The 15 best TV episodes of 2023

There’s a good chance viewers will pick Poker Face’s penultimate hour as its finest. While it’s an excellent installment, episode three is remarkable because it when the Poker Face gimmick really snaps into place. Rian Johnson’s whodunit starts solidly enough, but by the time “The Stall” rolls around, we’re fully invested. Plus, series star Natasha Lyonne is joined by an excellent guest cast that includes Lil Rel Howery, Danielle Macdonald, and Larry Brown. The episode has underlying humor (a MAGA dog, and Charlie Cale handing out an Okja DVD to a chef), physical comedy, and surprising twists. It’s a worthy, suspenseful murder mystery that also furthers Charlie’s journey to becoming a master investigator. [Saloni Gajjar]

Craig Mazin aimed straight for the heart with “Long, Long Time,” huh? There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after watching this episode of HBO’s post-apocalyptic thriller. In this beautiful The Last Of Us installment, the series detours from Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie’s (Bella Ramsay) adventure and focuses instead on Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), who weren’t a huge part of the video game but steal the show here. Their deeply moving love story set against the backdrop of doom and gloom becomes one of the best parts of TLOU’s first season. And it works thanks to subtle, nuanced performances from both actors, who bring the evocative writing to life. [Saloni Gajjar]

Abbott Elementary has been inching towards Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory’s (Tyler Jackson Williams) first kiss since it began. In a classic workplace sitcom slow burn, the two colleagues refrained from acting on their obvious attraction. In season two, though, it became clear they were inevitably hurtling towards a romantic confession, which comes unexpectedly in “Teacher Conference.” It’s a banger of an episode in general, wherein the Abbott crew go on a weekend trip and busy themselves, leaving Janine and Gregory to explore seminars as she helps him cope with getting dumped. Then, in the middle of a gorgeous flower and plant exhibit, sparks fly and they share a tender, highly anticipated kiss. [Saloni Gajjar]

Parry Mason’s “Chapter 13” is a thrilling example of a show coming into its own. After an iffy first season, Mason’s second and, unfortunately, final round dared to open Perry’s world up a bit, focusing more on the team effort of his practice. Matching the tightly wound, historically resonant mystery with the snappy repartee of a cast finally clicking is infectious. It’s all there in court, as Perry (Matthew Rhys) delivers a stirring defense that we watched him carefully devise. “Chapter 13” does it all gracefully, tying decades of gentrification, discrimination, and inequality into a propulsive hour of television that never forgets its pulpy roots. At its best, Perry Mason puts viewers right next to the defense attorney as he moves from the streets of the show’s beautifully recreated 1930s L.A. to the courtroom, and “Chapter 13” works the case hard, making the emotional drama as exciting as the mystery. [Matt Schimkowitz]

Beef’s pilot is pretty unbeatable, as is its chaotic penultimate outing. But “I Am A Cage” is an unexpected favorite because of its powerful character moments. The seventh episode features a terrific turn from Ali Wong as Amy gets brutally honest during therapy. Director Jake Schrier zooms in on her face to evoke proximity, making sure we feel Amy’s gut-wrenching pain. The episode works on an individual level but also builds the show’s overarching pace, wisely jumping eight months ahead to establish the aftermath of Amy and Danny’s fights. And it brings sudden closure, too, like Amy’s husband learning about her affair and leaving her. And let’s not forget the fiery cliffhanger of Danny finding out his house is ablaze; it’s enough to motivate him into committing far worse crimes. [Saloni Gajjar]

It’s rare in this age of streaming that good, old-fashioned premium cable can still make a splash. “Connor’s Wedding” was a water-cooler moment from another time, unlike anything since HBO’s previous culture-defining union: Game Of Thrones’ Red Wedding. Like “The Rains of Castamere,” nothing in the episode’s title could prepare viewers for how it would reshape the entirety of Succession’s final season. Similarly, it was a television episode where, if you didn’t see it when it aired, you screwed up. Newspapers and websites (including this one) decided to tell the world that Logan Roy died, revealing the grip Succession had on TV viewers. It would be for naught if the episode weren’t as good as it is: a technical marvel, a daring bit of plot escalation, and a shockingly emotional and deeply funny 90 minutes of television. The only thing more surprising to the reaction to Logan’s death was how deeply invested viewers were in the episode’s construction, with its winding long takes and its masterclass performances driving as much discussion as the plot. To cap it off, the installment also contains one of the best button lines in recent memory: “There he is. That’s Dad.” [Matt Schimkowitz]

“Ice” is astounding, the kind of episode where, after the credits roll, you’re left staring at your reflection on the screen. And it’s all because of how suddenly The Great kills off Peter (Nicholas Hoult). It’s not entirely random, of course, because if Tony McNamara’s Hulu series followed history (thankfully it doesn’t), he would’ve died at the hands of his wife, Catherine (Elle Fanning), in season one. Instead, The Great extends their tragic, twisted love story until season three’s sixth episode. In “Ice,” Peter’s hasty decision to run off and save Sweden lands him in cold water. At the end of the hour, convinced by his wife, he decides to return home. But the icy river patch has other plans, and he falls into the water along with his horse. It’s an emotional gut punch, furthered by Hoult’s stunning facial expressions as he falls in, and Fanning’s inability to process what she’s witnessed. [Saloni Gajjar]

Barry has never been a show for the faint at heart, but even the series’ most faithful were tested with its fourth and final season. With its penultimate episode, Barry’s supporting characters take the wheel with a brilliantly funny half-hour that exploits the black humor coursing through its veins. Those moments when the show slows down and deconstructs the issues calmly and empathetically have never been better than when Fuches (Stephen Root) walks his family and gang through decapitation etiquette. But it’s the centerpiece of the episode that steals the show: a rollicking, Looney Tunes-inspired single take of NoHo Hank’s latest plan going spectacularly awry. “a nice meal” was a reminder that, when it wanted to be, Barry was the funniest show on TV. [Matt Schimkowitz]

If an episode ends with a group of teens voraciously feasting on the charred corpse of their dead It-girl leader, it’s getting on this list. Yellowjackets delivered on its promise of cannibalism with season two’s aptly named “Edible Complex.” We all knew it was coming, but it was gorier and far more chilling than anticipated when the wilderness-trapped, hunger-driven kids descended on a crispy Jackie (Ella Purnell). The whole hour is a delicious build-up to the main event, especially as it tugs at Jackie and Shauna’s (Sophie Nélisse) friendship. [Saloni Gajjar]

There was some stiff competition as far as the best episode in the second best TV show of 2023 (officially)—Marcus’ trip to Copenhagen and the anxiety-riddled Christmas flashback “Fishes” are obvious contenders—but, as our countdown of the top performances of the past 12 months makes clear, my heart was really with Richie this round. And the Richie episode—“Forks,” which Ebon Moss-Bachrach walked us through—hit me the hardest, showing our Chicago-accented screw-up get his heart broken and then learn the subtle art of actually giving a fuck, understanding that all the of those little details—properly cleaned utensils or, say, Pequod’s deep dish beautifully rendered into fine dining—really matter. [Tim Lowery]

Over its three-season run, Reservation Dogs beautifully explored the nuances of Indigenous culture and history. The show always came from a place of authenticity because its creators, writers, and cast were Native American. In the show’s final batch of episodes, Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) is struggling to make it back home to Okern by himself. He gets some help from Deer Lady, who made an appearance all the way back in season one. She assists Bear in his return, but not before flashbacks reveal her origin story from when she was a child suffering and witnessing abuse at an American Indian boarding school. It’s a horrifying reality, and Reservation Dogs paints it with tenderness without compromising on truth. [Saloni Gajjar]

Despite being centered on about as unrepentant a crew of amoral bloodsuckers as you’re likely to find on basic cable, What We Do In The Shadows rarely toys with the world of outright horror. The occasional exceptions are almost always stand-outs, though—notably this installment of the show’s most recent season, which sees poor Guillermo (Harvey Guillén, who gets some great line-reads after being doped to the gills with tranquilizers) dragged to “Familiar Urgent Care,” a nightmarish spin of veterinary medicine where the cheerful suggestion to any ailment is always to put the poor broken human down. (After all, even if they get better, what have they got, another 40 years?) Director Yana Gorskaya shoots this trip into the realm of vampiric medical infrastructure like a slickly edited torture-porn flick, while star Natasia Demetriou lands the always tricky balance of making our main vamps just a bit more palatable than the other monsters they run into. After all, if anyone’s going to brutally murder Guillermo, it’s going to be his employers/family/owners, right? [William Hughes]

After a second season that saw its star humbled, meandering with occasional and frustrating aimlessness through time, Disney+’s Loki finally nailed the dismount. “Glorious Purpose,” the show’s second-season (and almost certainly series) finale, is really three great episodes in one: The first sees Tom Hiddleston in Bill Murray mode, using Loki’s newfound control over the timestream to try to Groundhog Day his way through the cosmic crisis threatening the Time Variance Authority. When that fails, it kicks over into a high-stakes drama, with Hiddleston getting to play off of each of his three favorite scene partners for the series—Owen Wilson’s Moebius, Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains, and most especially Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie. It all culminates in a positively mythic conclusion that’s sad and satisfying all at the same time, giving one of the MCU’s best characters the finest sendoff we’ve seen to date. [William Hughes]

Few shows on TV are as ambivalent toward the use of violence—while also being extremely good at doing violence—as Noah Hawley’s Fargo. For the latest case in point, look no further than “Insolubilia,” which opens with one of the tensest TV-action sequences of the year. We in the audience already knew that Juno Temple’s Dot Lyon is a far more dangerous opponent than her Minnesota nice affect and love of Bisquik might suggest, but her defense of her home and family from Joe Keery’s Gator and his Nightmare Before Christmas-masked crew is still a revelation of violence … and its consequences, as Dot’s vigilance ends up taking out huge chunks of her own life in the process. Fargo roots much of its capacity to shock within the swiftness with which terrible, life-destroying moments can occur, and “Insolubilia” bookends itself with moments of gut-punching brutality that remind us why this is still one of the best crime shows on TV. [William Hughes]

If this list published two weeks from now, I’d likely pick the action-packed, funny, and even emotional season finale for this. But as this is merely mid-December—also, how is it mid-December?—it’s worth shouting out Slow Horses’ excellent, tight third season by highlighting “Negotiating With Tigers.” Why? Simply because watching Jack Lowden’s River Cartwright get the shit kicked out of him at MI5 HQ is … delightful isn’t the right word, but it’s close, and the whole beat-down speaks to why the show works. Much has rightly been made of Gary Oldman’s stunning turn as the chain-smoking, boozing boss Jackson Lamb, but Lowden’s comedic timing is sharp as ever in this sequence and certainly worth singling out. [Tim Lowery]