The 10 Best Episodes of TV in 2023

As someone who has been listening to a fair amount of the Always Sunny Podcast, I noticed that a lot of the podcast isn’t Charlie, Rob and Glenn discussing the show and the production of it as much as it is the three of them complaining about various aspects of their life. However, the best episode of this season came from one of these out of touch conversations, in which Glenn recounts his grueling experience of getting locked out of his Tesla car. This episode is predominantly Glenn Howerton, and it’s great when we get to see one actor make an episode work just by themselves. Always Sunny has had episodes before that just follow one character, but Glenn Howerton is special in that he brings so much hilarity to how unreasonably angry he can get. This episode is primarily a vehicle to see what other scenarios they can get Dennis into and how far they can push an incredibly convoluted scenario.

While “Dennis Takes a Mental Health Day” isn’t one of my favourite Always Sunny episodes, it is still incredibly enjoyable and points to a future with more inspired Always Sunny episodes to come. 

Futurama season 8 was not to the same level of quality that most of the prior Futurama had been. The writers had to craft storylines for a show whose previous season was 10 years old, and it showed. Some of the worst material in the entire show was on display in this season, leaving me concerned for the future of Futurama. However, the season came together beautifully in the final episode.

Futurama is equally adept at tugging at your heartstrings and executing a great sci-fi premise, so it’s muchly appreciated that “All the Way Down” uses both of the show’s biggest strengths. The concept of being unsure if the characters are in a simulation or not is a compelling one that the episode takes full advantage of as it plays with your expectations. Though it isn’t one of the best sci-fi episodes of Futurama, it still demonstrates the show’s ability to realize excellent ideas. It also has mild emotional beats that were more than welcome.

Accompanying the episode’s brilliant writing is the show’s always fantastic animation and voice acting. It has truly unique animation sequences that showcases how far Futurama’s animation has come.  The voice acting is all top notch, with John DiMaggio getting the most material (and perhaps justifying why he should get the top billing?). Hopefully, this great episode is the beginning of another excellent run of episodes in this coming year. 

I was generally left unimpressed with the TV adaptation of The Last of Us. It was not bad by any means. In fact, some of it was fairly solid, with episodes 3 and 7 being two major highlights. However, episode 5 was far and away the best episode of this season. This episode allowed us to grow deeply attached to Henry and Sam, two characters we were briefly introduced to and now followed as they planned out how to survive the hordes of zombies after them, which is one of the best aspects of the show. There is an impressive amount of characterization and development given to these brothers in such a short amount of time.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey have shone brighter in other episodes, but they nonetheless do solid work here… especially in that final scene. And while zombies aren’t usually the most interesting element in the stories they’re featured in, they are incredibly threatening in this episode. The massive swarm of infected that overwhelm the characters is realized perfectly, and I couldn’t help but feel a rush of serotonin when I saw a scene in a game I’m a huge fan of depicted on-screen so well.

Season 1 of The Last of Us disappointed me somewhat despite being fairly good overall. But if this episode is anything to go by, The Last of Us is capable of being exceptional television that I hope it will blossom into for its subsequent seasons. 

Barry season 4 was another season of TV that underwhelmed me. Seasons 2 and 3 were both meticulously plotted and incredibly well-crafted, balancing dark comedy and genuine darkness perfectly. The final episode of season 3 and the first couple of episodes of season 4 felt like the show had forgotten it was supposed to be a dark comedy. Instead, Barry became more of a half-baked melodrama. That being said, there was a major bright spot in this season: episode 4. 

Ironically, Barry’s return to form barely features Barry himself and utilizes the rest of the cast remarkably well, which I think speaks to the selflessness of Bill Hader’s writing. Sarah Goldberg deserved so much praise and more awards recognition for this performance, and her acting this season is her best work. I prefer her in episode 5, but she nevertheless knocks it out of the park completely. Henry Winkler was always excellent in this show, and he gives another solid performance here.

However, Anthony Carrigan gives the best performance of the episode and his best performance in the entire show as we see the tragic conclusion to Noho Hank’s relationship with Cristobal. This episode lulls you into a sense of safety with Barry’s signature dark, somewhat absurdist humor before leaving you completely heartbroken when Hank has Cristobal killed. If the entire season was as good as this episode, it would be potentially my favourite of the whole show. 

The Fall of the House of Usher was a real slow burn for me, with its first 4 episodes taking its time to engage me and its last 4 episodes being constantly fast-paced and enthralling. Its final episode concludes the story satisfyingly as we finally learn why these horrific deaths are happening all, with everything coming to a head. Every remaining family member is dead, leaving us only with Roderick and Madeline Usher. My three MVPs of this show were Bruce Greenwood, Carla Gugino and Willa Fitzgerald, who are all in top form here.

Bruce Greenwood easily gave my favourite performance of this entire show, and the fact that he was a late replacement and still absolutely killed this role makes me respect him even more. While he brought it every single episode, “The Raven” is clearly his best work as you can see how the consequences of Roderick’s actions finally catch up with him literally and mentally. Carla Gugino justifiably received a lot of praise for this performance where she brings the physical embodiment of Consequence to life in the most bone-chilling way possible. That being said, Willa Fitzgerald was just as good as the younger version of the power-hungry, ruthless Madeline Usher and deserved far more praise for her performance than she got. 

Practically everything about this episode works, from its scares to its characters’ confrontations. The final scene as well is truly phenomenal, with its final shot being nothing short of perfection. As Mike Flanagan’s swan song to Netflix, I can’t think of a better episode to end on.

I always appreciate when a TV show has a character that starts off as an antagonistic presence but slowly becomes someone we can root for or vice versa. The Bear is the most recent example of this phenomenon and was able to achieve this in just 35 minutes. “Forks” somehow turns Richie from an unlikable asshole who was by far the character I enjoyed the least into my favourite character in the entire show within its short runtime. Ebon Moss-Bachrach gives a powerhouse performance as we follow this man go through an entire character arc that a lesser show would take a season to get through. The themes that permeate throughout this episode of self-confidence and finding your purpose brought tears to even my cynical eyes. The pure euphoria I felt when Richie found his performance and became a better person cannot be understated.  

When “Connor’s Wedding” was released, it was immediately hailed as a masterpiece by practically everyone who saw it. I wasn’t able to watch it live, but as someone who tries to not get his expectations too high, I was skeptical about just how great “Connor’s Wedding” could be.

To be honest, it is not my favourite episode of Succession (“All the Bells Say” reigns supreme in my eyes). And as you probably guessed from its placement on this list, it is not even my favourite episode of TV in 2023. That being said, “Connor’s Wedding” is still pretty damn excellent. The stress and anxiety this episode is able to radiate throughout is incredibly engaging. Matthew Macfadyen gives his greatest individual performance in any episode and somehow manages to bring even more depth to Tom’s already complex character. Tom is a truly reprehensible character most of the time, but this episode brilliantly showcases his depth, with his conversation with Greg after things… go south perhaps being the best example. 

Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin brought their A-game this entire season. While I think all three of them have better individual performances later on, this episode is a bona fide showcase of their acting excellence that they later surpass. This episode also perfectly captures what it’s like to lose a family member in the moment. The anxiety, the stress, the denial, all of it is so authentic and well-crafted that I don’t think I can ever watch “Connor’s Wedding” again.

This episode is not my favourite of What We Do in the Shadows, but it just might be the funniest. “Local News” is a perfect example of how incredibly ridiculous a story can get by escalating a situation purely for comedy’s sake. The amount of jokes that are able to be packed in just 24 minutes is staggeringly impressive and showcases the excellent comedic timing and delivery from almost every major cast member. The exception is Harvey Guillén, who instead is asked to utilize his dramatic chops and does so equally well.

This is a show that’s always able to take the most mundane lines and make them gut bustingly hilarious, and “Local News” is no exception. Mark Proksch is far and away the standout in this episode with his subplot of setting up the booby traps in the house, but Natasia Demetriuo and Kayvan Novak bring so much to this episode (especially in the last few minutes when the vampires have to present the news). The shot of Colin Robinson presenting the weather while there is a massive blood streak across the screen is a shot that will forever stand out to me. 

This episode is everything I love about What We Do in the Shadows, and I hope that we get a few more episodes like it in the show’s final season. 

This episode of Ted Lasso is not only the best of the season but possibly of the entire show. This is everything I love about the show firing on all cylinders. There’s a perfect blend of genuinely funny comedy but also raw, sincere emotion that feels completely earned. This episode feels almost as if it could be a finale to the show, which isn’t inherently a problem. After all, this is the episode where Nate and Rebecca’s character arcs come to a satisfying close.

I’m aware that many had issues with Nate’s character arc, but personally, I thought it made perfect sense given the themes of the show. "International Break" is the point of emotional catharsis for that arc, with the conversation with Nate and his dad being the only scene in the entire show that made me cry. Though there is a personal aspect to that strong reaction, it nonetheless brought Nate’s redemption arc to a heartfelt close. Meanwhile, Rebecca was always one of the characters I found most interesting in this show and in this episode, she is able to move on from Rupert and close that chapter of her life for good. Seeing characters I grew to care for finally completing their journey of growth put a huge smile on my face.

This episode also brings some great laughs with evil Dani Rojas and was incredibly heartwarming with Jamie repping Sam’s number on his jersey. This episode was peak Ted Lasso to me, and I’m so happy the show was able to produce series-best episodes like this during the end of its run.

The lore of Rick and Morty is far and away the part of the show that I am the least interested in. While I enjoy bits of lore every so often, it’s not why I love Rick and Morty. “Unmortricken” is the kind of lore-heavy episode that I would assume would be a season or even series finale, so it being placed in the halfway point of the season is surprising to me. What’s even more surprising to me is how much I adored an episode that’s the antithesis of my preferences in a Rick and Morty episode! Everything the show has been building to over the past 10 years comes to a head in this episode, leaving it as possibly the best episode of the entire series. 

We get the return of Evil Morty (cue “For the Damaged Coda”) with new revelations about his backstory and the confrontation the series has been building to for some time: Rick and Rick Prime. The new voice actors had a truly herculean task as they voice the entire episode that is the culmination to perhaps the show’s most critical plotline. They both rise to the occasion, giving excellent performances that I’m excited to see more of in future seasons. 

While the action isn’t quite the best of the series, it is still really well-crafted and creative. The final scene is classic Rick and Morty as we finally reach a conclusion to the Rick Prime story that leaves Rick and the audience with the same thought: we’ve finally achieved our goal, now what? Pitch fucking perfect.