The 16 TV shows we’re most excited for in 2023
Television can be harder to plan for than the movies: The odd “Lord of the Rings” spinoff excepted, premiere dates are rarely announced years in advance, and the sheer amount of programming, scripted and non-, makes it maddeningly difficult to predict what will develop into a water-cooler sensation and what will sink like a stone. If the rhythms of the calendar mean our most anticipated TV shows of 2023 are frontloaded with January and February titles, though, that doesn’t mean there’s not plenty to be excited about, from new network series to returning cable hits.
Here are 16 TV shows the entertainment experts at the Los Angeles Times are looking forward to this year.
‘The Last of Us’ (HBO, Jan. 15)
The 2013 Sony video game “The Last of Us” was bleak, presenting a dystopian universe where every character was dealing with some form of PTSD or grief. But it was also patient, centering its tale on a makeshift father-daughter relationship — Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie in HBO’s adaptation. Communication, familial bonding and the hunt for companionship amid despair were treated with the same respect as video game violence, which helped make the game a narrative breakthrough. Ultimately, it’s a tale of hope, and one that raises questions about selfishness and self-sabotage when navigating desperation. The game, written by Neil Druckmann, who co-wrote the HBO series with Craig Mazin (“Chernobyl”), was compared to works such as “The Road” and “Children of Men,” which makes “The Last of
