The Best New TV Shows of 2023

2023 is going to be a transitional year in television as the Peak TV era ends — there were a record 599 scripted series released in 2022, and 2023 is, thankfully, on pace for a lower number. But it’s a lower number from a historic high, so there are still a lot, a lot, a lot of new shows hitting your screens in 2023. The next era has yet to come into focus, and no one knows exactly what the future of TV holds, but one thing’s for certain: There will still be plenty of good new series, and we’ll still be highlighting them to help keep you up to date on the best new shows to watch in 2023.

Whether a show is on a streaming service, a cable channel, or even a broadcast network, as long as it’s good and new, you’ll find it on the list below. We’ll also tell you where to watch it (even new cable shows are usually easily available on streaming services like HBO Max, Hulu, or Peacock these days), share TV Guide’s review (when there is one), and link to a trailer to help you decide for yourself if you want to watch it. As long as you like good TV, you’ll find something new to watch on this list over the course of the year.

Check back often, as this story will be updated throughout the year.

JANUARY

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Premiered: Jan. 26 on Peacock
Knives Out writer-director Rian Johnson loves a good mystery, but do you know what he loves even more? A new mystery every week. Johnson went old school with Poker Face, a case-of-the-week series starring Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a woman whose ability to perceive when someone is lying makes her a pretty nifty detective. Each episode, Charlie cruises to a new town in her classic car, trouble finds her, and she tackles the case like a modern-day Columbo. Poker Face is also noteworthy for its impressive cast of guest actors, which includes Adrien Brody, Hong Chau, Lil Rel Howery, Chloe Sevigny, Nick Nolte, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and more. –Tim Surette [Trailer | Review]       

Premiered: Jan. 25 on Hulu
Superhero shows are a dime a dozen, but Hulu’s British import Extraordinary is a charming show because it focuses on the… ordinary. Set in a world where everyone gets a superpower on their 18th birthday, Extraordinary takes us on a ride with Jen (Máiréad Tyers), a sardonic single twentysomething whose powers never developed, and her friends who have powers but are still looking for purpose. With sharp humor and zany exploits, it would be a fun hangout comedy about young people trying to get by even without the superpowers, but that added extra layer allows the writers to get creative. (Example: Jen’s boss has the power to look young, and it’s never not funny to see a child play a cranky old chainsmoking lady.) It’s an easy breezy blast with a knockout performance from Tyers, and Hulu didn’t promote it at all so please tell a friend. –Tim Surette [Trailer]  

Premiered: Jan. 15 on HBO
The Last of Us is the best TV adaptation of a video game ever made — a low bar to clear, to be sure, and it has the benefit of having excellent source material, the acclaimed 2013 PlayStation game of the same name. It stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie, survivors in a post-apocalyptic America where most of the population has been wiped out by a fungal infection that turns people into horrifying mushroom-covered zombies, as they go on a journey that could end with them saving what’s left of humanity. Time will tell if it starts a wave of really good video game adaptations (and a lot more are on the way) or stands alone as a one-of-a-kind show. –Liam Mathews [Trailer | Review]

Premiered: Jan. 13 on Netflix
Few sports are as mentally taxing as professional tennis, and as we all know, people on the verge of psychological breaks make for great docuseries subjects. Break Point follows several members of tennis’ “next generation,” the up-and-coming (and in some cases recently established) players fighting up the ranks, as they travel the world, navigate professional relationships, and battle each other for titles. It comes from the same team as Formula 1: Drive to Survive and serves as a fitting entry point for new fans while also giving tennis vets the behind-the-scenes access they crave. –Tim Surette [Trailer]     

Premiered: Jan. 12 on Peacock
Look, I’ll be first to scream how much I do not need a show featuring reality stars I don’t know competing in elaborate games, forming alliances and then stabbing each other in the back, and eliminating each other one by one. But Peacock’s The Traitors takes that formula and molds it for one person and one person only: the viewer. The game is essentially Mafia, with 20 players vying for a cash prize. Three of them are secretly working in cahoots to eliminate the others while also being targets themselves. Half of the players are reality stars (like The Bachelor‘s Arie Luyendyk, Real Housewife Brandi Glanville, and Below Deck‘s Kate Chastain), and the others are normies. But the producers keep things spicy with twists meant to psychologically torture the participants, and the most fun part is seeing souls crushed through broken trust and knowing that you’d be a better player than anyone else. Plus it takes place in a Scottish castle and host Alan Cumming struts around in fabulous Highland costumes. Peacock didn’t promote the show much, but people found it, and weeks after it premiered it seemed everyone was talking about it. –Tim Surette [Trailer]