Best TV shows of the year 2023, 30-21: Good Omens, Jury Duty and more

Stay tuned for more daily reveals, leading up to the announcement of this year's top-ranked show.

• Best TV shows of the year 2023, 50-41: Hijack, Heartstopper and more
• Best TV shows of the year 2023, 40-31: Blue Lights, The Long Shadow and more

30. Taskmaster

Available on Channel 4

Another strong year for Taskmaster, 2023 brought us not one but two seasons of the absurd Channel 4 entertainment show. Pitch-perfect casting is key when it comes to distinguishing the great Taskmaster from the average, and season 15 took the crown this year, featuring an almost entirely brilliant line-up. Highlights included Ivo Graham constantly trying to impress father figure Frankie Boyle, Ivo Graham's delectably earnest approach to every task and Ivo Graham's multiple on-camera breakdowns throughout the season.

Kiell Smith-Bynoe's dramatic facial expressions and original ditty 'On the Bargepole, For Me' were worth tuning in for alone, but the task that had contestants attempting to strike the most drum skins and cymbals with a single bounce of a bouncy ball was what gave us the best Taskmaster moment of the year, eliciting a moment of pure joy from the often cranky Frankie in the form of a giggle that will go down in the show's history books. – Minnie Wright, News Editor

29. Top Boy

Available on Netflix

Across its five seasons, Top Boy has earned its spot in TV history, chronicling the cyclical yet endearing relationship between drug dealers Dushane (Ashley Walters) and Sully (Kane Robinson). Landing on Channel 4 in 2011, nobody could have predicted that Top Boy would be revived years later by Netflix, only further cementing it as part of the canon of must-watch British drama.

The final season was a return to gloriously tense form. While Dushane’s decisions were increasingly head-scratching, the pace and tone of this final act underlined the painfully high stakes that were at play in Summerhouse – and they always have been in this estate-based drama, underlined by subplots about deportation, gentrification and domestic abuse.

Lest we forget Barry Keoghan and Brian Gleeson’s excellent (but brief) guest appearances in the final season, which will be remembered for a closing scene that will go down as one of the most shocking series endings. Top Boy will be sorely missed, leaving a legacy of spearheading rising Black talent like Jasmine Jobson and forging an acting path for music stars like Kano and Little Simz, while also demonstrating the kind of captivating tension that so many TV thrillers could only hope to achieve. – Morgan Cormack, Drama Writer

28. Gen V

Available on Prime Video

It was risky business giving The Boys a spin-off. The Prime Video show, penned by Eric Kripke, has such a particular tone, and such a specific appeal that it was hard to see how it was going to work outside the characters we know so well - but it absolutely does.

From episode 1, Gen V continues everything we love about the original show while introducing intriguing new characters, exploring dark and gripping new stories, and purposefully moving the story on in a way that The Boys season 4 can now embrace.

Of course, we had a few cameos - particularly in that explosive finale - but they certainly didn’t take away from the brilliant new characters we met in Gen V - the likes of Jaz Sinclair’s Marie Moreau and Jordan Li, brilliantly brought to life by London Thor and Derek Luh. It’s no surprise that the series was so quickly renewed for season 2. – Louise Griffin, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor

27. The Traitors: Australia

Available on BBC iPlayer

The Traitors took the UK by storm when it premiered on BBC One in November 2022. Like many others, I couldn’t get enough of the suspenseful game, which sees 22 contestants moving into a castle and competing in a series of challenges to win up to £120,000. The catch, however, is that among the loyal players there are some traitors who have the power to take out contestants one by one...

I was so hooked that I just needed more, and thankfully BBC iPlayer acquired the Australian series in July 2023, following its 2022 launch down under. From Married at First Sight Australia to Love Island Australia, when it comes to reality TV, the Aussies just know how to do it! And they didn’t disappoint with their first season of The Traitors.

Hosted by actor Rodger Corser, the show followed the exact same format as UK version, with three traitors being selected at the beginning and getting to "murder" players in the night. With a diverse line-up including some very funny characters, lots of twists along the way and the intense banishments, The Traitors: Australia gave everything it needed to give. And once again, the game proved not to judge a book by its cover, with the least expected players managing to pull the wool over the eyes of their competitors and sail through to the end. If you love The Traitors, give this one a go! – Grace Henry, Entertainment & Factual Editor

26. Ahsoka

Available on Disney Plus

Dread it. Run from it. The Mandoverse arrives all the same. That’s right, after two strong seasons from The Mandalorian, a weaker season 3 (to put it mildly) and an interval from The Book of Boba Fett that is better off forgotten, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are only just getting started - with more Disney Plus series and even a big screen outing on the way.

Yet, while the end of The Mandalorian’s latest inexplicable adventure might have left you with your head in your hands, wanting the galaxy far, far away to go even further, further away, Ahsoka offers a taste of what this new era of Star Wars can provide. Fleshed out with fascinating lore while remaining (just about) accessible for part-time fans, and with a group of charismatic characters at its core, this series is sprinkled with a healthy amount of Star Wars magic.

And, perhaps most importantly, it helped the sci-fi to find its love of lightsabers again, with almost every episode boasting at least one high-octane head-to-head. Going forward in the Mandoverse, let’s hope for more from Ahsoka, and less from the Armourer. Make it happen, Filoni. – George White, Sub-Editor

25. Big Brother

Available on ITVX

The return of Big Brother was a defining moment in 2023. No one knew if it was going to live up to the acclaim of previous years, with everyone on the edge of their seats hoping the cast would be full of genuine people who really wanted to take on the ultimate social experiment and, apart from a few snags in the road, it blew everyone away.

Priding itself on the 16 housemates from all walks of life entering the revamped house, ITV proved Big Brother was in safe hands. Notable highlights include the moving moment 18-year-old Hallie opened up to her housemates about being transgender, the housemates speaking openly about social issues and hilarious rule breaks that had viewers hooked every night.

With two new hosts, AJ Odudu and Will Best took turns taking the reins of its companion series, ensuring to ask the evicted housemates the all-important questions that viewers were desperate to know.

Now returning for an original and celebrity series in 2024, there’s no doubt Big Brother is back as the staple programme it once was. – Katelyn Mensah, Entertainment & Factual Writer

24. Fleishman is in Trouble

Available on Disney Plus

Every now and then a series comes along that makes you sit back and take stock. Fleishman is in Trouble is certainly one of those select few. Based on the novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, this engrossing miniseries examines the failed marriage between Dr Toby Fleishman (Jesse Eisenberg) and missing wife Rachel (Claire Danes), who disappeared without a trace shortly after their separation.

Utilising a smooth time-hopping narrative structure, the series gradually peels back the layers on exactly what went wrong. But this is more than just a typical divorce drama – as Toby’s friend and co-protagonist Libby (Lizzy Caplan) says, it’s about "everything". From friendship, parenting and nostalgia to regret, self-delusion and trauma – no weighty theme is left untouched by these sensitive yet witty scripts.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry – and you may even fall into an existential crisis. (Believe me, it’s worth it.) – David Craig, Senior Drama Writer

23. Good Omens

Available on Prime Video

There are few pairings on TV with more chemistry than David Tennant and Michael Sheen - and season 2 of Good Omens just lets us enjoy it. The second season of the Prime Video show followed Sheen’s angel Aziraphale and Tennant’s demon Crowley after they were disowned by heaven and hell, with the two of them forging their own paths - somewhat interrupted by Jon Hamm’s Gabriel. Or Jim, as he’s known for a bit.

It’s no secret there were some delays and some budget issues, but season 2 embraces the real miracle of the series - Tennant and Sheen. It’s just as whimsical, magical and ridiculous as ever, with Neil Gaiman continuing on the story he and Terry Pratchett started together - and those final scenes are everything fans have been waiting for.

The show has finally been renewed for season 3, and we cannot wait to see how our favourite angel and demon bow out. – Louise Griffin, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor

22. The Woman in the Wall

Available on BBC iPlayer

The horror of Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries has been mined extensively on-screen, in literature and on the stage, but The Woman in the Wall’s creator Joe Murtagh wanted to reach those people who had no knowledge of the grisly subject matter. So he whipped the true story into a genre-hopping thriller led by Ruth Wilson as a woman on a mission to uncover what had happened to her baby, who had been taken from her during her exile at a laundry in her younger years.

Murtagh’s riffing on the real-life tragedy was criticised by some for being insensitive, and while I’m not here to tell those people that they’re wrong, by not traversing the path well-trodden, he opened the door to a whole new crowd, in turn continuing to raise awareness about what was done to those women, and the ripple effects that are still being felt today.

Starring alongside an outstanding Wilson was Daryl McCormack, whose star is deservedly continuing to rise, as a police detective who also had his own tragic links to the mother and baby homes – and the way in which those two characters came together, learning that they had far more in common than they initially realised, was inspired.

The Woman in the Wall was certainly a risk, with Murtagh giving himself an awful lot to do across the six-episode run, but it absolutely paid off, with its final scene, in particular, executed to perfection. – Abby Robinson, Drama Editor

21. Jury Duty

Available on Amazon Freevee

The premise of Jury Duty is utterly bonkers, and that is what made it so great. An unsuspecting Ronald Gladden does his jury duty, but what he doesn’t realise is that everyone, apart from him, is an actor, and the trial is completely fabricated in order to dupe him. Think Punk’d, but in court.

One standout performance has to be James Marsden (playing himself), who wants to get out of doing jury duty and tries everything in his power to do so, only for his efforts to spectacularly backfire. And poor Ronald Gladden thinks everything is going as it should!

Unique, hilarious and met with global acclaim, it's no surprise the series was recently nominated for two Golden Globe Awards. – Katelyn Mensah, Entertainment & Factual Writer

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