Here's what I liked in 2023 - Television

ok so right off the bat I am going to say that my previous blog post, looking at films I liked for 2023, is already out of date. I recently had the pleasure of going to watch Anyone but you and it's definitely a film i really want to rewatch. The film tells the story of Ben and Bea who hate each other but happen to be attending the same wedding. cue typical romcom shenanigans. It's a really funny film and importantly for a romcom, it has a lot of heart. Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney are everything you want from romcom leads - good looking and a bit annoying but great chemistry between them.

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Anyway here's a quick fire summary of (some of) what i liked on tv this year in no particular order..

loki s2

only murders in the building s3

ted lasso s3

reacher s2

percy jackson and the olympians s1 (thank god its good)

upload s3

how i met your father s2 (rip)

futurama s8

sex education s4

I appreciate that there's a lot of shows on that list that are in their later seasons but i would recommend pretty much all of them for their respective genres. Loki, for example, is one of the strongest pieces of media currently coming out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with Tom Hiddleston offering a stunning performance as the titular character particular in the finale. As mentioned in a previous blog, there's a lot of people struggling with the franchise in general due to varied things from films not being so good to too much content in a short time, but Loki for me is really worth sticking too. I'd argue the character arc for Loki is comfortably the strongest in the MCU and it's in the show that it really pulls through.

When it comes to action, I am really enjoying Reacher, currently on Prime Video, Alan Ritchson is fantastic as Jack Reacher and is considerably more convincing in the role that Tom Cruise was in the less successful film. I really hope he gets offered a more substantial role in the superhero worlds soon as he is an absolute machine, and is very convincing as the lone character Reacher. In S1, he is predominantly by himself throughout the season but S2 introduces his former squad and makes for some really interesting dynamics and story telling.

I am still so sad that How I Met Your Father got cancelled, a show that I believe had a lot of potential. I still think if you are a fan of How I Met Your Mother it's worth watching. I hope someone picks it up at least to finish the story.

Only Murders in the Building for me is still one of the strongest tv shows on television (well disney plus) and that in part is because of the strength of the leads. I am not sure if you will have heard of them but it's three unknowns called Steve Martin, Martin Short, and apparently a singer called Selena Gomez. Ok obviously Steve Martin and Martin Short are comedy legends and Selena Gomez was LITERALLY Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverley Place. It's currently three seasons in but each season offers a strong blend of comedy, and drama. I particularly enjoy the way they use the three leads podcast to help aid their storytelling, with each season basically working as them trying to solve a murder! It's funny, it's original, and importantly, it's very well written. S3 follows them during Martin Short's character's attempts at doing a musical and as a result, the show includes an incredible toe tapping number by Steve Martin that made my Spotify wrapped top 100 (oops).

I am sure I will cover Percy Jackson and The Olympians on numerous other occasions but I really think it is worth watching. It's only three episodes in so far on disney plus but it's a fantastic adaptation of the books so far and i feel confident that it's going to be a MAJOR player in the tv world for years to come (as long as they don't drop the ball with it which they could cause it's tv studios)

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According to serialized (letterboxd for tv), an app i've used since april 11th, i've watched 7 days and 13 hours worth of shows which equates to 272 episodes which is insane. I haven't necessarily committed to watching the more popular shows that are typically popular on the lists for 2023. I did try programmes like The Last Of Us and Abbott Elementary but just couldn't get into them in the same way i enjoyed the other ones.

finally, in 2023, we lost the flash and riverdale, two programmes i had been watching since i was at school. although both shows were up and down with their good moments and bad moments, i still stuck by them both and still found time to watch them as often as i could. grant gustin deserved so much more and i LOVE that charles melton might win major awards and he's crediting riverdale as an important education for him.

what did you like in 2023? let me know!