Best TV Shows of 2023

2023 has come to an end, which means the beginning of the end of the year lists. Our CommRadio Arts & Entertainment department wrote about what they thought were the best television shows of the year.

“Loki” Season Two

After the recent disappointing run of Marvel projects, “Loki Season 2” showed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe still has some gas in the tank.

The show did a fantastic job of showing the consequences of Sylvie’s actions at the end of season one while tying things into the overarching story. The conclusion of each episode not only sparked debates amongst the audience but also had them clamoring for more.

The cast was fantastic, highlighted by another stellar Tom Hiddleston performance as the God of Mischief and Ke Huy Quan as Ouroborus.

The cinematography did a stellar job portraying the TVA and capturing the points in time Loki and friends visited throughout the season.

Overall, “Loki Season 2” had everything a Marvel fan could have asked for and will have fans pondering what is next for their favorite Asgardian. - Ben Palillo

“Ahsoka”

With everything that came out this year, “Ahsoka” isn’t a show to forget about.

“Ahsoka” followed the titular character Ahsoka Tano and her journey to stop Grand Admiral Thrawn, one of the last Imperial strongholds, and to find Ezra Bridger, the young Jedi who went missing to save the galaxy.

Rosario Dawson continued her performance of the character from “The Mandalorian,” and fans saw Lars Mikkelsen with a great, threatening performance as the stone-cold Thrawn.

Fans of “Star Wars Rebels” appreciated the show and what it heightened from the underappreciated animated series. - Adrianna Gallucci

“The Summer I Turned Pretty: Season 2”

The second season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” follows the romantic coming of age of teenager Belly Conklin, played by Lola Tung. The first three episodes of the show, which is based on Jenny Han’s novel of the same name, premiered on Prime Video on July 14th, while the remaining episodes dropped every Friday until Aug. 18th.

Following the events of season 1, Belly starts off in an emotionally rough place. Like the previous season, this season focused upon the awkward love triangle between Belly and brothers Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher, and the trio’s summer house on Cousin’s Beach.

On Aug. 3, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” was confirmed to be renewed for a third season. Fans are eager to find out what the love triangle’s ending will be after Han said that, because the adaption is in a different medium, the TV show will not be the same as the books.

With beautifully incorporated Taylor Swift music and a main character whose questionable decisions make the show interesting, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” season 2 was an extravagant highlight of the summer to watch with friends. - Sarah Taylor

“Abbott Elementary” Season 2

In an era where all the great workplace sitcoms can be streamed at ease, and new comedy shows seem to have heavy elements it wouldn’t have been crazy to claim comedy TV would never return to its prime.

But then Quinta Brunson came along. Brunson who was best known for her work at BuzzFeed put together a mockumentary workplace sitcom in the vein of “The Office” or “Parks and Recreation” but set it in an underfunded public elementary school in Philadelphia.

“Abbott Elementary” hit the ground running with a stellar first season airing on ABC and available to stream the next day across multiple platforms. However, its second season which got a full 22-episode run has cemented this show as a modern classic.

The show has a stellar ensemble that had extraordinary chemistry from the jump. The writing and storylines in the second season made it clear that “Abbott Elementary” has the potential to go toe to toe with its predecessors not just in quality but longevity as well.

With the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes resolved the sooner “Abbott Elementary” can get back on air, the better. -Sophia D’Ovidio

“The Bear” Season 2

As if the first season of “The Bear” wasn’t stressful enough for viewers, the show turned up the heat for season 2 this year.

Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Natalie (Abby Elliot) lead the charge to open the newly refurbished The Bear restaurant in the heart of Chicago.

The restaurant business isn’t an easy one, and it seems everything that could go wrong in the remodeling process went wrong.

Carmy experiences a new level of stress and anxiety, struggling to stay sane and clinging on to his new love interest, Claire (Molly Gordon), until he ends up pushing her away in powerful moments of acting from White.

Sydney explores the Chicago food scene to gather inspiration for The Bear’s menu but reflects on her time in the food industry and becomes scared all this work will be for nothing.

The episode audiences discussed the most after the season’s release was episode 6, titled “Fishes.”

It flashes back to a chaotic Christmas with the Berzatto family, where the mentally ill matriarch, Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis), cooks Christmas dinner and spirals out of control.

She ends up driving a car through the house walls, which explains a lot about why Carmy is the way he is.

The season ends with the opening of The Bear restaurant, and leaves room for a third season with even more anxiety-inducing brilliance. - Kaitlyn Murphy

Ben Palillo is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bgp5079@psu.edu.

Adrianna Gallucci is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu.

Sarah Taylor is a first-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact her, email smt6314@psu.edu.

Sophia D’Ovidio is a third-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email sgd5184@psu.edu.

Kaitlyn Murphy is a second-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email kvm6255@psu.edu.