Best Drama Series 2023

If the title wasn’t obvious enough for everyone, HBO’s Succession gave us its central conceit in its very first episode back in 2018, and the series became an instant hit, winning every award imaginable in a flurry of power struggles, awkward confrontations, and some of the most impeccably crafted insults ever hurled on television. With its final season in the can, it’s only appropriate that it also wins the Golden Tomato for Best Drama.

Succession: Season 4 (2023)
97%

#1

Adjusted Score: 105102%

Critics Consensus: As compulsively watchable as ever, Succession's final season concludes the saga of the backbiting Roy family on a typically brilliant -- and colorfully profane -- high note.

Starring: Nicholas Braun, Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Dagmara Domińczyk

Directed By: Jesse Armstrong, Adam McKay, Frank Rich, Kevin J. Messick

The Bear: Season 2 (2023)
99%

#2

Adjusted Score: 109988%

Critics Consensus: Instead of reinventing the menu, The Bear's second season wisely opts to toss its lovable characters into another frying pan of adversity, lets 'em cook, and serves up yet another supremely satisfying dish.

Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliott

Directed By: Christopher Storer, Joanna Calo, Nate Matteson, Hiro Murai

Drops of God: Season 1 (2023)
100%

#3

Adjusted Score: 101775%

Critics Consensus: A saga of cutthroat competition with notes of cool intelligence, Drops of God is a sleek entertainment sure to stimulate refined palates.

Starring: Fleur Geffrier, Tom Wozniczka, Tomohisa Yamashita, Stanley Weber

Directed By: Oded Ruskin

The Curse: Season 1 (2023)
94%

#4

Adjusted Score: 100882%

Critics Consensus: A wickedly uncomfortable marriage of sensibilities between Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie, with a masterful Emma Stone tying everything together, The Curse will make viewers cackle and squirm in equal measure.

Starring: Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder, Benny Safdie, Doug Montoya

Directed By: Benny Safdie, Nathan Fielder, Ravi Nandan, Emma Stone

The Gilded Age: Season 2 (2023)
94%

#5

Adjusted Score: 96552%

Critics Consensus: More topical than before while also owning its frivolous appeal with unapologetic splendor, Julian Fellowes' operatic soap enters its own halcyon age.

Starring: Cynthia Nixon, Morgan Spector, Denée Benton, Louisa Jacobson

Directed By: Julian Fellowes, Gareth Neame, Michael Engler, Gareth Neame

Stonehouse: Season 1 (2023)
95%

#6

Adjusted Score: 96220%

Critics Consensus: Stonehouse reenacts one of Britain's most ridiculous spy games with wry flair while star Matthew Macfadyen puts on a masterclass of fecklessness.

Starring: Matthew Macfadyen, Emer Heatley, Kevin R. McNally, Keeley Hawes

Directed By: Jon S. Baird, Neil Blair, Polly Hill, Ruth Kenley-Letts

Best Interests: Season 1 (2023)
95%

#7

Adjusted Score: 96333%

Critics Consensus: Sharon Horgan and Michael Sheen turn in some of their best work yet in Best Intentions, a frank depiction of any parent's worst nightmare that is equal parts graceful and harrowing.

Starring: Sharon Horgan, Michael Sheen, Noma Dumezweni, Alison Oliver

Directed By: Toby Bentley, Sophie Gardiner, Michael Keillor, Lucy Richer

Transatlantic: Season 1 (2023)
95%

#8

Adjusted Score: 96220%

Critics Consensus: Ably dramatizing a deadly serious chapter of World War II history while also remembering to have fun, Transatlantic is a visually sumptuous throwback to classic Hollywood melodramas.

Starring: Cory Michael Smith, Gillian Jacobs, Lucas Englander, Deleila Piasko

Directed By: Anna Winger, Julie Orringer, Camille McCurry

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty: Season 2 (2023)
82%

#9

Adjusted Score: 83442%

Critics Consensus: Trying to defend the title is hard, but Winning Time's sophomore season keeps pace as some of the best courtside seats to sports history that television can provide.

Starring: John C. Reilly, Quincy Isaiah, Jason Clarke, Gaby Hoffmann

Directed By: Adam McKay, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Trey Edward Shults, Tanya Hamilton

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart: Season 1 (2023)
82%

#10

Adjusted Score: 84777%

Critics Consensus: Sigourney Weaver is excellent as a thorny matriarch in The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, a visually appealing and well-acted melodrama.

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Asher Keddie, Leah Purcell

Directed By: Glendyn Ivin