00:00From an epic horror odyssey to the brilliant final chapter in the Roy family saga,
00:05here are the Hollywood Reporter's critics' picks for the 10 best TV shows of 2023 so far.
00:11Up first, the HBO dramedy Barry. The final episodes of the Hitman series starring Bill
00:16Hader expanded the scope of Barry's destruction beyond his loved ones, beyond Hollywood,
00:21and even beyond LA's criminal underworld into the next generation, as embodied by his wide-eyed son.
00:27You're irredeemable.
00:30Next is Netflix's Beef, starring Ali Wong and Steven Yeun.
00:34The show's surgical eye for detail elevated what could have been just a playful comedy
00:38about two feuding strangers into one of the year's most outrageously twisty,
00:42screamingly funny thrillers, while its curiosity and empathy turned it into one of the year's
00:47most moving dramas.
00:49I have a very full life that I'd love to give back to. I'm gonna find you and take what little you have.
00:56Meanwhile, the FXX comedy Dave, starring Dave Bird, aka Lil Dicky, carved out a third season as wild and emotionally varied as any on television.
01:05Another pick is Happy Valley. The three-season exploration of crime, punishment, and trauma came to a harrowing end.
01:22They closed the book on the fraught connection between a police sergeant and the psychopath who upended her life more than two decades ago.
01:30Got some intel for you from the prison. You're not gonna like it.
01:33Up next, I'm a Virgo on Amazon Prime Video. The seven-episode comedy from Boots Riley is part whimsical allegory
01:40and part superhero origin story about a 13-foot-tall teenager.
01:45Just hit the sideshow with her.
01:47Well, I'm a Virgo. And Virgos love adventure.
01:49We showing up with it.
01:50Let's go!
01:54According to THR's TV critics, The Last of Us is probably the best big or small screen video adaptation ever,
02:00but that's reductive. Depending on the week, the series was a tragic love story,
02:05or a mushroom-zombie-filled urban nightmare, or just a buddy dramedy anchored by the great Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.
02:13Got any advice on the best way west?
02:16Yeah, go east.
02:19Meanwhile, season three of the max comedy The Other Two delivered some of the sharpest showbiz satire
02:24to be found anywhere on television.
02:26You represent Pat Dubeck and Chase Dreams.
02:28Also, drape disasters with Maria Menounos.
02:31Rookie, we have a lot of good programming.
02:33Yes, I am proud to be a part of all these vital shows.
02:36Another pick is Somebody Somewhere on HBO,
02:39a gentle half-hour comedy about ordinary folk in an ordinary place
02:43that yields some of the funniest, warmest, loveliest moments to be found anywhere in the TV landscape.
02:49Families aren't easy, not even the fun ones.
02:51It takes a lot of work.
02:53Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi on Hulu follows its host
02:56as she travels the country and visits ethnic enclaves in different cities
03:00while learning about the intersections between food and the American immigrant experience.
03:05THR's TV critics call it a funny and vitally of-the-moment journey,
03:09and every bit as good as her Bravo smash, Top Chef.
03:11There is this idealized image of America.
03:15Yeah.
03:15Immigrants need to have that sense of identity, that sense of community,
03:19to make sense of who you are.
03:21And finally, this list wouldn't be complete without the final season of HBO's Succession.
03:26While the Roy saga was never destined for a happy ending,
03:30it did land on a masterful one that pushed its already excellent cast
03:34to new depths of despair, humor, and occasional vulnerability.
03:37For more on this story and more TV reviews, head to THR.com.
03:49This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
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