Best Shows of 2023

Best New Shows of 2023

5. Gen V (Amazon)

4. The Last of Us (HBO)

3. Beef (Netflix)

2. Poker Face (Peacock)

1. Scavengers Reign (Max)


Best Finished Shows of 2023

5. Archer (FXX)

4. Justified: City Primeval (FX)

3. The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)

2. Barry (HBO)

1. Succession (HBO)

Archer - Season 2

The first season of Archer was fun, but I thought it a bit lacking in comparison to Adam Reed's previous work on Adult Swim. There was strong potential, but a little too much reliance on shock humor rather than genuinely funny moments. Season two did a great job of pushing the show forward though, still keeping its FX edge (including some gags that I'm a little surprised made it on the air, even with it being animated), but improving every aspect of the show, from the consistency of the one liners to the intelligently interwoven plot lines to the continued development of the entertaining cast around H. Jon Benjamin's Sterling Archer and all of their messed up relationships. It was pretty much vintage adult cartoon humor all season long.

It's hard to put my finger on exactly what I thought was good about the show this year and not so great last year. It's not like they flipped a switch, because I do think they got better as they went along in season one. The level of raunchiness in the comedy is pretty much the same, I guess it just seems less the racial/homophobic/whatever material early on was propping up the dialogue, while over time it's merely become an element of writing that's strong on its own merit. They didn't have to shy away from it to make the show better, they just had to really figure out the characters, and at this point I think they have. The actors all nail their roles every week (you almost never see actors used to live action do so well in the voice booth), and they found a great balance between Archer and Lana going on globe-trotting, world-saving missions and everyone just killing time screwing around at headquarters. Not every episode was a total winner, but I definitely felt like it was just a much more consistent and entertaining show. I'm looking forward to a few episodes airing alongside the next season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia this Fall.

Archer - Season 1

The creators of Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo have parted ways with Adult Swim, though that doesn't mean they're done making realistically drawn, crudely animated, foul mouthed cartoons. Archer takes their typical sense of humor and brings it to FX in the form of a spy show starring the hot H. Jon Benjamin and a few other comedy veterans. Sterling Archer has some skill in espionage but his defining character traits relate more to his spoiled relationship with his mother, who runs the agency, and his James Bond-like overconfidence with the ladies. He and fellow agent Lana go on their fair share of missions through these ten episodes, though a lot of focus is on the bureaucracy and inter-office politics that take place when things are less dangerous. A lot of time is spent with the different supporting characters just talking about random stuff together, and it provides easily as much comedy as anything relating to actual spy work.

It took me some time to warm up to the show, partly because I didn't like what they were doing with Sterling's character, and partly because the jokes were often just a bit too crass. I feel like Benjamin's best work comes when he's just talking calmly, although lately and especially on this show he spends a lot of time shouting at people. Also, while it's clear the writers are pretty intelligent, it seemed like there was too much reliance on gay jokes and other stuff that really didn't have much to do with the subject matter. As it went on though, there was enough clever stuff and a few moments as hilarious as anything these guys have done that I have to give it some credit. I feel like the show still has the potential to be a lot better, and I can't wait to see where they take it with the second season.