2023 has been a pretty big year for TV so far, and — as always — the British contribution has been a solid one.
From the bleak closing chapter of crime drama Happy Valley to the regal romance of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, the sugary sweet crushes of Heartstopper to the comedy prowess of Dreaming Whilst Black, we’ve been treated to an impressive array of shows both new and old. Though the new seasons of returning favourites like Top Boy, Doctor Who, Sex Education, We Are Lady Parts, and The Crown are still on the way, there’s already been a flurry of top notch TV this year.
Here are our favourite British TV shows of 2023 so far, and the year’s not even over.
1. Heartstopper Season 2
Prom time. Credit: Netflix / Samuel Dore
Netflix’s adaptation of Alice Oseman’s beloved webcomic and graphic novel returned for a second season, reuniting you with Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor), who decided to make it official at the end of Season 1. Season 2, which aligns with Oseman’s third and fourth volumes, feels like a natural maturation of its characters. Charlie, Elle (Yasmin Finney), Tao (William Gao), and Isaac (Tobie Donovan) are no longer the «borderline outcasts» they felt like in Season 1, but are now part of a larger group of LGBTQ buddies, a gorgeous, supportive found family that make up the core cast. And together, they explore new relationships and crushes, dreaded school exams, an overseas excursion, the end of year prom, endure their complicated home lives, and navigate the complexities of coming out.* — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
How to watch: Heartstopper is now streaming on Netflix.
2. Dreaming Whilst Black
Adjani Salmon and Dani Moseley in «Dreaming Whilst Black». Credit: BBC/Big Deal Films/Domizia Salusest
Co-created by and starring Adjani Salmon, Dreaming Whilst Black is one of the sharpest comedies of the year, honouring the slog of independent filmmaking in a predominantly white industry while skewering microaggressions in the workplace. First a web series, then an award-winning pilot commissioned by BBC Three, it’s a co-production between the BBC, Big Deal Films, and A24.
Over six episodes, Salmon shines in the lead as Kwabena Robinson, whose jobs in recruitment surrounded by horrendous coworkers and delivering food aren’t exactly his dream — making movies is, especially his short film Jamaica Road. When he reconnects with his film school pal Amy (Dani Moseley), she gives him the in he needs to get it off the ground, but he still needs funding (and rent money). The whole cast is superb, from Moseley as Amy enduring her own colleagues’ loaded bullshit and white fragility to Kemi Lofinmakin as the effervescent Aunty Lola, to Demmy Ladipo as Kwabena’s melodramatic cousin Maurice and Rachel Adedeji as his grounded wife Funmi going through pregnancy. The writing in this series is so perfectly excruciating and real you might gasp out loud, and there are moments of moving drama. And as this is a A24 project, there’s surrealism afoot. — S.C.
How to watch: Dreaming Whilst Black is now streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK, U.S. release TBC.
3. Happy Valley, Season 3
Sarah Lancashire in the final season of «Happy Valley». Credit: AMC
Seven years since the events of Season 2, Sally Wainright’s bleak crime drama draws us back into the lives of Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) and the man responsible for her daughter’s death, Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), currently in prison but still hanging over her family like a shadow.
«If you’ve seen the first two seasons, you’ll probably already know that Happy Valley isn’t for everyone,» I wrote in my Mashable review. «The combination of Wainright’s unflinching scripts, the raw emotion in the acting, and the dark themes being dealt with mean that Happy Valley can be a tough watch at the best of times. It’s a depressing and disturbing show, and Season 3 — with its themes of domestic violence — is no exception.
«But, like the first two seasons, there is light in there too. Wainright does an impressive job of sprinkling in moments of humour and levity throughout her scripts, and the actors have no problem introducing a few laughs alongside the tears and the pain. Ultimately, despite how heavy it is overall, the show’s core message is one of durability.» — Sam Haysom, UK Deputy Editor
How to watch: Happy Valley is now streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK, Acorn TV, AMC+ and BBC America in the U.S.
4. Am I Being Unreasonable?
Daisy May Cooper and Selin Hizli in «Am I Being Unreasonable?». Credit: Alistair Heap/BBC Studios/Boffola Pictures
Daisy May Cooper and Selin Hizli’s dramedy tells the story of Nic (Cooper), a mum balancing her difficult home life with intrusive memories of the sudden death of a man she was having an affair with. It’s tense, it’s funny, and there’s a healthy dose of mystery thriller and psychological horror mixed in there too for good measure.
«Am I Being Unreasonable? is juggling a lot of plates,» I wrote in my review for Mashable. «But it juggles them well, with the script weaving seamlessly between jokes and foreboding, heartfelt moments, as well as twists you don’t see coming. There are very few TV shows I’ve seen where I’ve laughed out loud and been hit with a genuinely unnerving jump scare in the same episode, but this is the kind of story Am I Being Unreasonable? tells.» — S.H.
How to watch: Am I Being Unreasonable? is now streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Hulu in the U.S..
5. Black Mirror Season 6
Anjana Vasan in the «Demon 79» episode. Credit: Netflix
The sixth season of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror characteristically filled us with even more existential dread than ever, with five episodes mainly flipping the bird directly at Netflix itself. From the streaming service satire «Joan Is Awful,» to the true crime tale «Loch Henry,» the space thriller «Beyond the Sea,» fantasy horror pivot «Mazey Day,» and apocalyptic slasher «Demon 79,» the series once again turns our obsessions with tech and entertainment back on us.
Notably, the timing of the series release was everything, as Mashable’s Kristy Puchko wrote in her review, «As screenwriters are waging war against studios and streamers that would underpay them and undercut them with AI, Black Mirror Season 6 hits Netflix with a middle finger pointed firmly at a Hollywood studio system that doesn’t give a shit about humanity.» — S.C.
How to watch: Black Mirror is now streaming on Netflix.
6. Good Omens Season 2
David Tennant and Michael Sheen in the second season of «Good Omens». Credit: Amazon Studios
Good Omens, Amazon’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s co-written 1990 fantasy novel, returned for a second season of apocalyptic escapades this year — and it was just as excellent as the first. Created, written, and executive produced by Gaiman, the series sees David Tennant and Michael Sheen return as eternal frenemies: the demon Crowley and angel Aziraphale. This time, they’re not chasing the antichrist child around the world, but instead, a returning Jon Hamm as the overtly pompous angel Gabriel, who turns up stark naked, memory-less, holding an empty box, and needing to be hidden from Heaven and Hell.
Frances McDormand is back as the voice of God and our glorious narrator, as is Miranda Richardson as new demon Shax, Hell’s new representative on Earth (Richardson played Madame Tracy in Season 1). It’s a rollicking script in absurd circumstances and a bloody good time as always. — S.C.
How to watch: Good Omens is now streaming on Prime Video.
7. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
India Amarteifio and Corey Mylchreest in «Queen Charlotte». Credit: Nick Wall/Netflix
A prequel looking into a young Charlotte’s (India Amarteifio) life and the early days of her marriage with King George (Corey Mylchreest), Queen Charlotte is by far Bridgerton‘s best love story and I can’t imagine a future where it isn’t. (Shonda Rhimes, I challenge you to outdo yourself.) Their relationship is one for the ages, brimming with the Bridgerton yearning and courting we all adore, and topped with a strangers-to-soulmates arc that’ll tug at your heartstrings. Although Charlotte and George may be the brightest diamonds of the season, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story also shines with a whole cast of characters that are deliciously divine and in their own equally infatuating relationships — special shout-out to a young Lady Danbury (Arséma Thomas) and Brimsley (Sam Clemmett) for being the real G.O.A.T.s of the season.
Come for the corsets, stay for the slow-burn romance, and waltz your way into Bridgerton‘s best ball yet.* — Yasmeen Hamadeh, Contributing Entertainment Writer
How to watch: Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is now streaming on Netflix.
8. Hijack
Idris Elba in «Hijack». Credit: Apple TV+
Set over seven real-time hours, Hijack is something you could finish on a flight but should absolutely not watch on one. With Jim Field Smith and Mo Ali directing, and Idris Elba in the lead, this Apple TV+ series is about a plane hijacked on its way to London. Elba plays Sam Nelson, a corporate negotiator who tries to bargain with flight KA29’s villains all the way to the final humdinger of an episode. As Mashable’s Belen Edwards writes in her review, «Hijack is the perfect show to watch if you want to get sucked into a mildly ridiculous, yet totally engrossing scenario. You’ll squeal as our heroes brave danger, swoon at Elba’s charisma, and even chuckle at some choice one-liners.» — S.C.
How to watch: Hijack is now streaming on Apple TV+.
9. The Gallows Pole
Uhhh… Credit: BBC/Element Pictures (GP) Limited/Objective Feedback LLC/Dean Rogers
Whenever writer/director Shane Meadows is involved in a project, you know two things: 1) The quality is going to be high, and 2) The contents are probably going to be bleak. The Gallows Pole, adapted by Meadows from Ben Myers’ 2017 novel of the same name, ticks both of these boxes but adds in plenty of humour too, telling an 18th-century tale of a gang of coin clippers (people who create new coins by «clipping» the edges off old coins) who pull off a heist in an attempt to save their poverty-stricken village. The writing is top-notch, the acting — including performances from Meadows’ regulars Michael Socha and Thomas Turgoose — is raw, and the direction is beautiful. — S.H.
How to watch: The Gallows Pole is now streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK, U.S. release TBC.
10. Champion
Genesis Lynea and Déja J. Bowens in «Champion». Credit: BBC/New Pictures Ltd/Ben Gregory-Ring
Queenie author Candice Carty-Williams helms the BBC/Netflix drama series Champion, «a love letter to Black British music set in south London,» following rapper Bosco Champion (Top Boy‘s Malcolm Kamulete), who just got home from prison ready to rebuild his life and career. While he’s reestablishing himself in the music industry, his talented sister and manager, Vita (the incredible Déja J. Bowens in her TV debut), is scouted by his rival, Bulla (Corey Weekes). Tension in the Champion family rises, and the siblings find themselves at odds, along with the rest of their nearest and dearest. The cast also includes singer-songwriter Ray BLK, Small Axe‘s Nadine Marshall, His Dark Materials‘ Ray Fearon, Doctor Who’s Jo Martin, Everything I Know About Love‘s Adeyinka Akinrinade, Genesis Lynea, and many more. And the music in this series? The work of champions. — S.C.
How to watch: Champion is now streaming on BBC iPlayer, U.S. release TBC.
11. Extraordinary
Máiréad Tyers in «Extraordinary». Credit: Natalie Seery/Disney+
Disney’s Extraordinary is a wildly fun take on superpowers, in a world where everyone’s kind of rubbish at using them. Created by Emma Moran and directed by Toby McDonald, Jennifer Sheridan, and Nadira Amrani, Extraordinary follows the plight of Jen (Máiréad Tyers), a 25-year-old who didn’t get her superpowers in a world where everyone else got theirs at the age of 18. The show’s brilliance, beyond its playful special effects and overarching hypothetical, is the cast. As Mashable’s Caitlin Welsh writes in her review, «Extraordinary earns its place among the best of the millennial romcom sitcoms — and stands well above certain other eight-or-so-episode-long shows about people with superpowers on Disney-owned…