Netflix may have experienced its fair share of ups and downs over the past few years, though it's remained consistent for one thing: TV series. If it's not the phenomenon that is Stranger Things, it's everyone's obsession with The Crown or even watching Henry Cavill obliterate horrid beasts in The Witcher. It's simply impossible to run out of quality shows to stream.
2023 is no different. The streaming platform has a plethora of top programming ready for watching no matter where you are based in the world. It's deciding where to begin which is the difficult part. That's where T3 comes in. Every month we round up the best series that Netflix has to offer and from that, we pick our favourite shows from the year so you know exactly what's worth your hard-earned free time.
Whether it's a trending period drama with an outrageous amount of scandal, a mysterious whodunnit that will have you questioning everyone's motive or an action-comedy blockbuster that's so cinematic, it's impossible to believe it's not on the big screen. We've scoured everything that Netflix has to offer, so you don't have to. With that, let's dive straight into the best Netflix series of 2023 – so far.
Kaleidoscope
Kicking off the year in style, Kaleidoscope is an experimental eight-part anthology series that surrounds a $7 billion dollar heist in New York City. Created by Eric Garcia, the idea is that you can view the episodes in any order with the story still making sense – that's 40,320 permutations for the record. And it works!
While there are clearly more satisfying ways to watch than others, it does result in an interesting puzzle that is cleverly pieced together over time. It also lends itself extremely well to rewatches. With Giancarlo Esposito – best known for Breaking Bad – heading up the heist as its mastermind Leo Pap, it's a fun drama with all the twists and turns you would expect as well as a decent dose of action.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Bridgerton took the world by storm upon its debut in December 2020. That popularity has not slowed down since with the historical drama receiving its own six-part prequel spinoff in the form of Queen Charlotte. It follows a young Charlotte's rise to power along with her meeting and marrying of King George, delivering a beautiful love story that is also not afraid to deal with the mental health strain of loss. Shona Rhimes, who previously worked on Inventing Anna for Netflix, has done a wonderful job expanding the lore and world of Bridgerton alongside giving more life to two of everyone's favourite characters. A must-watch for anyone waiting for Bridgerton season three.
Beef
Steven Yeun and Ali Wong headline Beef, a black comedy-drama about road rage and how the ramifications can take over somebody's life. This is one of those shows that will have you hooked from the first episode, making its average 35-minute runtime ridiculously easy to binge. It's essentially a character study with one side being from a working-class background and another being from the upper class. What really drives it forward is the anger, rage and believability given by its two leads who are willing to sacrifice everything just to make sure the other doesn't walk away victorious. We expect Beef to be a big talking point all year.
We'll be regularly updating this piece throughout the year, so make sure to come back for new shows worth watching.
Looking for more options to stream in the meantime? Make sure to check out our recommendations for the best Netflix movies in 2023, including a heartwarming biographical comedy starring Rory Kinnear. We've also previously put together our list of the best Netflix series for 2022, so you'll never run out of top-quality shows to binge-watch.
