Last week, I looked at My Top 10 Most Anticipated Returning Shows for 2023. This week, I turn towards the new shows. This is more of a crapshoot because I don't know how these shows will turn out. On last year's list, my Top 2 were The First Lady and The Gilded Age and I ended up feeling "meh" at best about both of them. Meanwhile, one of my favorites like The Bear wasn't even on my radar. But based on what I know now, here are My Top 10 Most Anticipated New Shows of 2023!
Honorable Mentions (shows that look interesting but I'm skeptical if they'll really work for me and my tastes): The Last of Us (HBO), The Idol (HBO), Masters of the Air (Apple TV+), All the Light We Cannot See (Netflix)
There isn't too much information on this show yet but it is notable for being a rare venture into television by acclaimed film director Steven Soderbergh. He has only done a few TV projects in his career, most notably The Knick. This one centers on a botched kidnapping that uncovers long held secrets in New York City. The all-star cast includes Dennis Quaid, Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes and Timothy Olyphant. With the HBO brand and big names in front of and behind the camera, I think this could be a provocative and interesting show.
9. THE COMPANY YOU KEEP (February 19, ABC)
While broadcast comedies have continued to be strong, it's been awhile since I've been really into a new broadcast drama. Perhaps the last one was This is Us. Well, now This is Us star Milo Ventimiglia is back for The Company You Keep, a romantic thriller about an affair between a con man and an undercover CIA officer (Catherine Haena Kim). This could end up going the way of other disappointing shows like it (such as NBC's Undercovers) but with Ventimiglia as the star, I'm willing to give it a shot.
I'm a fan of episodic anthologies. I know it's always a mixed bag but sometimes there can be real gems of episodes and it often means you can see more interesting names on a show because it's a one episode commitment. This upcoming FOX anthology covers a different crime in a different location each episode and the star-studded names set to appear include Rachel Bilson, Michael Chiklis, Margo Martindale, Rhea Perlman & Wendell Pierce just to name a few.
7. LOVE AND DEATH (TBD, HBO)
This story just had a limited series last year with Hulu's Candy starring Jessica Biel so that takes the luster off of this one a little bit. But this version, which again follows the story of Texas housewife turned axe murderess Candy Montgomery, comes from David E. Kelley and has a great cast led by Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons. Say what you want about Kelley, but he knows how to write heightened melodramas and probably is best suited for limited series. I couldn't get into Candy so I'm hopeful this will be a better version of that.
6. DAISY JONES & THE SIX (March 3, Prime Video)
This Amazon series looks to be a high profile one and we know Amazon can come through with the money. It centers on a fictional rock band called Daisy Jones & the Six and is set in Los Angeles in the 1970s. The series stars Riley Keough, also known as the granddaughter of Elvis Presley. It seems to be one of the more talked about shows on critics lists and I think there's an expectation that production values will be sky high. Let's hope the show lives up to the hype.
The trailer for this one is a little odd, but the people involved and the premise make me think it'll be a winner for Apple TV+. Coming from Ted Lasso's Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence as well as Jason Segel, the series is about a therapist who tells his patients exactly what he thinks. The series also stars Segel along with Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, Christa Miller and Michael Urie. I have a feeling it will find the right mix of humor and heart just like Ted Lasso.
4. POKER FACE (January 26, Peacock)
Peacock is blending the glitz and glamour of a streaming series with a "case of the week" approach in a series that's meant to feel like Columbo but comes from the mind of Rian Johnson, most recently of Knives Out and Glass Onion. The series also stars Russian Doll's Natasha Lyonne and features a parade of guest stars who will appear for a week much like high profile detective dramas of yesteryear. Names involved include Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Benjamin Bratt, Ellen Barkin, Adrien Brody, Tim Meadows, Judith Light, S. Epatha Merkerson, Cherry Jones, Nick Nolte and Luis Guzman. Whew! I love the idea of an updated feel for a procedural show.
There is part of me that worries about this show because I find myself excited for an early January comedy with existing IP just like I was for the disappointing How I Met Your Father. But after seeing the trailer, it seems pretty clear that Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp are in top form returning to Point Place, Wisconsin with a new cast of 90s kids (that apparently like to get high too). Too many revivals have been disappointing but I think this one might be fresh enough while still keeping the best elements of the original in place.
2. THE WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS (TBD, HBO)
This episode appeared on my list last year along with the similarly themed Gaslit. But it never made it to air (perhaps because of Gaslit). I enjoyed Gaslit, but I think I'm more excited about this one because it seems a little closer to the actual action. Like so many shows on this list, it also boasts a super strong cast with Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, Lena Headey and Kiernan Shipka. I feel like I know more about the Watergate era after Gaslit, but I'm excited to see another interpretation of an era that surprisingly hasn't been overdone.
Jason Katims reuniting with Connie Britton? Can it be February 3 already? This series teams up the Friday Night Lights creator and star along with others including Taylor Schilling to tell the story of a 12 year old boy who is the only survivor of a plane crash and the connections he makes with family members of the deceased. While Katims has occasionally missed with projects he's been involved with (Almost Family), he seems to do best the more he is involved including last year's underrated gem As We See It. Katims is heavily involved in this one so I'm pretty sure it will be wonderful (and tear-jerking).
Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at 1995's Bless This House!
Next Tuesday: A look at Mondays in the 1997-98 season!
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