Spooky teen shows and love triangles with two brothers dominated my TV in 2023. What’s not to love about that? It was a great year for fun storytelling and a lovely year for all the shippers out there.
2023 was all abut me remembering why I fell in love with TV in the first place. So many of last year’s stories felt like childhood and nostalgia for me while still introducing me to new television concepts. There was a lot to love.
Here are the 23 shows that got me through 2023:
Ginny & Georgia
Available on Netflix
Renewal status: Renewed
I started the year with the return of “Ginny & Georgia” on Netflix (and the return of Felix Mallard as Marcus Baker). It’s like “Gilmore Girls” meets Lifetime.
Season two delved even deeper into this mother-daughter relationship. Ginny’s eyes became more open to her mother Georgia’s dark past, and she had to navigate whether she wanted to stick by her mom’s side or run away – quite literally. Just like season one, this next installment ended with a mighty big cliffhanger.
Luckily, “Ginny & Georgia” has been renewed for a third and fourth season at Netflix so the crime and love triangles may commence.
Yellowjackets
Available on Showtime and Paramount+
Renewal status: Renewed
I went into “Yellowjackets” after Amazon Prime canceled “The Wilds.” People online compared the two and urged fans of the latter to join the “Yellowjackets” fandom. I only knew that it was about a high school girls’ soccer team getting into a plane crash with some flash forwards to the future. Imagine my surprise when I learned it was also a series about cannibalism in the show’s opening sequences. Folks really buried the lead with that one.
“Yellowjackets” follows three timelines: one of the soccer players all in high school together, another of their time stranded deep in the Ontario wilderness and finally how the remaining survivors are all trying to keep their lives together 25 years later. It really chronicles teen girlhood leading to their descent into cannibalistic clans.
I love the storytelling in this. Mysteries and character storylines are woven perfectly from all three timelines shown to the audience, and the acting is killer.
Lockwood & Co.
Available on Netflix
Renewal status: Canceled
“Lockwood & Co.” was really the first show I became obsessed with this year (I still catch myself reading fanfiction from time to time). I’m always a sucker for a teen show with a spooky premise.
“Lockwood & Co.” is a British supernatural detective series adapted from author Jonathan Stroud’s book series of the same name. Lucy Carlye, a girl with psychic abilities, joins up with Anthony Lockwood and George Karim to fight deadly spirits across London. They’re also hiding out from the government’s ghost-training program, which they believe is corrupted and careless with the children’s lives they’re responsible for.
Overall, it was just a fun show to watch with fun characters. It reminded me of all the witty, spooky, quirky stories I grew up with, like “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” I’ll never understand why Netflix canceled it prematurely. The show’s core three characters had some of my favorite dynamics of the year.
Outer Banks
Available on Netflix
Renewal status: Renewed
I continued my year with a classic pandemic favorite. “Outer Banks” returned with season three Feb. 23, 2023.
The show went all over this season from starting at Poguelandia in the first episode (I wish we explored this more instead of getting a time jump) to going to Orinoco looking for El Dorado in the jungle.
I’ll be honest, this show was a bit of a letdown for me this year. The treasure hunting storyline kind of went off the deep end, and Big John’s character entrance fell flat. However, I am a huge Kiara and JJ shipper, and this season delivered big time on that. Their scenes together kept me going this season, and I’m extremely thankful for them.
Daisy Jones & The Six
Available on Amazon Prime
Renewal status: Completed
“Daisy Jones & The Six” was a masterclass in book-to-screen adaptation. Everything about this show was perfect. It’s based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s book of the same name, and it was so faithful to the original story while also adding more layers and context for the audience.
The series chronicles the rise and fall of fictional ‘70s rock n’ roll band “Daisy Jones & the Six” through interviews 20 years later. The band led by Daisy Jones (Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter) and Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin) were on their way to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world. However after a sold out show in Chicago in 1979, it all came crashing down. Two decades later, the band finally went on record about what actually went down.
It’s my favorite book of all time, and this easily became one of my favorite shows of all time. I was captivated. By the end of the final frame, I was literally sobbing and gasping for breath. The entire cast, who had minimal music experience, trained and trained to become an actual band. They performed all their own music, and it was genuinely amazing (“Regret Me” was my second most listened to song on Spotify in 2023). Oh how I love when life imitates art.
I seriously believe every single person in the world should watch this show.
Ted Lasso
Available on Apple TV+
Renewal status: Completed
This beloved sports dramedy about an American football coach spontaneously moving to London to become an English football coach sadly faced its conclusion last year.
I’m happy we got to see the intended beginning, middle and end of “Ted Lasso,” but I can’t imagine a world without more episodes.
It took bittersweet to a whole new level. I have slightly mixed feelings about the way the series ended. Not everything I personally wanted to happen came to fruition, but I also can’t be too upset by that. Everything felt so right and on track for most of the characters. The “Wizard of Oz” references were also incredible and summed up Ted’s experience wonderfully.
I ended the show as a Jamie Tartt stan and apologist (I have been since the beginning of season two). I got so into his character development last year that I lost my left Airpod watching his Manchester episode. I was on a family trip in Iceland, and every single piece of furniture was white in that hotel room. I cried myself to sleep after watching the episode that I forgot to take my Airpod out. I swear that thing disappeared into oblivion when it fell out of my ear that night.
Losing that Airpod was worth it though because I’m thankful I got to experience a world with “Ted Lasso.”
Shadow & Bone
Available on Netflix
Renewal status: Canceled
Ah, yet another canceled show last year (glares at Netflix). I was really excited about this season, especially as a fan of the Grishaverse books written by Leigh Bardugo that “Shadow & Bone” was based on.
Season two gave us more amplifiers and a deeper look at how they can affect the Grisha who wield them. It also breathed life into fan favorite characters and big time players: Nikolai, Wylan, Tolya and Tamar, all of whom were perfectly cast in my opinion. The show continued to meld both the “Shadow & Bone” and “Six of Crows” book series together with character interactions and plotlines.
I’ll admit that the “Shadow & Bone” aspect of the season started to fall off the rails for me. However, the “Six of Crows” parts were a real winner (even if the show used the second book’s plot before we even reached the first book’s plot). I was thrilled with literally anything and everything the Crows did that season. They’re my personal favorite found family of all time.
I shall never forgive Netflix for this cruelty and for therefore axing the “Six of Crows” spinoff show they were working on.
Sanditon
Available on PBS Masterpiece
Renewal status: Completed
Speaking of canceled shows, it’s amazing what happens when streamers/networks listen to fans’ pleas to bring a title back. “Sanditon” originally got canceled after season one but later got saved after fans spent their own money on bigtime marketing campaigns. I love the power of fandom! “Sanditon” got two more seasons to conclude itself with the final season airing last year.
The show, based on Jane Austen’s unfinished novel of the same name, took place in a new seaside English town called Sanditon. It followed Charlotte Heywood’s journey there with the Parker family and then her eventual romance with Alexander Colbourne.
While the final two seasons didn’t have Theo James reprising his love interest role as Sydney Parker, the show maintained its romantic yearning. Now that’s how you save a show and keep its integrity alive. It’s so validating as a fan when love wins both on and off the screen.
School Spirits
Available on Paramount+ and Netflix
Renewal status: Renewed
“School Spirits” was such a fun show to watch with a great mystery at its core.
“School Spirits” is an American supernatural teen drama that follows Maddie Nears (played by Peyton List) after she dies mysteriously in her high school. Her ghost is stuck there along with the ghosts of other teens who have died at the school over the years. They’re even part of a teen ghost support group. However, Maddie realizes she has a connection to the living. Her friend Simon (played by Kristian Elroy) has the ability to see her and together they piece together her mysterious murder.
Actors Peyton List and Milo Manheim stole the show for me. The relationship building in “School Spirits” was so strong and it even outshined the murder mystery aspect at times for me.
There was a great balance between being both plot and character driven. List’s murder mystery plotline was explored really well, and the other ghosts’ stories also got to shine. I absolutely loved their interactions together. It felt like a more spooky, less musical version of “Julie and the Phantoms.”
Jury Duty
Available on Freevee through Amazon Prime
Renewal status: Unknown
“Jury Duty” really took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting to like it so much, but James Marsden playing James Marsden under the guise of jury duty is comedic gold.
“Jury Duty” is a reality hoax comedic sitcom. It stars juror Ronald Gladden who is the only person unaware that the whole trial is fake. To keep Ronald and all his fellow “jurors” together for the show, they were moved to a hotel for their sequestered life. James Marsden played himself in this documentary-styled show, and his main bit was how the jury was taking up too much of his time and hindering his ability to audition for a new role. All of the jurors and people part of the trial were hilarious with the wacky stunts they pulled. Ronald remained kind and open to them the entire time. They couldn’t have found a better person to trick into the role.
I was crying-laughing throughout this show. There’s so much originality with “Jury Duty” even if it could have strange lasting effects on Ronald.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Available on Netflix
Renewal status: Completed
I love a good regency era romance, especially when it’s epic and sad. “Queen Charlotte” is a Netflix “Bridgerton” spinoff that tells the tale of how Young Queen Charlotte and Young King George met and fell in love.
The couple had an arranged marriage with George acting very mysterious in their first days as husband and wife. Feeling lonely, Charlotte sought Lady Agatha Danbury’s friendship, setting the course for a relationship we see years later in “Bridgerton.” As time continues forth, Charlotte discovers the truth about George having an illness he’s been desperately trying to keep under wraps. They navigate it together and fall deeply in love with each other.
“Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” was shot incredibly well, and I was crying so much by the end. It makes me so excited to see their story continue when “Bridgerton” season three returns this May.
XO, Kitty
Available on Netflix
Renewal status: Renewed
I love teen dramas with my entire being. This “To All The Boys I Loved Before” TV show spinoff was so fun that I binged it in a couple days when I was on a family trip.
At the end of the final “To All The Boys I Loved Before” movie, the Covey sisters took a trip to Seoul, South Korea, where we saw a relationship start forming between Kitty and a guy there. That lays the foundation for “XO, Kitty.” She talks her dad into letting her attend the same boarding school in South Korea that her mother attended. It’s a way for her to feel closer to her mom who passed away and to surprise her long-distance boyfriend Dae who also attends this prestigious school. Complications and miscommunication ensue.
The plot was fun. The characters were fun. “XO, Kitty” is a brilliant show for all the shippers out there. I personally ship Kitty with Min Ho, but Yuri is amazing too. I thought Dae was a very sweet first love for Kitty, but I think the relationship was just missing something. I need to know what happens after Kitty and Min Ho ended up on the plane together in the final episode.
Never Have I Ever
Available on Netflix
Renewal status: Completed
I feel like so many shows either concluded or got canceled last year. “Never Have I Ever” was one of them. We finally reached the end of Devi Vishwakumar’s high school career.
The final season followed her senior year, and while it still had boy drama, Devi and her friends took a step back to figure out what they truly wanted. Friends, family and their futures were at the forefront of the season, and Devi grew into her womanhood more. Even Paxton Hall Yoshida came back into the fold after dropping out of college to discover more of who he is and what he wants. It still remained a fun, wacky season though.
I’m going to miss Devi and my secondhand embarrassment so much. This show has been such a bright spot in my life since it came out in 2020. I’m happy Devi and Ben Gross finally overcame their differences, talked things out and got together in the end. I think they’re really on the same level and are good for each other, even if I have always shipped her with Paxton. This show has been such a comfort for me. There are many rewatches waiting for me in the future.
Nancy Drew
Available on Max
Renewal status: Completed
I’ll forever regret not starting “Nancy Drew” when it first started airing on The CW in 2019. I started Nancy Drew last June and got caught up in a week. This show is so special in so many ways. This cast of characters reminded me of why I fell in love with TV as a kid. Complex characters faced with spooky mysteries while also navigating their relationships? Sign me up.
Nancy Drew is a wonderful teen detective in her hometown Horseshoe Bay, Maine. She’s been known to solve many of her town’s mysteries since she was only 12 years old and has used this as a way to measure her sense of self. Things in her life looked great until her mother passed away her senior year of high school. Taking a gap year, she decided to stay in Horseshoe Bay working for a local restaurant called The Claw. It’s there where a socialite mysteriously died in their parking lot. Perceived as suspects with the group of teens present at the sight of the crime, Nancy and her coworkers work together to clear their name and solve the mystery.
It’s the best. It’s a show that truly cares about the story it’s telling and the fans it’s telling it to. I’ve never experienced so much validation watching something. “Nancy Drew” almost felt like fanfiction at times, and I mean that in the best way possible. I’ve seen shows that have the characters jumping from plot point to plot point without room to breathe and talk to each other about the horrible things they’ve experienced. It’s been frustrating. However, “Nancy Drew” always allowed time for the characters to talk to each other. It’s not just a show about the mysteries being uncovered. It’s a show about people. Ah, I love Nancy and Ace so much.
Extraordinary
Available on Hulu
Renewal status: Renewed
“Extraordinary” was really extraordinary. It was also a lovely comfort show to watch during my “Nancy Drew” obsession last summer. I needed something fun and lighthearted after the rollercoaster of emotions I was on (I cried a lot).
“Extraordinary” is a take on the modern British sitcom and superhero genres where people past the age of 18 start developing a superpower. Frazzled, British 25-year-old Jen still hasn’t found what hers is yet. Jen and her friends try coming up with ideas left and right to try and make her power show itself with no luck.
There’s also an interesting storyline where Jen and her friends take in a stray cat. The cat ends up actually being a 20-something-year-old man named Jizzlord with shapeshifter abilities who lost his memories (nice guy).
It’s such a fun concept for a story and I was eating it up.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Available on Amazon Prime
Renewal status: Renewed
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” was my most anticipated show of 2023.
I threw a small little premiere night party just for myself. I had Susannah’s favorite hydrangeas on my countertop. I made a pomegranate margarita. I wore my Team Conrad shirt, my “The Summer I Turned Pretty” sweatshirt, infinity necklace and had my notebook filled with Taylor Swift song predictions next to me.
Season two takes place the following summer from season one. After a rough year of heartache and loss, Belly isn’t the same girl she was. When people suddenly can’t get a hold of Conrad, his brother Jeremiah gets Belly to help find him at the Cousins Beach house where they soon learn it is being sold by their estranged aunt. The love triangle deepens, a plan to save the house ensues and flashbacks of their tragic year are woven throughout the scenes.
It’s such an incredible adaptation of Jenny Han’s books. It’s an instant Teen Drama classic. So much of season two was giving me “Dawson’s Creek” vibes, and people can’t tell me there weren’t parallels between Belly/Conrad and Joey/Pacey. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” was everywhere online for me, and I think the show coming out on a weekly basis helped with that. Shows released over a period of time allows for more, deeper discourse because people have more time to delve into the details for every episode. It was a blast. I love being the target audience for things.
Now, I even get Sour Patch Kids every time I go to the movie theater. If you know, you know.
Goosebumps
Available on Hulu
Renewal status: Unknown
Yay for another spooky teen drama show last year! Nay for not knowing if it’s been renewed yet.
The Biddle House sets the scene for this new “Goosebumps” adaptation. Five high schoolers set out to discover what truly happened to Harold Biddle in 1993 when he mysteriously died in a fire at this house. Three decades later, their new teacher Mr. Bratt is the owner. Before this knowledge is made public, Isaiah, one of these five teens, throws a Halloween party at the house.
Before Mr. Bratt can show up to get everyone to leave though Isaiah and his friends find an old Polaroid camera in the basement, taking random photos of each other. The photos turn sinister afterwards showing how each of them could die. After a near-death experience represented in a photo, Isaiah goes to destroy the camera with no luck thus pulling them all into the Biddle House mystery.
The “Goosebumps” show on Hulu last year was yet another reminder of why I love TV. It set up a monstrous mystery at the beginning of the first episode but then it immediately went into exploring all the characters. I really feel like 2023 was the year of well-balanced plot and character driven shows.
Survivor
Available on Paramount+
Renewal status: Renewed
“Survivor” is deeply rooted in my childhood, and I started getting back into it last year after I stopped in college. It’s very difficult for me to find the willpower to be a casual fan of something, so once I started watching “Survivor” last year, I fell into a bit of hyperfixation.
There are typically two-ish seasons that come out each year, and I started watching season 44 when season 45 was airing. I made the best choice. Season 44 is my favorite of the new era of “Survivor” (which started with season 41).
The Tika Three were hands down the best part of that season for me. Yam Yam, Carolyn and Carson were hilarious to watch. They’re icons. Those three started off at the very bottom when all the tribes merged together, but instead of being the easy people to vote off, they worked their way into every social circle to subtly take hold of the game and control which person went home at each tribal council.
There’s a balance in “Survivor” where you need to be strong enough to win challenges to have immunity and where you need to have a strong social game to make alliances and choose who goes home, but you have to do it in a way that doesn’t make you perceived as a threat. The Tika Three rode that line perfectly. All three of them made it to the final four, two of them made it to the final three and one won the whole thing.
It was one of the most entertaining seasons I’ve seen while also keeping me on my toes the whole time. Season 45 was another fun one too.
The Buccaneers
Available on Apple TV+
Renewal status: Renewed
“The Buccaneers” is girlhood all wrapped up into eight episodes tied with a pretty, silk bow. It felt like a celebration of being a girl, especially with the Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams songs that were featured. The show fit so well in the year of the “Barbie” movie, Taylor Swift and Beyonce.
“The Buccaneers” is a period drama based on American novelist Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel of the same name that was published in 1938 following Wharton’s passing. The story centers around young American women who burst into the 1870s London season after being sent to find husbands. It starts a clash of cultures, love triangles and family drama.
There were definitely times “The Buccaneers” felt cheesy, but I love some good cheese. It might technically be a period drama, but it felt more like a regular ol’ modern teen drama just with long dresses, carriages, castles and dukes and duchesses. It reminds me of loving “Reign” on The CW when I was a teenager.
Love Island Games
Available on Peacock
Renewal status: Unknown
“Love Island” and “Survivor” are my top two favorite reality shows. So, when Peacock announced they were doing a “Love Island” show where contestants have to compete in challenges to stay in the villa while still coupling up with each other, I was sold.
“Love Island UK” host Maya Jama and narrator Iain Stirling joined forces for this season that featured “Love Island” all-stars across the world who returned to compete for another chance at love and the $100,000 prize. Instead of the standard coupling up and the occasional public vote that sends people home, competitions played a role in who got sent home.
I’m not going to lie, I did have a small mental breakdown when my favorite couple got split up and the guy ended up getting sent home a few days later. While I do prefer “Love Island UK,” I do really hope this gets picked up for a second season. I had so much fun seeing some of my favorite British, American and Australian contestants from over the years interact and couple up with each other. I love the “Love Island” cinematic universe.
My Life With The Walter Boys
Available on Netflix
Renewal status: Renewed
A love triangle with two brothers will get me every time, especially when the older brother is angsty and misunderstood (I just am who I am). “My Life With The Walter Boys” is based on Ali Novak’s 2014 book of the same name that was originally posted on Wattpad.
“My Life With The Walter Boys” follows Jackie Howard after her parents and older sister die in a car crash. She gets sent from New York City to rural Colorado to live with her mom’s college best friend Katherine Walter and her large family. Reeling from tragedy and a new place, Jackie is determined to stay on track for getting into an ivy league college all while getting closer to two of the Walter boys, Alex and Cole.
I loved watching this show, but I will admit just how toxic the majority of these characters are. The fact that some of them practically told Jackie to “rub some dirt on it” after her whole family died in a car crash was very jarring. I did fall prey to the “Cole effect” though. I couldn’t help it. I’m a sucker for a rain, fireplace and hot chocolate scene.
The Artful Dodger
Available on Hulu
Renewal status: Unknown
“The Artful Dodger” was so great. I first heard about it after seeing edits of a ship from this period drama, and I knew I had to watch it. All my willpower flies out the window when I know I can watch an old-timey romance.
“The Artful Dodger” is a spinoff of “Oliver Twist” and takes place in Australia 15 years later. In the 1850s, Jack Dawkins is trying to turn his life around by being a surgeon, but his past comes back to haunt him. After being cheated in a game of cards, Dawkins is left scrambling to find money in time and slowly starts having to resort to his old criminal ways. While he’s figuring how this double life of his, he starts growing closer with Lady Belle Fox who wants to push forward in the world of medicine.
It was peak female gaze in this, and Maia Mitchell and Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s chemistry was off the charts. The show was much more gory than I was expecting. I had no idea that surgical advancements were going to be a major plot point for this show, so I was absolutely shocked when they showed bloody amputations. If you like a slow burn romance with thievery and are okay with blood, then this is the show for you.
Doctor Who
Available on Max, 60th anniversary specials available on Disney+
Renewal status: Renewed
“Doctor Who” is back, baby! The generations’ long series celebrated its 60th anniversary last December with four special episodes that brought back David Tenant’s Doctor, Donna Noble and showed the regeneration for new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa.
There were three special episodes to celebrate “Doctor Who” being around since 1963 along with a Christmas special, the first since Peter Capaldi’s one in 2017.
I’m so excited about this new era. Tenant’s Doctor coming back with Donna offered so much closure and finally gave the Doctor much deserved peace. It was also a great introduction to Gatwa’s Doctor and companion Ruby Sunday. They have this cool factor that beams from them, and I love them already. I can’t wait for “Doctor Who” to return later this year, and I’m especially excited for more Rose Nobel scenes.
These shows are about to get me through 2024 🫶
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