Film scores are discussed ad nauseam at the end of each year, but the music that defines TV shows is never dissected at the same length. Like cinema, a television show isn’t made just from performances or cinematography, and the images displayed on screen can only convey so much. What really makes a series is the music that accompanies these images, pushing forward the stakes and emotions of each moment they accompany.
Despite 2023 being a slightly more slim year for TV, especially in the fall quarter, there have been some fantastic shows this year, and in turn, some fantastic original scores. 2023 saw some of the best scores go under the radar as well, from underrated western-noir’s to HBO titans in their final season.
So, without further ado, here are the best television scores of 2023:
8. Loki
Network: Disney+
Composer: Natalie Holt
Oftentimes, original scores in the Marvel Cinematic Universe feel as if they’re simply repeating motifs from other films or shows within the shared world. There are outliers of course, mainly Henry Jackson’s memorable Captain America: The Winter Soldier score, and most recently, Natalie Holt’s work on Loki. Here, Holt has created something special, and something that this franchise is in desperate need of. The highlight of the season is undoubtedly its finale, and Holt’s score pushes the episode to be the best version of itself.
None of the emotional beats would work without her swirling score, its intense strings reverberating throughout the episode’s climax where Loki becomes the God of Stories. His sacrifice sees him sitting on a throne, branching together a universe which has previously unraveled to the point of no return—or so we thought. As he struts towards the throne, weaving his physical self with the threads of time and space, the music swells into a crescendo the MCU has been missing. It’s here that it feels like you’re witnessing something special once again, and something that hasn’t been present in this universe for a very long time. His sacrifice makes Season 2 of Loki one of the strongest Disney+ ventures to date, and Holt’s score is undoubtedly the defining factor.
7. Silo
Network: Apple TV+
Composer: Atli Örvarsson
Set in a post-apocalyptic earth, Apple TV+’s, Silo follows the humans that live in an underground silo after the end of the world. Composer Atli Örvarsson perfectly crafts a dystopian score to immerse the audience in the series, morphing familiar classical instrument vibes with the synths we can only dream of being prevalent in the future. There’s “Overheating,” a track that perfectly emulates its namesake, starting out slow and heightening as it continues. A crescendo of instruments sways in and out of focus until it slams together in a merging of sounds, pulling you in until you cannot bear the cacophony of noise any longer.
It’s the perfect music to accompany a dystopian world, bridging the gap between familiar and futuristic sounds. In Silo, once someone says they want to leave, they cannot take it back no matter the cost or the consequence of the request. The track “I Want To Go Out” accompanies this notion perfectly, beginning with a somber piano that is slowly accompanied by synths. It symbolizes the desolate loneliness that will soon follow whoever chooses to leave, and the uncertainty of this choice, instruments harmonizing together like a tether forcing its characters to become intrigued by their potential freedom. While sci-fi scores are often predictable, Örvarsson makes the world of Silo feel fresh, blending sounds of the distant future with instruments we’re familiar with to perfectly encapsulate the world the characters find themselves in.
6. Dark Winds
Network: AMC
Composer: Kevin, Sean and Deana Kiner
Despite continuing to be an underrated gem, Season 2 of Dark Winds is still one of the best shows on television. Aiding in its western-noir genre storytelling is its fantastic score by Kevin Kiner and his children, Sean and Deana. The trio understands how each genre functions, and utilizes music to transport the audience to the 1970s. From its title theme at the beginning of each episode, it’s clear what kind of show you’ll be watching. Deep strings collide with pluckier ones, threading together just as the show’s genres do: elegantly and powerfully. It’s a testament to the Kiner’s understanding of the series, allowing audiences to anticipate some gun slinging, as well as some mystical elements as well.
Almost every track is accompanied by a sprawling collision of guitar and violin, with both instruments complimenting each other. There’s a fantastic blend of old and modern sounds that transport you into the setting of the world, truly making you feel like you’re in the shoes of the characters. There’s a centerpiece sequence in Episode 3 in which a Terminator-esque villain hunts his prey through a neon-soaked hospital where the score picks up into some modern synth that truly displays its inspirations. In Dark Winds, the music becomes a centerpiece just as the characters are, serving as a throwback to a different time: one where music glided through the wind-swept deserts of the Southwest.
5. The Last of Us
Network: HBO
Composer: Gustavo Santaolalla
As far as adaptations go, The Last of Us is undoubtedly one of the last decade’s strongest. From its first episode it’s clear that the people behind the show care about the adaptation, but also want it to be different from its source material. To stay true to the vibe of the games, Gustavo Santaolalla, who worked on the games music 12 years ago, returned for the series. The guitar in “The Last of Us” exudes a feeling of Americana with its plucky strings, accompanied by other, more intense guitars as it goes on. It sets the scene for the world Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsay) find themselves in, one so familiar yet distant from the one the audience inhabits.
Expanding on the music from the video game dramatically expands the world. The morality each character struggles with is apparent in Santaolalla’s score, and the music is as much a character as Ellie and Joel are. At times, it’s the music that truly pushes the show forward when it feels like it lacks the same intense weight the game had. Even the heartwrenching feature of Max Richter’s “On The Nature of Daylight,” adds to the humanness the show is so desperately trying to convey. The minimalistic and tender music that is crafted here dodges the bounds of the traditional zombie genre, and allows HBO’s The Last of Us to become its own entity.
4. Fellow Travelers
Network: Showtime
Composer: Paul Leonard-Morgan
One of this year’s most underrated scores of the year, perhaps because of the show’s other viral aspects, is from one of the fall quarter’s best shows. Amongst its fantastic performances and its steamy intimate scenes, Fellow Travelers features an understated score that transports us into each decade Hawk (Matt Bomer) and Tim (Jonathan Bailey) find themselves in. “Fellow Travelers Main Title Theme,” is the first track that does this, setting the stage for the show’s decade-hopping setting. It begins with plucky strings that hint at the weaving threads that will be present throughout the show, intensifying amongst the title credits as they go on, only to abruptly end. It’s a perfect mirror of Hawk and Tim’s relationship, as intense as it is melancholy.
“McCarthy’s Mission” aids in the show’s growing vigor, heightened strings in the background giving way to a droning and downtrodden violin. Some of Hawk’s theme is woven in here, signaling the destruction his political life will wreak upon not only him, but the people around him as well. It hints to his ever present involvement in the Lavender Scandal, though how deep his involvement goes isn’t known yet. Paired with “The Original Picture,” composer Paul Leonard-Morgan does a magnificent job infiltrating moments of peace with tense and, at times, haunting sonic waves. The score is as powerful as it is stunning, the rhythm building up until all the instruments and the show’s characters can soar together.
3. A Murder at the End of the World
Network: FX/Hulu
Composer: Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans
Though I wasn’t sold on the show completely, there is no denying that this murder mystery has one of the best scores of the year. Filled with lilting vocals and weaved with haunting synths, the music in A Murder at the End of the World sells the show’s mystery more than the actual plot does. It’s beautiful and unnerving, perfectly mirroring everything the show set out to be. The track “Stay With Me” sees warped, choir-like vocals that pass through the sonic waves of various synths, pulling you in like you’re the victim of hypnosis.
This track, and many like it, are the perfect backdrop to the Icelandic landscape the show is set within. With every gasp that is placed between an instrument, it’s as if the vocalists are placing some kind of trance on the viewer—one that eventually morphs into a frigid paralysis. Haunting vocals are twisted to collide with synths, creating gasping breaths that are eventually drowned out by the wind. There are also tracks like “The Hack,” which utilize a more synthy and futuristic sound, hinting at the show’s (unfortunate) reliance on discourse surrounding tech. Synths are used like chords plucked from a baseboard, and human vocals find themselves weaved within them. Vocals and instrumentals are forced to bridge the gap between human and machine, fully immersing you in the world Darby (Emma Corrin) finds herself trapped inside.
2. The Curse
Network: Showtime
Composer: John Medeski
While it’s not necessarily a horror television show, there’s something about The Curse that is undoubtedly terrifying. From the main characters’ white guilt being weaponized to the uncomfortable conversations between Asher (Nathan Fielder) and Whitney (Emma Stone), it feels as if it’s toeing the line between drama and horror. There’s nothing as terrifying though, as its score, which fully propels the series into horror territory. From its title theme, there appears to be a dissonance between instruments, almost as if each one being used is fighting for dominance over the over. At times, the tracks teeter on the edge between the fathomable and the unfathomable, blending a mix of synths and kitschy sounds that feel out of this world.
Like a few other scores on this list, there’s a blend of synths and delicate hums, blurring the separation not only between human and machine, but reality and fiction. Is the curse placed upon Asher real? Neither we nor he truly get an answer, and each track hints to this. “Asher Approaches” is fitting of a sci-fi picture, but here it’s used to convey how out of their element Asher and Whitney are. To them, Los Alamos is akin to a foreign planet, and composer John Medeski understands this perfectly. He weaponizes synths like the characters on screen weaponize their whiteness, music flowing between scenes like a buzzing insect. “Lies” is similarly futuristic but uses what sounds like a church bell to chime in ominous and enchanting, propelling the precarity of Asher and Whitney’s lives into the forefront, forcing the viewers to confront their positions.
1. Succession
Network: HBO
Composer: Nicholas Britell
Perhaps the most iconic of this group is Nicholas Britell’s work on HBO’s Succession. Of course, there’s the fantastic main title theme, but with this final season, it became apparent that Britell upped the ante. There’s “We Gave It a Go,” a beautiful and sprawling culmination of Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Tom’s (Matthew Mcfayden) relationship. It was here, at the end of Episode 1, that it felt like Britell—as well as these characters—were saying goodbye. There’s also “Action That,” which comes in at the end of Episode 4, signaling a shift in Kendall (Jeremy Strong) that he may not be able to come back from. Britell uses pieces of familiar scores and themes, and weaves them into a heightened and more urgent track. It’s a stunning piece of music that reinvents the character.
Finally, we have “Andante Espressivo – String Orchestra – ‘Number One Boy,’” which is the perfect summation of Kendall as a character. We watch as he strips his clothes bare and walks into the ocean. While Kendall and water don’t often mix, the water proves to be a symbol of rebirth this time. A track we’ve heard many times is also transformed, with heightened strings present, almost feeling as if they’ll break underneath the weight of the hands playing them. It’s a stunning musical triumph, and the perfect culmination of the series. It’s why Succession will forever remain in our hearts, alongside Britell, who so gracefully crafted its unforgettable score that truly makes the show one of the best of the 21st Century.
Kaiya Shunyata is a freelance pop culture writer and academic based in Toronto. They have written for Rogerebert.com, Xtra, The Daily Dot, and more. You can follow them on Twitter, where they gab about film, queer subtext, and television.
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