20 Most Compelling TV Dramas of 2023

The best drama TV shows of 2023 made us laugh, cry, feel, think, and hug each other. Whether we were watching our old favorites fall into the latest adventures or welcoming a new face into the fold, these shows dared us to pay attention.

2023 was a year of representation across many different mediums from sexuality, race, mental health, and culture. We got to experience all that we know and learn from the things that we don’t.

In short, this year’s crop of TV dramas gave us the exact recipe we needed not only to survive but to thrive.

So, in no particular order, here are the 20 Most Compelling TV Dramas of 2023:

1. Succession

The final season of HBO’s Succession aired this year, and we are still not over it. The culmination of the Roy family saga still had some surprises up its sleeve, despite Season 3 ending on such a clear note.

With the loss of the patriarch, Logan Roy, early in the season, this show had the chance to redefine itself and the dynamic. While some of the issues that come to light reminded us uncomfortably of issues in our own political system, our eyes were still glued to our screens to find out who would come out on top.

And what a surprising ascension that was. While each of the Roy children licked their wounds and attempted to move forward, we were left completely satisfied with how each story played out.

2. Will Trent

From the get-go, viewers of ABC’s Will Trent were drawn in by the show’s complex characters and intriguing cases. Special Agent Will Trent has a charm to him that gets you to trust him easily.

His background in the foster care system gives him a fresh perspective when it comes to the cases he solves. That perspective is what helps him have the highest clearance rate in the whole of the GBI.

While this procedural is similar to many others on TV, it’s Will’s passion and the acting skills of Ramon Rodriguez, Erika Christensen, and Jennifer Morrison that make this team unstoppable.

3. 9-1-1

Season 6 was a bit of a rollercoaster for the members of the 118 and LAPD. Between family strife, big life-changing decisions, and personal injury, no one made it out unscathed.

First, Athena had to deal with her father having a massive stroke and also process the fact that he might have been the man who killed a girl from the neighborhood when Athena was growing up.

Then, we had Hen struggling with medical school only to give it up in favor of her family — and then go back to it by the season’s end. Meanwhile, Buck almost dies during a freak accident on a call and, for the remainder of the season, searches for new meaning in his life.

If this season is anything to go on, Season 7, the first for ABC as 9-1-1 joins a new network, is going to knock our socks off.

4. Yellowjackets

After a wildly successful Season 1, Yellowjackets returned to prove that the story of these dynamic, sometimes complicated girls/women, isn’t over yet. 

The survivors of the plane crash continued to try and survive during the harsh winter as leaders were chosen, and some started to slowly lose their minds. In the present time, Misty made a new ally who proved to be just as unhinged as she is, and Shauna was still dealing with the ongoing police investigation while her daughter became more suspicious. 

Taissa reunited everyone at a compound run by Lottie, which led to the group exploring more about what happened up in the mountains all those years ago.

It’s a season filled with twists and turns that left us all wondering which way is up and who can be trusted.

5. Found

This year didn’t have too many new fall shows to cling to due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes. However, NBC blew the competition out of the water by adding Found to the lineup. 

This inspiring procedural drama about a team of investigators who find those who are overlooked or forgotten tugs at our hearts every single week. Gabi’s leadership, while also dealing with her past trauma of being kidnapped and her current secret of holding her kidnapper in her basement, is commendable.

It makes her one of the strongest female characters currently on TV. The acting is superb, which only adds to the family dynamic of the team. We just can’t get enough.

6. Grey’s Anatomy

After 19 seasons, it seems as though Dr. Meredith Grey is finally leaving Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital behind.

After a tumultuous season, Grey’s Anatomy fans watched the bittersweet goodbye of a legend — we couldn’t be too upset, considering she was doing it for her family.

Despite this departure (along with a few others), it was a glorious season filled with fun cameos, exciting cases, and a group of fresh recruits out for glory. It’s always fun to have a new set of interns to watch navigate their new roles as doctors, and Season 19 was no different.

Most of all, though, it was exciting to see Dr. Miranda Bailey finally get her due and be recognized for all the hard work and innovations she has brought to the medical field.

7. Law & Order: SVU

Olivia Benson and the SVU gang saw many ups and downs this season concerning cases, personal matters, and career moves. For a show that has been on the air for more than two decades, Law & Order: SVU has somehow managed to keep things fresh to this day.

In 2023 the show saw the team lose a few of their own to career moves while some new faces stuck around to fight another day. Benson had her hands full when her personal life became intertwined with her professional one.

Through it all, her bond with Detective Elliot Stabler continues to hold strong, and for that, fans will always tune in.

8. Heartstopper

Season 2 of the heartwarming, fun, and sometimes silly queer drama brought the group to Paris on a school trip. As Nick navigated his newly formed relationship with Charlie, he also faced the struggles of coming out.

However, the beautiful thing about this series and this season is that no one character is the full focus of the show. All of the teens get their moments in the spotlight.

Whether it’s giving positive trans representation, showing a teen discover their sexuality, or even giving each student the strength to stand up for themselves, Heartstopper is a show worth watching again and again.

9. Chicago Fire

Firehouse 51 tried their best to navigate life in a post-Captain Matt Casey world. His absence would have been easy enough to handle if not for Captain Severide being in and out all season long as well.

Considering the season starts off rough with the devastating death of Evan Hawkins, Chicago Fire managed to keep fans engaged and along for the ride through all the ups and downs. Much like other seasons, this season was about more than just the fires. 

Between personal relationships and breakups to health scares, the firehouse family sees more than enough drama to last a lifetime. But, through it all, they lean on one another, proving once again why we love this show.

10. You

Season 4 surprised everyone by turning the tables on Joe. While we expected him to fall for yet another woman, stalk her, and commit unspeakable crimes, there was another character stalking Joe. Instead of watching, he was being watched.

The season took place in a new country which helped completely turn the show upside down. Instead of keeping us in Joe’s territory, where we know he always succeeds, we were somewhere completely new.

This made the tension grow as we were unable to predict what would happen. Something Season 4 did that added to the storytelling of the show was introducing a large number of new characters. Even though they aren’t all likable or relatable, they help made Joe’s story more complex and intriguing.

11. Fire Country

What sets Fire Country apart from the plethora of procedural dramas like it is the heart and soul that rests at its core. First and foremost, this show centers on a convict being given a second chance as long as he participates in the Volunteer Fire organization.

By focusing on a main character who normally wouldn’t be allowed to change lives in this fashion, the show sets out to break apart from the firefighter show mold. Each of these characters has something to fight for, and they are doing so at the hands of nature’s most ruthless event — fire.

We found ourselves rooting for Bode’s redemption as he struggled with his past while also trying to forge a future.

12. So Help Me Todd

Marcia Gay Harden and Skylar Astin head up this cast of dynamic lawyers as a mother-and-son duo that no one expected to be as charming as they are. While Todd is truly a messy young man, his mother somehow manages to reel him in and keep the firm running smoothly.

So Help Me Todd was 2023’s dark horse show, fairing way better than anyone ever could have imagined and garnering a Season 2 renewal. The chemistry between Harden and Astin helped move along some of the harder-to-swallow writing choices.

They are two extreme opposites and often clash with one another, but when they manage to see eye-to-eye, the results are astounding, making this show a must-see.

13. Dark Winds

This season of Dark Winds dived into Joe Leaphorn’s past a bit more when it’s discovered that the man he currently hunts has connections to his son’s death. 

Leaphorn, Bernadette, and Chee team up once more to try and solve a case that kept leaving more and more destruction in its wake; between explosions and deaths, the count was rising. 

Exploring other elements specific to indigenous experiences, such as economic hardship, medical gaps, and general dismissal from agencies of help, Dark Winds continued to bring a focus to just how harshly the US Government treated and still treats those who came before us.

14. Station 19

What stood out the most about Season 6 was the focus on mental health, especially first responder mental health. It’s a subject matter that doesn’t get as much attention as it should, at least not well-thought-out, accurate attention, and this show worked hard to do that.

Between exploring Jack and Beckett’s separate journeys with alcohol abuse and Maya’s spiraling mental stability, the show didn’t hold back from bringing awareness to the toll that seeing the worst things possible day after day can have on a person.

Through it all, the characters of the show find love, family, friendships, and community to lean on when the going gets tough. 

15. The Morning Show

Well into its run as one of Apple TV+’s top dramas, The Morning Show proved once and for all that we tune in each time for the performances, the character growth, and, best of all, the drama that isn’t our own.

During Season 3, the network found themselves struggling with the advancement of technology and the popularity of streaming services. This led the team to contemplate a takeover by Jon Hamm’s Paul Marks.

Between the performances from the ever-dynamic Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon and this season’s addition, Jon Hamm, the show continues to be one we love to watch over and over again.

16. The Rookie

The Rookie Season 5 started off with Nolan getting his own rookie to show the ropes, which led to a dynamic like no other. Celina Juarez kept Nolan on his toes the entire season with an unconventional approach to the job that sometimes had them toeing the line. 

Facing off against the serial killer, Rosalind, put not only Nolan’s life in danger but Bailey’s as well. Throughout the season, the team faced many formidable foes.

If the finale was anything to go on, we are ready and willing for more action from Nolan, Bailey, and the gang in the coming Season 6.

17. Warrior

Fans waited three years for Season 3, and they were rewarded with the series’ best season yet.

Season 3 didn’t miss a beat, giving viewers all the gripping political and personal drama, brilliantly written characters, and exquisitely choreographed fight sequences that have made Warrior one of the best period dramas on TV.

The most recent season upped the stakes as some of the series’ bedrock relationships shattered under pressure, and new, unexpected alliances were forged in their wake. By the end of the season, the power dynamics of China Town were completely upended in a thrilling season finale that we can only hope won’t also be the series finale.

While the tangled drama and breathtaking action alone would be enough to earn Warrior a spot on any best-of list, no conversation about the series is complete without a discussion of its rich representation. In addition to being a showcase of Asian talent on and off screen, the series subverts many of the genres it draws inspiration from by centering women and queer characters in stories they have been largely excluded from in the past.

Warrior Season 3 was a long time coming, but man, was it worth the wait. 

18. The Diplomat

Netflix’s The Diplomat was one of the streamer’s most unexpected hits of 2023. An old-school political drama that mixes the fast-paced, battery dialogue of The West Wing with the bonkers twists of Homeland. (Not an accident, by the way. Its showrunner worked on both.)

Though many of its narrative beats might feel familiar to viewers — there are bombings, assassination attempts, and seemingly endless political wrangling — what makes the show stand out is the incredible chemistry between leads Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell as Kate and Hal Wyler.

Both are ambitious, whip-smart diplomats, and they clash over everything from geopolitics to the state of their marriage as they banter, fight, kiss, and make up over what often feels like every episode of the series’ first season.

What’s in store for them — individually or as a couple — is up in the air in the wake of a finale that revealed a devastating political betrayal and saw Hal standing way too close to a car bomb, but thank goodness we’ll get a second season to find out.

19. The Night Agent

From the moment of its release, The Night Agent has captivated audiences and drawn people in with its thrilling storytelling and action sequences. The show was so well received so early on that it was greenlit for a second season within a few weeks of being released.

FBI Agent Peter Sutherland was thrown headfirst into a life of excitement, danger, and intrigue when he was tasked with protecting former tech CEO Rose Larkin from the people who killed her family. What followed is a journey through conspiracies of the highest order and moles within the US Government.

What makes this show so great is Gabriel Basso’s performance as Sutherland.

20. The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty has to be on a list celebrating the best TV dramas of 2023.

It is an example of a show getting stronger with its sophomore season and gives merit to the argument that teen dramas aren’t bygones. Shows in that subgenre still thrive and dominate pop culture spaces. Why else is The Summer I Turned Pretty’s love triangle still causing trending topics and Taylor Swift edits on social media?

Jenny Han and her creative team, including everyone in front of and behind the camera, delivered a dramatic season of TV with coming-of-age highs and lows that came together with a poignant story about grief.

Through it all, The Summer I Turned Pretty expanded the characters beyond the source material of Han’s books and crafted interesting dynamics (and romances) that kept audiences engaged. 

—

What TV Dramas did you love this year? Did we miss any on our list? Sound off in the comments below!

*Additional contributions by Lara Rosales, Shelby Elpers, Sarah Fields, and Lacy Baugher.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

23 Best Characters from TV Dramas and Limited Series in 2023