TBI Weekly: TBI’s favourite shows of 2023

Burning Body (Source: Netflix)

The year is coming to a close, which means that it is once again time for the TBI team to look back over our recent viewing choices and pick our favourite shows from across the past 12 months.

From visceral anime adventure and inventive comedy horror to gritty police drama and gory satirical thriller, it has been another varied year of programming keeping us captivated by our screens.

Please enjoy our recommendations and enjoy a very happy holiday season!

Fargo S5 (Source: FX)

RICHARD MIDDLETON
Editor
Top show: Fargo S5

Back on form and with a stellar cast, Noah Hawley’s fifth installment of Fargo comes three years after its previous less-than-perfect fourth season incarnation and it’s all the better for it. The show feels revitalised and keener – no mean feat for a series that’s been around for almost a decade and based on a film that is getting on for 30 years old.

Yet it’s still instantly engaging. Returning to Fargo‘s normal stomping grounds of Minnesota and North Dakota, we’re transported immediately into a violent ruckus taking place during a high school board meeting and introduced to Dot Lyon (Juno Temple) as she attempts to fight her way out of the room.

From there, the action barely stops. This is not a slow burn Fargo, rather a rapid fire delivery of encounters as we meet Dot’s seemingly “Minnesota nice” family of husband Wayne Lyon (David Rysdahl) and daughter Scotty (Sienna King) living what appears to be a typical existence.

Layers of intrigue are then added: there’s sheriff Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm), his obnoxious son Gator (Joe Keery) and the fantastically unpleasant hitman Ole Munch (Sam Spruell) on the hunt for Dot; the brilliantly hard-nosed mother of Wayne, Lorraine Lyon (Jennifer Jason Leigh), whose intentions are not so clear; and then Dot herself, regularly referred to as a tiger in a Fargo-esque nod to her surname of Lyon.

The story barrels along across the sprawling wilds of North Dakota and the suburbs of Minnesota, as Dot – a master of survival in her own right – is chased down, spiralling into a stand-off that explores domestic abuse, toxic masculinity and powerful women overcoming their demons.

What We Do In The Shadows (Source: FX)

MARK LAYTON
Deputy Editor
Top show: What We Do In The Shadows (FX, Disney+)

It has been some time since I’ve binge-watched a multi-year show, but it took me less than a fortnight to absolutely devour all five seasons of this US horror-comedy.

The show, based on Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s New Zealand mockumentary of the same name, and with which it shares continuity, follows four vampire roommates living in modern day Staten Island, New York, along with their familiar. From episode one, these characters arrive fully formed, with knockout performances from the main cast as these supernatural beings struggle with the everyday problems of modern human (and inhuman) life.

Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak) is the former warrior king of a fictional country; Laszlo (Matt Berry) is a sex-obsessed British nobleman; Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) a Greek Romani woman, and Laszlo’s wife, nostalgic for her pre-vampire life; Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) is an energy vampire, who instead of feeding on blood, drains people via boredom or frustration instead. Meanwhile, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) is Nandor’s put-upon familiar, who must carry out his master’s whims in the hopes of one day becoming a vampire himself.

Over the course of five seasons (a sixth and final season has already been commissioned), the characters grow as we learn more about their lives, and afterlives, and see there is far more to each of them than the monster beneath the surface. The show isn’t afraid to take the characters to unexpected places, while never straying too far from the core concept – or to remind us that horrific violence comes just as easily to them as does hilarious humour.

Blue Lights (Source: BBC Studios)

MATTHEW HUMBERSTONE
Art Director
Top show: Blue Lights (BBC One & BBC iPlayer)

Chances are, I would have casually dismissed BBC’s screening of Blue Lights as just another cop show, amidst the sound, fury and general hullaballoo surrounding the latest outing for Line Of Duty.

Fortunately for me, something rang a bell in the dim recesses of my mid-term memory, and I recalled working on the layout of a Script-to-Screen feature for TBI’s MIPCOM 2022 issue (penned by TBI’s ace, Mark Layton – view here), about the creative development of a new police drama, Blue Lights, set in Northern Ireland.

The premise of the show sounded different and promising, so when it eventually aired on BBC One, I decided to check-out the first episode. Proof, if anyone wanted it, that I don’t just get to choose the pretty pictures we use in TBI. I also read it.

The six-part series follows the progress of three rookie police officers based in Belfast. As you would expect, two of the new officers are young, with perhaps naive expectations of what awaits them on the capital’s streets, where the legacy of The Troubles and a history of violence and hostility, is never far away. The third recruit is a former social worker and single mother in her early 40s, whose previous experience lets her see a different side to the many lives lived on the edge. Each rookie is assigned to a more experienced officer, and it is from rich blend of characters that the drama unfolds.

At times bleak, occasionally shocking, and often the darkest of comedies, it brings together edgy street-life, police corruption, criminal retribution, and mismatched sidekicks in one of the leanest, tightest and most compelling dramas I’ve seen in recent years.

Who cares who H is?

Burning Body (Source: Netflix)

ALBA BAYES
Product Manager
Top show: Burning Body (Netflix)

Burning Body (El cuerpo en llamas) has undeniably been my favorite show of the past 12 months. This Spanish crime miniseries, directed by Jorge Torregrossa and Laura Mañá and written by Laura Sarmiento, weaves a captivating narrative set against the backdrop of the real Crime of the Guàrdia Urbana in 2017. The discovery of a burned body in the Foix reservoir near Barcelona unravels a web of toxic relationships, infidelity, violence, and sex scandals involving three police officers—Pedro, Rosa, and Albert.

As a Spaniard, the series struck a chord with me, bringing to life a crime that had gripped the nation and dominated headlines. The shock of realising that two police officers could be involved in such a heinous act is both chilling and intriguing. Being an avid enthusiast of true crime, my fascination with the Rosa Peral tapes, also on Netflix, drew me further into the series. The show’s authenticity and its roots in a real-life event, combined with the suspenseful storytelling, made Burning Body a binge-worthy and impactful viewing experience for me. Plus, what can go wrong with Quim Gutierrez and Ursula Corbero as main characters?

Swarm (Source: Amazon)

ABIGAIL APPIAH
Senior Marketing Executive
Top show: Swarm (Amazon Prime Video)

Swarm saw the depiction of an obsessive music fan in a modern-day society fuelled by social media. With gore, guts and gruesome moments, it was a thoroughly intense watch.

Co-created by Atlanta collaborators Janine Nabers and Donald Glover, it took inspiration from Beyoncé and her loyal Beyhive fans (but to the extreme). The mini-series also boasted a star-studded line up of Chloe Bailey, Paris Jackson, Billie Ellish and Damson Idris all showcasing their talents.

Impressively, the Obama’s daughter, Malia Obama, also served as one of the writers on an episode. But the star of the show was Dominique Fishback, who played the lead role of Dre. Her menacing presence and impeccable portrayal of the dark twists and turns of stanning culture, make it my pick of 2023.

Blue Eye Samurai (Source: Netflix)

SARAH ZILONIS
Senior Event Producer
Top show: Blue Eye Samurai (Netflix)

This show grabs you and does not let go. Husband and wife team Michael Green and Amber Noizumi are fearless in their portrayal of human intimacy in all its forms – including violence I can only describe as visceral. Animating studio Blue Spirit lends gorgeous scenes, character art, and backdrops to the story, giving viewers a stunning glimpse into Japan’s Edo period through this gut-wrenching anime.

The first season of the series focuses on a reluctant hero – the half-white half-Japanense master of the sword, Mizu. They are embarking on a unique revenge quest across Japan during a time when nearly all foreign powers were banned from diplomatic and trade relations with the country.

The cultural and historical backdrop of the show is an absolute playground for the diverse and larger-than-life supporting characters. I laughed, I cried, and was on the edge of my seat as the incredible voice cast – led by Maya Erskine with their stunning portrayal of Mizu – covered an extreme range of human emotions as the cast seeks power, belonging, autonomy, and their place in history.

The Gold (Source: BBC)

STUART THOMSON
Editorial Director
Top show: The Gold (BBC One, Paramount+)

Shows “based on a true story” (or further along the get-out clause path, “inspired by real events”) have had something of a bad press of late.

Quite apart from the question of whether they provide an accurate record, at the level of drama, they are difficult to get right. The recent Cary Grant biopic Archie suffered from the actors playing it failing (through no fault of their own) to match the glamour and charisma of the originals. The Brink’s-Mat robbery-inspired The Gold, on the other hand, is open to the antithetical criticism that it added a layer of glamour to characters who in real life weren’t very attractive at all.

Despite, or perhaps because of that, The Gold worked brilliantly as drama. While the class-division references were laid on a bit thick and some aspects (Hugh Bonneville’s Dixon Of Dock Green homage as DCI Boyce) worked less well than others, the real kernel of its appeal was the double act of Jack Lowden’s Kenneth Noye and Tim Cullen’s John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer, in splendid form as villains who smuggled, melted down and passed on (some of) the gold liberated from the Brink’s-Mat facility near Heathrow Airport in Britain’s biggest robbery by value at that time. All-in-all, a highly entertaining contribution to the rich tradition of movies and TV shows representing British gangland lore.

Take a look at our favourite shows from previous years:

TBI Weekly: TBI’s favourite shows of 2022

TBI Weekly: TBI’s favourite shows of 2021

TBI Weekly: TBI’s favourite shows of 2020

TBI Weekly: TBI’s favourite shows of 2019