The Best of December TV 2023 (i.e. After We Made Our Year-End Lists)
Photos Courtesy of Showtime and Disney+
Every year, it seems that Best of the Year gets earlier and earlier—soon enough, we’ll be listing off our favorite shows in early November. But as it stands now, our cut-off is November 30th, so in order to make all of our Best of the Year lists (including our overall list, reality TV picks, K-drama list, LGBTQ+ shows, anime and animated lists, and more), a series had to air most of its episodes by that date. However, that hard deadline leaves some of the year’s best shows stranded, caught in the downtime between choosing the best stand-out programming of 2023 and looking ahead to 2024. So, we’ve rounded up the best of December TV; picking from outside the bounds of just series and reaching into performances, moments, and even casting choices, we’ve listed off our favorites for the month:
Percy Jackson’s Perfectly-Cast Trio
It’s been a long time coming, but Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series is finally getting the adaptation it deserves. From the jump, it’s clear that the most compelling aspect of Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians is the trio of characters at its center and the undeniable lightning-in-a-bottle casting of the young actors portraying them. In the ill-fated films, Percy and friends were each aged up seemingly in an attempt to compete with the other YA books and adaptations dominating the cultural conversation in the early 2010s. But here, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are preteens in a dangerous world, played to perfection by Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jefferies, and Aryan Simhadri. In just the first three episodes, Scobell perfectly balances the anger and pain within Percy, all while never letting go of the feisty and goofy tween vibe. Jefferies shines in Annabeth’s quiet planning and observation, portraying her ambition and strength against a backdrop of still-lingering mystery. And Simhadri’s dorky Grover is a delight, as he balances the inherent silliness of his character’s quirks, while delivering in the series’ emotional moments. It’s a delight to watch these three embark on a grand adventure, and for a story that has taken so long to finally make it to the screen in the form it deserves, there is truly no better trio to ground this epic and fantastical show. And even beyond that central trio, Percy Jackson‘s casting department deserves their flowers, especially for Jessica Parker Kennedy’s casting as Medusa. —Anna Govert
Imelda Staunton’s Captivating Performance in The Crown
Bringing the ambitious story of The Crown to a satisfying end was always going to be a challenge. Netflix’s six-season recounting of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II may have started as an exploration of the tensions between tradition, progress, duty, and sacrifice in one, admittedly extraordinary, woman’s life. Still, by the time its final credits rolled, it had become little more than a fancy soap opera. Captivated by the high drama of Charles and Diana’s marriage, the subsequent tragedy of her death, and the struggles of her sons growing up in the shadow of her absence, The Crown all too frequently forgot that it was meant to be a show about Elizabeth Windsor at all. And though the series’ final season brings its focus back to the queen eventually, it almost feels like too little too late. Or it would, save for one thing: the show’s final episodes finally give Imelda Staunton a chance to shine.
The third actress to play Elizabeth, Staunton was regrettably sidelined for much of her run during the show. But in The Crown’s final three episodes, which featured a flashback-laden hour focused on her relationship with Princess Margaret, a sweet episode that allowed us to see her bond with her grandson, and the series finale, in which Elizabeth reckoned with both the past and the future of the institution she’d given her life to serving, she was allowed to finally be the focus once again. Staunton is wonderful throughout, conveying a multitude of emotions through a raised eyebrow or a simple change in tone. She’s so fantastic, you’ll end up wondering why the show waited so long to give her the material she deserved. — Lacy Baugher Milas
For All Mankind‘s Out-of-This-World Fourth Season
This season, For All Mankind entered the 21st century on its alternate timeline, and relations with the Russians have returned to their frosty roots after a coup in the Soviet Union complicates the international partnership on Mars. It’s a testament to the show’s writers that it’s managed to keep the drama tense and engaging after four seasons spanning nearly four decades with only Joel Kinnaman’s Ed Baldwin, Krys Marshall’s Danielle Poole, and Wrenn Schmidt’s Margo Madison remaining from the first season’s characters. But it’s the introduction of Toby Kebbell as a lowly maintenance worker on Mars, along with the pairing of Aleida Rosales (Coral Peña), and Kelly Baldwin (Cynthy Wu), that continues to make For All Mankind worth watching through the Gore administration. —Josh Jackson
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