2023 TV Scholar Awards

My totally biased recognitions for outstanding shows and performances in 2023.

In celebration of the TV Scholar Awards being legitimized by IMDB, the paywall has been lifted for all subscribers. Congratulations to the winners and nominees!

---

Remember when I quit my day job mid way through 2023 to pursue full-time writing, only to be faced with dual Hollywood strikes, placing tvscholar on a strike-supportive hiatus, all while witnessing the narrowing of writing opportunities in a crumbling media industry? Yeah, that happened. I have a day job again. It’s been a weird year, the world feels upside down. We’re in the darksided timeline. I think I’ve been turning to television more than ever: for clarity, for meaning, for comfort, to try and answer my existential questions (what is my purpose? what are we doing, here?).

I’ve certainly watched more television this year than ever before, on track for over 150 seasons. It still feels like there’s not nearly enough time between press screeners, sleeper hits, and older shows that I’m too embarrassed to even say I haven’t watched yet. But there’s always next year. What a privilege to be alive.

I do really love compiling these awards that also function as my year’s end list, looking back on 2022 and 2021 is extremely gratifying (my Meghann Fahy nomination for The Bold Type now feels like a prophecy). This year, I tried to keep between 7-8 nominations per category, which was a gargantuan task. There was much deliberation at tvscholar HQ.

When selecting winners, I was able to think about a more holistic perspective: maybe instead of nominating individual performers of a certain show, I nominate the entire ensemble. Maybe instead of letting Succession sweep as it would/will elsewhere, I can highlight one performance that had me in awe this season. Maybe I can clear a path for more underrated shows that I think deserve recognition. Maybe I can gently let go of shows that don’t serve me anymore (sorry, Ted Lasso). And maybe I can forgive myself for not squeezing everything I loved this year into this list. These are my awards after all. I am a voting academy of one.

I also struggled navigating the more controversial offerings this year, from HR complaints on the set of The Other Two to the cast and creators of Beef rallying behind one its supporting actors whose old “jokes” about being a rapist resurfaced when the show was released. I bring these up because both shows are nominated below—I tried to keep in mind the show’s value independent from the extra-textual drama, but I still get the ick. Both of them feel somewhat tainted, hence this prelude.

The eligibility for award consideration is December 1, 2022 to December 1, 2023. Any show that has not wrapped its season by December 1 is also not eligible this year, like For All Mankind, Julia, Black Cake, Fargo, The Gilded Age, Fellow Travelers, etc., with the exception of The Crown. Alright, and here are the nominees…

---

TV Scholar Queer Representation Award

Deadloch (Prime Video)
Harley Quinn (Max)
Heartstopper (Netflix) **WINNER**
Minx (Starz)
Sex Education (Netflix)
Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
The Lake (Prime Video)
The Last of Us (HBO)

Best Drama
Deadloch (Prime Video)
The Diplomat (Netflix)
Foundation (Apple TV+)
The Last of Us (HBO) **WINNER**
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)
Succession (HBO)
Silo (Apple TV+)

Best Lead Performance in a Drama
Bella Ramsay, The Last of Us (HBO)
Keri Russell, The Diplomat (Netflix) **WINNER**
Kieran Culkin, Succession (HBO)
Jeon Jong-seo, Bargain (Paramount+)
Rebecca Ferguson, Silo (Apple TV+)
Rosario Dawson, Ahsoka (Disney+)
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us (HBO)
Zoe Saldana, Special Ops: Lioness (Paramount+)

Best Supporting Performance in a Drama
Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown (Netflix)
Greta Lee, The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Helen Mirren, 1923 (Paramount+)
Christina Chong, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)
Matthew Macfadyen, Succession (HBO)
Rufus Sewell, The Diplomat (Netflix)
Sarah Snook, Succession (HBO) **WINNER**
Sophie Nélisse, Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Best Guest Performance in a Drama
Anna Torv, The Last of Us (HBO)
Hiam Abbass, Succession (HBO)
Nick Offerman, The Last of Us (HBO)
Murray Bartlett, The Last of Us (HBO)
T'Nia Miller, The Diplomat (Netflix)
Yetide Badaki, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+) **WINNER**
Zoe Winters, Succession (HBO)

Best Comedy  
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
I Hate Suzie Too (Max)
Poker Face (Peacock)
Rain Dogs (HBO) **WINNER**
Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
The Lake (Prime Video)
Reservation Dogs (FX)
The Bear (FX)

Best Lead Performance in a Comedy
Adjani Salmon, Dreaming Whilst Black (Showtime)
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear (HBO)
Billie Piper, I Hate Suzie Too **WINNER** (Max)
Bridget Everett, Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
Jordan Gavaris, The Lake (Prime Video)
Michelle Buteau, Survival of the Thickest (Netflix)
Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face (Peacock)
Zoe-Lister Jones, Slip (Roku)

Best Supporting Performance in a Comedy
Delroy Lindo, UnPrisoned (Hulu)
Jack Farthing, Rain Dogs (HBO)
Jessica Williams, Shrinking (Apple TV+)
Julia Stiles, The Lake (Prime Video)
Leila Farzad, I Hate Suzie Too (Max)
Sarah Goldberg, Barry (HBO)
Sarita Choudhury, And Just Like That (Max) **WINNER**
Shoniqua Shandai, Harlem (Prime Video)

Best Guest Performance in a Comedy
Becky Ann Baker, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Dana Delany, The Other Two (Max)
Graham Greene, Reservation Dogs (FX)
Jamie Lee Curtis, The Bear (FX) **WINNER**
Judith Light, Poker Face (Peacock)
Stephanie Hsu, Poker Face (Peacock)
Suzanne Cryer, Lucky Hank (AMC)
Wanda Sykes, The Other Two (Max)

Best Limited Series
Beef (Netflix) **WINNER**
Daisy Jones & The Six (Prime Video)
Dead Ringers (Prime Video)
Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+)
Fleishman is in Trouble (FX)
I’m a Virgo (Prime Video)
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Prime Video)
A Small Light (Hulu)

Best Lead Performance in a Limited Series
Ali Wong, Beef (Netflix)
Bel Powley, A Small Light (Hulu)
Betty Gilpin, Mrs. Davis (Peacock)
Dominique Fishback, Swarm (Prime Video)
Jharrel Jerome, I’m a Virgo (Prime Video)
Justina Machado, The Horror of Dolores Roach (Prime Video)
Kathryn Hahn, Tiny Beautiful Things (Hulu)
Rachel Weisz, Dead Ringers (Prime Video) **WINNER**

Best Supporting Performance in a Limited Series
Britne Oldford, Dead Ringers (Prime Video)
Carla Gugino, The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)
Claire Danes, Fleishman is in Trouble (FX)
Kara Young, I’m a Virgo (Prime Video)
Lewis Pullman, Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+)
Liev Schreiber, A Small Light (Hulu)
Lizzy Caplan, Fleishman is in Trouble (FX) **WINNER**
Young Mazino, Beef (Netflix)

Best Animated Series
Attack on Titan (Crunchyroll)
Blue Eyed Samurai (Netflix)
Harley Quinn (Max)
Praise Petey (Freeform)
Scavenger Reigns (Max) **WINNER**
Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+)

Best Ensemble in a Drama, Comedy, or Limited Series
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Barry (HBO)
The Bear (FX)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Reservation Dogs (FX) **WINNER**
Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)

Total nominations by U.S. network/platform: HBO (23), Prime Video (18), Netflix (13), FX (including FX on Hulu, 9), Max (9), Apple TV+ (8), Paramount+ (8), Hulu (6), Peacock (5), Showtime (2), ABC (2), AMC (1), Disney+ (1), Freeform (1), Starz (1)