After The Last of Us, what will be 2023's other must-see TV shows? (2023)

While plenty of new shows have already dropped since the start of the year, there’s only been one everybody has been talking about – the video game-inspired The Last of Us.

Only three episodes in and Neon’s critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic drama has already provoked plenty of watercooler chat on Tuesday mornings – after the debut of each new instalment. It’s probably what we should have expected from the creator of one of 2019’s most talked-about series – Chernobyl.

But its success did get us thinking at Stuff to Watch, what are likely to be the other zeitgeist and attention-grabbing shows of 2023? And when – and on where – are they likely to be coming to a screen near you? Below is what we’ve managed to suss out – and predict – so far.

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Best Interests (TBC)

Bad Sisters’ Sharon Horgan and Staged’s Michael Sheen team up for this four-part BBC drama about a couple whose daughter’s life-threatening condition draws them into a legal battle with her doctors over the right to end her pain early.

Created by His Dark Materials and Enola Holmes’ screenwriter Jack Thorne, producers promise it will be both “compelling and thought-provoking”.

Extrapolations (March 17, Apple TV+)

Meryl Streep, Sienna Miller, Kit Harington, Daveed Diggs, Edward Norton, Diane Lane, Tahar Rahim, Matthew Rhys, Gemma Chan, Eiza Gonzalez, Forest Whitaker and Marion Cotillard.

Yes, Contagion writer Scott Z. Burns has surely assembled the ensemble of the year for his eight-part near-future set drama where the chaotic effects of climate change have become embedded into our everyday lives.

Each episode focuses on different characters, but the stories are interwoven and all “explore the intimate, life-altering choices that must be made when the planet is changing faster than the population”.

Fifteen-Love (TBC, Prime Video)

Set in the world of professional tennis, this provocative drama looks at the relationship between teenage prodigy Justine Pearce (Ella Lily Hyland) and her maverick coach Glenn Lapthorn (Poldark’s Aidan Turner).

Five years after her own career is cut short by a devastating wrist injury, she’s back working as a therapist at her old tennis academy. Re-encountering Glenn though dredges up the past and leads to Jessica making an explosive allegation which forces everyone to reconsider everything they thought they knew about the pair’s past success.

The Last Thing He Told Me (April 14, Apple TV+)

This highly anticipated seven-part drama is based on the critically-acclaimed, best-selling novel 2021 by Laura Dave.

Jennifer Garner plays Hannah, a woman who is forced to forge a close relationship with her 16-year-old step-daughter Bailey (Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Angourie Rice) in order to find the truth about why her husband Owen (Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) has mysteriously disappeared.

The Mandalorian (March 1, Disney+)

After a seemingly interminable wait - and a slightly disappointingly less-than-satisfying segue into The Book of Boba Fett – Pedro Pascal’s masked bounty hunter is back for a third, eight-part season of this mega-popular Star Wars Universe TV series.

As the New Republic struggles to lead the galaxy away from its dark history, “Din Djarin” and his pint-sized companion Grogu will cross paths with old allies and make new enemies. Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd is among those joining in on the fun.

Masters of the Air (TBC, Apple TV+)

Following in the footsteps of the extremely popular Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg bring together another extremely impressive ensemble for this World War II tale which focuses in on the exploits of the US Army’s Eighth Air Force.

Inspired by Donald L. Miller’s 2007 book Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany, the 10-part drama’s cast includes Elvis’ Austin Butler, The Capture’s Callum Turner, The Banshees of Inisherin’s Barry Keoghan and Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (TBC, Netflix)

This six-part prequel to the hit period drama will focus on the eponymous royal’s rise to prominence and power.

As well as Golda Rosheuvel, Adjoa Andoh’s Lady Danbury and Ruth Gemmell’s Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton will also play prominent roles (with India Amarteifio, Arsema Thomas and Connie Jenkins-Greig essaying younger versions of the trio). Game of Thrones’ Michelle Fairley, Nancy Drew’s Tunji Kasim and The Bill’s Cyril Nri have also been cast.

Squid Game: The Challenge (TBC, Netflix)

While global audiences eagerly await the return of the hit Korean drama that captured the world’s attention in late 2021, here’s a chance to see real-life competitors take on some of the show’s dangerous (and potentially deadly) tests.

Four-hundred-and-fifty-six players are hoping to be the one to take home US$4.56m.

Production started last week in the UK, with a small number of contestants apparently requiring medical assistance after the first day’s filming in less-than-tropical conditions. According to Variety, only half of the participants made it past the opening Red Light Green Light game.

Succession (March 27, Neon)

Season 4 of everyone’s favourite scabrous black comedy sees the Roy kids plot against family patriarch Logan (Brian Cox), as he attempts to push through the sale of Waystar Royco to tech entrepreneur Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard).

Expect plenty of twists and turns in the struggle for power, while the recent teaser trailer also suggests eldest sibling Connor (Alan Ruck) tying the knot with Willa (Justine Lupe) and the hapless, but ambitious Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) settling into Logan’s inner-circle.

Secret Invasion (TBC, Disney+)

While much of the focus will be on movies like Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantamania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Marvels, this six-part series is also likely to be key to Phase V of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Focusing in on Samuel L. Jackson’s former Shield director Nick Fury’s involvement in the infiltration of Earth by shapeshifting aliens the Skrulls (first revealed in 2019’s Captain Marvel), the storyline (based on one of the most-popular Marvel Comics series ever) not only features the return of characters played by Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman and Don Cheadle, but also introduces new ones essayed by top talent such as Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman and Kingsley Ben-Adir.

True Detective (TBC, Neon)

More than four years after the Mahershala Ali-starring third-edition of this once appointment-viewing crime anthology series unspooled, it’s headed back to our screens with a juicy new premise.

Set in Ennis, Alaska, this edition sees detective duo Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) forced to confront their own pasts when they investigate the disappearance of the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station. John Hawkes, Christopher Eccleston and Fiona Shaw also feature among the cast.

Yellowjackets (March 27, Neon)

Fresh from her Emmy nomination first time out, New Zealand’s own Melanie Lynskey is back playing Shauna Sadecki (nee Shipman) in the sophomore season of this hit thriller.

Switching between 1996 and 2021, its tale of the events leading up to and the fallout from a 1996 plane crash in the Canadian wilderness involving a girl’s high school football team ended its initial 10-episode run with viewers having more questions than answers.

Joining the already impressive troupe (that includes Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis) are The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy’s Elijah Wood, Kiwi Simone Kessell (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Lynskey’s husband Jason Ritter (Parenthood).