Barbara Ellen’s Top 10 TV Picks for 2023

Daring drama, unique comedy, and poignant farewells to the Roys, Catherine Cawood from “Happy Valley,” and “Top Boy.”

Succession

Network: Sky Atlantic; April
Jesse Armstrong’s scathing portrayal of American mega wealth concludes with its fourth and final season. The note-perfect farewell to Brian Cox’s formidable patriarch, Logan Roy, along with “the kids” and their conniving associates, solidifies Succession’s status among the greatest television creations.

Beef

Network: Netflix; April
In a year marked by innovative shows like the Korean satire “Bargain” and the philanthropy satire “The Curse,” the offbeat drama “Beef,” featuring Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, still manages to shine. Audiences watched in awe as a California road rage incident morphed into a 21st-century fever dream, brimming with audacious humor.

The Bear

Network: Disney+; July

• Leading the pack of strong returning series (including “The Newsreader,” “Slow Horses,” and “Time”) is the dysfunctional US culinary saga, “The Bear.” Revisiting chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and his kitchen misfits, the show serves up another flavorful mix of sweet, salty, sour, and every other emotion a drama could evoke.

Colin from Accounts

Network: BBC Two; April

Conceived and led by Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, this Australian comedy showcased a brewer, a “sleep-weeing” student doctor, and a dog on wheels. In a year brimming with vibrant comedies (with a special mention to Mawaan Rizwan’s surreal masterpiece “Juice”), “Colin from Accounts” transformed into a sleeper hit, characterized by its warmth, playfulness, and distinctiveness.

The Gold

Network: BBC One; January
The final chapter of Sally Wainwright’s West Yorkshire masterpiece bid a long, tough farewell to the ever-formidable Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) as she pursued her nemesis, Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton). A nerve-shredding display of magic.

The Last of Us

Network: BBC One; February
Occasionally, true crime dramas are polished to perfection. Sarah Phelps’s “The Sixth Commandment” brought quiet dignity to the real-life tragedy of gaslit retired English master Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall), and then there was “The Gold.” Starring Jack Lowden and based on the 1983 £26 million Brink’s-Mat bullion robbery, it emerged as one of the year’s most thrilling dramas, executed with a blend of light, shade, and spirit.

Happy Valley

Network: Sky Atlantic; January
Inspired by a video game, this post-apocalyptic thriller created by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) featured Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as fellow travelers in a devastated, fungus-ridden future world. It offered a mix of tenderness and brutality, where humanity met dystopia.

Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland

Network: BBC Two; May
Before 2023 became a hub for celebrity documentaries (Beckham, Robbie Williams, Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story), there was this meticulous recounting of the Northern Irish Troubles. From James Bluemel (Once Upon a Time in Iraq), it delivered a relentless, intimate masterclass in social history.

Top Boy

Network: Netflix; September
The final installment of Ronan Bennett’s drug-soaked inner-city drama. With its distinct language, laws, drug-lord “kings” (played by Ashley Walters and Kane Robinson), triumphs, and tragedies, “Top Boy” remained tight and true to the gut-wrenching end.

I’m a Virgo

Network: Amazon Prime Video; June
The trippiest TV moment of the year was “Ghost Diana” in the final season of The Crown. A close second was Boots Riley’s absurdist US comedy “I’m a Virgo,” starring Jharrel Jerome as a 13ft innocent navigating a cruel world. Complex, conceptual, and eye-popping (featuring an unforgettable sex scene), big messages lurked in the subtext.