council of Shadows
8. Darwin's Journey
9. Daybreak
10. Dice Manor
11. D&D Heroes of Undermountain
12. D&D Trials of Tempus
13. Earth
14. Ensemble
15. Expeditions
16. Fika
17. Forest Shuffle
18. King of Monster Island
19. Nimalia
20. Origins First Builders
21. Paint the Roses
22. Rebuilding Seattle
23. Revive
24. Rolling Heights
25. Skoventyr
26. Skull
27. Sky Team
28. Skymines
29. Splito
30. Stella Dixit Universe
31. Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition
32. Trailblazers
33. Verdant

Best of TV 2023 - Halfway Point

So we're almost halfway through 2023 (I KNOW) and for those looking for TV to watch, here is my Top 20 as it stands on May 22nd, organized not in order of favorites but by streaming network.

I'm as surprised as you are that the lead network is probably Peacock, which also has Girls5Eva, Killing It, Rutherford Falls, and AP Bio, all comedies I recommend.

Peacock

Poker Face (Rian Johnson. Natasha Lyonne. A stacked cast of guest stars. Maybe the best new show of 2023. All episodes available, but thankfully there's a season 2 coming)

Quantum Leap (I've never seen a full episode of the original, but this continuation of the continuity with new characters is so much better than it has any right to be. Clever, often funny, often touching, with solid mythology and really excellently written episodes of the week)

Mrs. Davis (Damon Lindelof's next iteration of fatih vs. science, featuring an omnipresent AI, a magician's assistant-turned-nun, and so much ridiculousness. A love it or hate it show, and I love it)

Bupkis (Curb Your Enthusiasm style fake autobio with Pete Davidson, really funny and out there)

Apple+

Ted Lasso (3 seasons, best show on TV, about to be complete in a couple weeks)

Shrinking (Another contender for best new show of 2023, first season all available, from several creators of Ted Lasso, and Harrison Ford is delightful in this)

HBO Max 

Barry (4 seasons, among the best shows on TV, about to be complete in 1 week)

Last of Us (1 of 2 seasons done, it's gonna be a long wait for season 2, this is grim but also kinda uplifting at points, like Walking Dead if it were 100 times better and less interested in spinning its wheels and torture porn)

White House Plumbers (Mini-series about the Watergate burglary, especially notable for Justin Theroux's delightful portrayal of G. Gordon Liddy as a total boob)

Prime

Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (4 seasons, about to be complete in a few weeks, looks like it's gonna stick the landing, some of the best banter on TV)

Primo (Perfect first season of a sitcom, sweet and very funny, shows the fingerprints of producers Mike Schur and Morgan Sackett (The Good Place) but is based on the life of and written/showrun by Shea Serrano)

Disney+

The Mandalorian (Seems to have fallen into love it or hate it territory, I still love it. If you loved Clone Wars, Rebels, and Bad Batch, I suspect this will be up your alley as well)

Star Wars Bad Batch (Speaking of... A-Team in the post-Order 66 Star Wars universe is fantastic)

Hulu

The Great (Season 3 of the darkly funny, surprisingly horny, only slightly based on true events story of Catherine the Great)

Grand Crew (A really delightful ensemble cast in a comedy about friends hanging out in a wine bar and living life in LA..)

Paramount+

Ghosts (2 seasons in, this American remake of a British comedy is a delight, with great characters and expanding world-building, and features Rose McIver in the lead)

Star Trek Picard (After an uneven first couple seasons, the third season is basically a new finale and victory lap for the returned Star Trek Next Generation crew, and if you have any nostalgia for TNG, you'll want to watch this)

STARZ

Party Down (The reason to have STARZ, an impressive cast returning to a show made before they were all quite as famous, outrageously funny, if all returns were as good as this, I'd be less skeptical of them. Get STARZ for a week and watch the whole series)

I'm waiting to binge all of Mayor of Kingstown and Yellowjackets, both of which likely would be on this top 20.