Peak TV doesn’t seem like it’ll stop peaking anytime soon. Our list of the most anticipated new shows and returning series of 2023 is a bounty of goodness that has something to suit everyone’s taste, whether you want pulse-pounding thrillers, complex interpersonal dramas or warm-hearted comedies.
The buzziest new TV shows arriving in the new year will debut across all of the best streaming services, including Netflix, HBO Max and Disney Plus, as well as linear television. They range from weekly releases to all-at-once binges, so you can get your fill in a variety of ways.
Get out your calendars and mark down the release dates (or windows) for these must-watch shows.
The Last of Us (HBO)
Arguably the first big show of 2023, HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation is huge. Not only because HBO’s reportedly spending tens of millions per episode on the series, but because it’s based on one of the biggest video game franchises of all time. After the world’s been ravaged by a fungal-based, brain-altering pandemic that turns people into hideous zombie-like beings, Joel (Pedro Pascal) is assigned to smuggle young Ellie (Bella Ramsey) west. Why? Well, the mission isn’t exactly clear, but her survival is crucial for humanity’s future. Gamers already know that The Last of Us will break your heart, and we’re curious about if and how this HBO version will differ from the original. – Henry T. Casey
Premieres January 15 on HBO and HBO Max
Poker Face (Peacock)
While we wait for news about Russian Doll season 3, Natasha Lyonne is moving on to a new mystery series. Instead of time-traveling paradoxes and generational trauma, though, she’s investigating a case of the week. Lyonne is teaming up with creator Rian Johnson, whose love of mysteries has already been well-displayed in the two Knives Out movies. Charlie, who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying, hits the road in her Plymouth Barracude. At every stop, she encounters a colorful cast of characters involved in strange crimes that she can’t help but solve. What a concept! – Kelly Woo
Premieres Jan. 26 on Peacock (opens in new tab)
You season 4 (Netflix)
Serial killer Joe Goldberg has a new identity, a new location and a new object of love and obsession. Last we saw Joe (Penn Badgley), he had fled the charred remains of his wife and left their baby son on a friend’s doorstep. He was in Paris, seeking his next amour victim, single mom Marienne (Tati Gabrielle). But in season 4, Joe is living in London under the name Jonathan Moore and lecturing at a university. How and why he is there remain to be revealed. Suffice it to say that a new batch of fresh faces enter his deadly orbit. Will anyone finally be able to catch this killer? – KW
Part 1 premieres Feb. 9, with part 2 arriving March 9 on Netflix
Party Down season 3 (Starz)
Sitcom catchphrases have sort of died off — except for those who keep “Are we having fun yet?” in a special place in your heart. Those words haunt former actor and now-caterer Henry Pollard (Adam Scott), as they remind him of his biggest break, in a TV commercial. Through two seasons, we followed Henry and his fellow employees of Party Down Catering as they endured the food service industry. This surprise revival brings back Scott, as well as fellow cast members Jane Lynch, Ken Marino, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen and Megan Mullally. Missing, sadly, is Lizzy Caplan. The crew reunite after going in separate directions, only to find themselves back on the grind. – HTC
Streaming on Feb. 24 on Starz (opens in new tab)
The Mandalorian season 3 (Disney Plus)
Mando and Baby Yoda — OK, Din Djarin and Grogu — are finally back in town. And, spoiler alert for anyone who didn’t watch The Book of Boba Fett, they’re already reunited. Flying in for Mandalorian season 3 on that Naboo N-1 Starfighter picked up during The Book of Boba Fett, the two have unfinished business. This season will see the pair spend time among what’s left of Djarin’s fellow Mandalorians, and that includes Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), who is probably still upset about Mando having the Darksaber. Little else is known about what’s next for everyone’s favorite Disney Plus duo, but if the quality of seasons 1 and 2 are any indicator, this should be one of the best shows of the bunch. – HTC
Streaming on March 1 on Disney Plus (opens in new tab)
Secret Invasion (Disney Plus)
The first upcoming Marvel show of 2023 that we’ve got our eye on, Secret Invasion feels like it could be that one big Marvel Disney Plus project that we’ve yet to see, one that delivers a seismic event in the MCU. Not that we need the shows to be canonically important — She-Hulk’s comedy, Ms. Marvel’s charm and Loki’s Loki-ness were all more than enough — but the vibes are big here. The series stars Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, supported by Ben Mendelsohn as the Skrull Talos, who we met in Captain Marvel. Why is this so big? Well, here we learn that a group of the shape-shifting Skrulls have infiltrated the highest points of office. And it’s up to Fury and Talos to take them down. Emilia Clarke and Olivia Colman are also on board, and Kingsley Ben-Adir appears to play the villain. – HTC
Streaming in spring 2023 on Disney Plus (opens in new tab)
Daisy Jones and the Six (Prime Video)
A successful rock band in the 1970s is torn apart because of rocky relationships between some of its members? No, this is not a biopic of Fleetwood Mac, though author Taylor Jenkins Reid certainly took a page from their story for her novel. Adapted into a limited series, Daisy Jones and the Six follows the rise and epic fall of an iconic band fronted by charismatic lead singers Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin). At the height of their fame and after a sold-out show in Chicago, the band disbands. Decades later, they finally reveal the truth about what really happened. – KW
Premieres March 3 on Prime Video
Yellowjackets season 2 (Showtime)
One of the buzziest shows of the past year returns with its addictive blend of mystery box thriller, survival adventures and coming-of-age drama. The first season generated an endless cascade of theories about what really went down in the ‘90s timeline when the high school girls soccer team becomes stranded in the wilderness after a plane crash. And it sure seems like they become ritualistic cannibals! Meanwhile, the present day timeline is an absorbing exploration of the survivors’ psyches, featuring dynamite performances from Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis. The addition of Lauren Ambrose as adult Van is beyond perfect. Oh, and we can’t wait to hear the needle drops in season 2. – KW
Premieres March 24 on Showtime (opens in new tab)
White House Plumbers (HBO)
When E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux) began their covert operations, they assumed they would be ensuring the continuation of the Nixon Administration, not bringing about its downfall. Of course, that didn’t go as planned, climaxing with the botched wiretapping of the Democratic Partys headquarters at The Watergate Hotel. This limited series should have everything we could want in a political drama based on true events: shocking revelations, compelling performances, a touch of nostalgia and (likely) just a bit of stretching the truth. Don’t be surprised if this gets some Emmy buzz next year. — Malcolm McMillan
Streaming in March 2023 on HBO Max
Succession season 4 (HBO)
Fresh from winning Best Drama Series at both the Emmys and the Golden Globes, HBO’s best show (fight me!) returns for its fourth season in 2023. And the return of the dysfunctional Roy family cannot come soon enough. The bombshell revelation that Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is preparing to sell the family business to tech tycoon Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) leaving his kid’s chances of succession in tatters is sure to lead to a nasty fallout.
After three seasons of infighting, it looks like Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) are going to have to team up to claim back what they perceive to be their birthright — perhaps they can even drag oldest sibling Connor (Alan Ruck) along for the ride, assuming his presidential aspirations don’t get in the way. Of course, many viewers will be tuning in simply to see more of the bromance between Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) and cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun). – Rory Mellon
Premieres in spring 2023 on HBO
Tiny Beautiful Things (Hulu)
Author Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild was already adapted into a movie by Reese Witherspoon. Now, her collection of essays Tiny Beautiful Things is becoming a television series starring Kathryn Hahn. Clare (Hahn) is a struggling writer whose life is falling apart. Her marriage has sunk into routine, her teen daughter is rebelling, and her once-promising career is a big fail. When an opportunity comes along to take over the advice column Dear Sugar, Clare thinks she has no business giving anyone guidance. Yet, writing it proves to be her saving grace and a balm for many readers. – KW
Premieres spring 2023 on Hulu (opens in new tab)
Echo (Disney Plus)
Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) is the latest Marvel character to get an origin story. The deaf butt-kicker from Hawkeye takes center stage when she returns to her hometown and tries to (according to Disney’s official copy) “reconnect with her Native American roots.” Unfortunately, her actions from New York are following her home. And that appears to be in the form of both Kingpin (Vince D’Onofrio) and Daredevil (Charlie Cox). We’re equally excited to note that two cast members of the Native American FX series Reservation Dogs — Devery Jacobs and Zahn McClarnon — are also on board. – HTC
Streaming in summer 2023 on Disney Plus (opens in new tab)
Loki season 2 (Disney Plus)
Everybody’s favorite variant of everybody’s favorite trickster god is back, except Loki now has to remind everyone who the heck he is. Yes, the Loki season 1 finale saw Sylvie (the female Loki variant) kill He Who Remains (a Kang variant), and shatter the sacred timeline. Then, when Loki went back to the Time Variance Authority, nobody recognized him. And He Who Remains’ face was all over the building’s statues. So far, all we know is that Loki’s apparently been able to jog the memory of Mobius (Owen Wilson), and the two are working together to clean up the multiversal chaos in Loki season 2. – HTC
Streaming in summer 2023 on Disney Plus (opens in new tab)
X-Men ‘97 (Disney Plus)
I have very fond memories of waking up in the morning and turning on the TV for Saturday morning cartoons. At the top of the list? Watching the X-Men: The Animated Series. So when Disney announced it was reviving the series as X-Men ‘97, I was beyond excited. Finding out that the show wasn’t going to be tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe was certainly a surprise, but I was still on board regardless.
Then I watched the teaser trailer and … wow. It looks darker, grittier and with significantly improved animation. Granted, the original series was very much a product of the ‘90s, so any revival was going to need to change things up. But this show looks like it’ll be more than ‘90s nostalgia — it might also be really good. — MM
Expected to premiere in fall 2023 on Disney Plus
Agatha: Coven of Chaos (Disney Plus)
Agatha Harkness was the comic relief sidekick and ultimately the villain of WandaVision, and such a magnetic character as inhabited by Kathryn Hahn that a general outcry went up for her own series. Disney listened! While the story remains under Marvel’s usual opaque cloak, fans should get more insight into Agatha’s past and how she’ll move forward after losing her magic in Westview. The wickedly witty Hahn herself is enough of a draw, but the show is also adding side-eye queen Aubrey Plaza and SNL alum Sasheer Zamata to the bubbling brew. – KW
Expected to premiere in late 2023 on Disney Plus
The Crown season 6 (Netflix)
The British monarchy may last for a few more centuries, but The Crown won’t be turning out fictionalized accounts of their forthcoming doings. The royal drama is closing the book on the long, tumultuous chapter of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Imelda Staunton is returning as the queen in the final season, which looks to capture the aftermath of Princess Diana’s (Elizabeth Debicki) tragic death. Our guess is that The Crown season 6 covers 1997 through 2002, a year marked by the monarch’s Golden Jubilee and the deaths of two key family members. And with the introduction of Prince William’s university classmate Kate Middleton, season 6 will keep an eye on the future. – KW
Expected to premiere in late 2023 on Netflix
Ahsoka (Disney Plus)
Ahsoka Tano has been a beloved Star Wars character now for some time, at least for fans of the animated shows. But she has since had her live-action debut portrayed by Rosario Dawson in The Mandalorian and she’s now finally getting her own show. While we have yet to see a trailer for Ahsoka, we do have some ideas of what the story will entail. The series will focus on her hunt for Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn following the events of The Book of Boba Fett and bring back many of her old friends from the animated-series Star Wars Rebels, including Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). It seems we may also get some flashbacks, with Hayden Christensen returning as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and a rumored younger version of Ahsoka being cast. Stay tuned for more on this one; there’s still so much we don’t know. — MM
Expected to premiere in 2023 on Disney Plus
The Bear season 2 (Hulu)
Yes, chef — the high-octane dramedy that launched a thousand memes lusting over Jeremy Allen White will dish out a second course. At the end of the first season, Carmy and his kitchen crew had found tens of thousands of dollars hidden in canned tomatoes. It may get him out of a debt hole and allow Carmy to execute his restaurant vision, but deus ex machina in the form of wads of cash usually comes with a price. Beyond that, opening any restaurant is a tough proposition. Carmy may have a reputation as an exciting young chef, but he’ll need every ounce of help he can get from Sydney (Ayo Edibiri), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and the other line cooks to pull off this concoction. – KW
Expected to premiere in 2023 on Hulu (opens in new tab)
Justified: City Primeval (FX)
Justified started on a rooftop in Miami, and it looks like we will meet Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) in sunny South Florida yet again — though we won’t be there long. In fact, one episode in Miami and Givens leading the show are about all we can expect to remain the same between Justified and the spinoff, City Primeval. No Boyd Crowder, no Kentucky coal country; instead we go to Detroit for a sociopathic performance from Boyd Holbrook as The Oklahoma Wildman. Just don’t be surprised if the Motor City isn’t big enough for the two of them. — MM
Expected to premiere in 2023 on FX
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Netflix)
The imperious, gossip-loving Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) became a breakout character on Bridgerton, so it’s only natural that she anchors the first spinoff in what could become a sprawling Netflix franchise. The prequel chronicles Charlotte’s youth (when she’s played by India Amarteifio) and her rise to royalty after marrying King George III. From the OG series, Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and Viscountess Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) make appearances, along with their younger versions. While Queen Charlotte is at the pinnacle of power when we first meet her in Bridgerton, she had to use her wits and sharp tongue to navigate the long road there. – KW
Expected to premiere in 2023 on Netflix
Ted Lasso (Apple TV Plus)
Where, oh where, has Ted Lasso season 3 been? Expected last summer, but falling prey to rewrites, the third and final (well, for this story arc) season of Ted Lasso is long overdue. The story, though, is rather direct. Lasso’s AFC Richmond squad elevated to being a real Premier League team at the end of season 2, and their goal for this season is to win the championship. In their way? Well, Rebecca’s ex Rupert Mannion is now the owner of West Ham United, and he’s employed Nate, who betrayed Ted’s trust last season. – HTC
Expected to premiere in 2023 on Apple TV Plus
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