As 2023 is drawing to a close, what better way to wrap up the year than to take a look back at the brilliant TV we have watched. In no particular order (I couldn’t choose!), the following list is my top 5 TV programmes of 2023.
So, if you find yourself with some time over the festive period to catch up on some shows, here’s what we recommend.
1. Boiling Point (BBC iPlayer)
Sequel to 2021 BBC film of the same name, stress-inducing yet captivating BBC drama, Boiling Point, aired on Sunday 1 October at 9pm on BBC One. The spin-off show lets us see what’s happening 8 months on from chef – Andy’s (Stephen Graham) – heart attack at his restaurant. His former sous chef and now head chef, Carly (Vinette Robinson), leads his old team at her tense and demanding newly opened fine-dining restaurant in London (Point North) in the hopes of impressing potential investors.
One of the many good things about this show, was the interweaving of each of the kitchen team’s stories into one – making one big mosaic of so many different walks of life and struggles, raising awareness of a lot of different issues. For instance, Carly’s complicated relationship with her unwell mother (Vivian, played by Cathy Tyson) who is oblivious and dismissive of the pressures her daughter faces at work, pastry chef Jamie’s (Stephen McMillan) ongoing struggle with mental health and self-harm (disclaimer: upsetting scenes show this) and Camille’s (Izuka Hoyle) discomfort around new chef, Nick (Steven Ogg) who is acting inappropriately towards her. The show is able to represent these difficult and sensitive issues in a raw, real way that raises awareness and provides resonance for those watching who can relate to what they are seeing.
Another aspect of the show I enjoyed, was the sense of comradery portrayed amongst the kitchen team. After the stressful scenes – which are enough to get your heart rate pumping just watching from the couch, even fully equipped with the knowledge that what you’re watching is only fiction – it’s refreshing to watch the juxtaposition from the latter to the team’s celebration of getting through the shift together.
All in all, Boiling Point was an entertaining, but more significantly, an important watch for me this year – increasing my recognition of several issues affecting lots of different people.
2. The Bear – Season 2 (Disney+)
Similar to Boiling Point, but looking at a stressful kitchen environment through an American lens this time, The Bear tells the story of troubled chef, Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White). The show follows the trials and tribulations him and his kitchen team experience as Carmen’s big, idealistic plans to completely revamp his late brother’s hectic sandwich shop to a new high-end restaurant in only six months’ time, descend the team into chaos.
A story of mayhem, self-belief and hard work – The Bear is a pragmatic take on the struggle behind having big dreams, but the reality of things not always going to plan. Whether it be failing fire-safety tests, or the walls falling apart, there is always something going wrong for the team along the way. But this made me more invested and intrigued in the narrative, I wanted to find out whether they’d eventually reach success with opening the new fine-dining restaurant.
Spoiler alert: through their miraculous perseverance and determination, the restaurant ends up becoming a finished product in the mere six-month deadline they gave themselves.
What stood out to me though, is the complexity to this happy ending. As the sad part of the story is, Carmen’s late brother (Mike, played by Jon Bernthal), sealed the money their uncle had lent him for the sandwich joint in cans for safe keeping – away from the taxman. This crafty yet admirable plan was carried out in the hopes he could one day fund the franchise he wanted to open with his brother, Carmen.
My favourite character in this series, has to be Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) purely for his refreshing redemption arc. The previous qualities his character presented were rather unpleasant and unlikeable, but it’s interesting that as this season’s storyline developed, I found myself really warming to his growing amenability and changing my mind about him – realising I had made the mistake as old as time, of judging a book by its cover.
This series really helped to build up his reputation, by showing his love and care for his daughter, Eva (Annabelle Toomey) as well as his progression from indifference to a new-found passion for his job – after interning at a fancy restaurant where he really upped his front-of-house game. We see him grow across the series from battling with fears of his life having no sense of purpose, to discovering the comfort and satisfaction he can find in taking things one day at a time in order to really enjoy his life.
I enjoyed this realistic approach, as it likely resonated with a lot of people going through the same things and showed that television can be raw and gritty, it doesn’t always portray an unrealistic, idealised version of characters’ lives.
To summarise, The Bear explores the never-ending struggles of chefs in a stressful and demanding environment, as well as the mental struggles they face in their personal lives. A rather stress-inducing, yet entertaining and insightful watch.
3. Time – Season 2 (BBC iPlayer)
The second instalment of BBC drama, Time, aired on our screens on Sunday 29 October at 9pm on BBC One. Despite only consisting of three episodes, the series was still able to leave its mark on me. A gritty portrayal of what it’s really like to live amongst criminals in a female prison ward, Time explores morality and real-life struggle, but also unexpected celebrations in the most unlikely of environments.
The series starts out focusing on mother of three, Orla (Jodie Whittaker), who is struggling to make ends meet to provide for her children. In the heat of a desperate moment, she fiddles with the electricity in her block of flats, as she isn’t able to pay the bill – which ends up with her being sent to prison. There, she meets inmates and her new cellmates, Abi (Tamara Lawrance) who is serving a life-long sentence for the murder of her own baby and Kelsey (Bella Ramsey) who is a heroin addict with the unexpected fresh news that she is pregnant after just arriving in prison. The rest of the show is then told through all three of their alternating perspectives.
This was one of the many things I liked about Time, the way the story was told through the lens of three very different inmates – guiding us through their thoughts, feelings and decisions – but also through each of their contributions to their unlikely friendships. Another thing was the character development: Orla’s bravery and confidence grows, allowing her to stick up for herself living amongst her violent prison-mates and Kelsey’s concern for her unborn child spurs her on to quit the drugs, but I can’t say the same for Abi’s character. I think the way her backstory was told, was supposed to position audiences to empathise with her struggle to cope as a new parent with barely any support from her partner. However, I personally just couldn’t get past what she had done, even though the characters started showing a glimpse of empathy for her – I didn’t quite understand this considering the weight of the crime she had committed.
Another thing I liked about Time, was how emotionally invested I became in Kelsey’s character in particular – with each new episode, I was rooting for her more and more. She really stood out to me because she has so much potential, but this is wasted at the start due to her unfortunate circumstances being manipulated by her toxic boyfriend (Adam, played by Nicholas Nunn), who keeps feeding her drugs at the prison visits even after finding out she is pregnant with his child. Despite this, she stays strong in the face of adversity, as she builds up the courage to report Adam for his drug-dealing and improve her behaviour in order to be moved to the maternity prison ward – a much nicer environment for her to raise her new-born in.
Overall, I really enjoyed watching Time. It is a story of struggle, desperation, fearlessness and bravery – I felt this from watching Orla go to desperate measures for her children and watching Kelsey strive to be a better person for herself and for her baby.
4. Sex Education Season 4 (Netflix)
The much-loved series, Sex Education, hit our screens once again for its fourth season on 21 September. Beloved characters returned for their college debut, as they move on from Moordale High to Cavendish Sixth Form. A series full of: competition, revelations and growing up – it was a perfect way to watch the well-loved characters evolve into the next stages of their lives.
The painfully awkward yet sweet, Otis (Asa Butterfield), sets up a sex-therapy advice centre on campus but is in for a shock when he realises he has competition from new classmate and fellow sex therapist, O (Thaddea Graham). The rivalry between the two is very comedic throughout and the established support from viewers for Otis’ character has you rooting for him all the way.
Alongside this rivalry, Otis is also trying to juggle his long-distance relationship with previous ‘will they, won’t they’ romance, Maeve (Emma Mackey). Everyone loves an element of romance in TV, especially when there is a love triangle involved. With that being said, I personally would’ve liked seeing Otis explore his relationship with Ruby (Mimi Keene) more, as they may be polar opposites upon first glance, but I think ultimately, they are a better-suited match than him and Maeve. Their relationship seems to portray more of a sense of friendship than anything else, their previous confusion caused them to cross this line, but with one too many conflicts and misunderstandings, in the end I just don’t think they understand each other as much as Otis and Ruby.
Another character’s storyline I enjoyed watching in this series, was Adam’s (Connor Swindells). Not only has he had the biggest character development across the show, evolving from a high-school bully to a big cuddly teddy bear, he also really works towards finding comfort in his own identity (particularly his sexuality) in season 4.
With the help of his ex-boyfriend, Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), Adam who is grappling with an inner shame towards his bisexual identity, works towards self-acceptance and finding new ways to process his emotions. His new job (he decides not to go onto college) at the stables, teaching kids how to horse-ride, causes him to cross paths with horse-riding instructor, Jem (Bella Maclean). The chemistry seems to grow between them with every new episode and Netflix represents bisexuality in a great way, in none other than Bisexuality Awareness week too (the same week the show was released).
Whilst Jem and Adam are speaking about past relationships, Jem assumes Adam’s ex he is talking about is a girl – the next day he clarifies that he likes both men and women, and says “it’s not a phase, it’s just who I am” – not because he felt he had to, but because this shows his journey towards self-acceptance. I really enjoyed seeing this representation of a bisexual character answering back to common misconceptions of his sexuality and the response from Jem – which was simply her asking Adam out on a date.
On the whole, the return of Sex Education did not disappoint. With important representations, the juxtaposition of struggling and budding romances and the ongoing competition between Otis and O for the best sex therapist at Cavendish, this season had it all. Still rooting for Ruby and Otis though!
5. The Summer I Turned Pretty – Season 2 (Amazon Prime)
Romance/drama show, The Summer I Turned Pretty, (based on Jenny Han’s series of novels by the same name) returned to our screens for its second season on 14 July this year. Spoiler ahead: after the awful discovery of Susannah’s (Rachel Blanchard) cancer in the first season, it is revealed very early on in the first episode of season 2, that she tragically passed away after the chemotherapy trials the doctors tried, failed to save her. This results in Conrad shutting down and puts a strain on his and Belly’s relationship.
Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Belly’s (Lola Tung) love story was left on a cliff-hanger with the pair kissing on the beach at the end of season 1, however, at the start of season 2 we see flashbacks of their relationship from the past year and it is revealed that they are no longer speaking to or seeing each other. This leaves room for the good old Fisher brother love triangle to continue in this season, maintaining the divide between fans – Team Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) or team Conrad?
Personally, I’m team Conrad. Although Jeremiah seems to be more attentive, Belly and Conrad have an undeniable, deeper and more obvious chemistry. To me, it seemed like Belly and Jeremiah were more in the friend-zone than the romantic-zone this season. The way they act together is more like best friends than anything else.
The complexity of Conrad’s character is another stand-out factor of this show – it’s nice to see his care for Belly, but sad to see his difficulty in opening up to her, which ultimately ends in him pushing her away. This is more of a realistic love story than Belly and Jeremiah’s. If Conrad worked on his emotions, instead of taking them out on Belly, I really think they could have been end-game. This is why a show like this is so entertaining – it creates watercooler moments.
Whilst this triangle was the obvious star of the show, I also personally really liked the budding romance between Belly’s brother, Steven (Sean Kaufman) and her best friend, Taylor (Rain Spencer). Though it seems to be an unlikely pairing at first glance, and of course a risky one, considering both of their connections to Belly, the two really hit it off. Their characters have a cute and flirty, yet mean and argumentative banter with each other.
At first, it’s almost like two school kids who would rather have the ground swallow them whole than admit their genuine feelings for each other. But as time goes on and they grow more comfortable with their emotions, they become a lot more open to the idea of being together. Not only was their romance an authentic portrayal of how young crushes are – using teasing as a cover for how head over heels they are for someone – it was also a heart-warming representation of just much these two characters really understand each other and like one another, simply for being who they both are.
Overall, The Summer I Turned Pretty, is a depiction of loss, teenage-hood, heartbreak and young love. With a character like Belly at the heart of the story – growing up and exploring all there is to explore in her teenage days – the show is the perfect portrayal of a young girl finding her way in the world, navigating the cruel, but also the fun times life has to offer.
There you have it, 2023 summed up by a list of the top five quality TV shows we had at our disposal this past year. If you haven’t seen any of these, you’ll want to make sure you do before a brand new year of TV introduces itself to us in 2024.
