The series highlights 2023

"The Last of Us" to "Dear Child" - The series highlights 2023

The past twelve months of series have been full of highlights. For example, the German thriller series "Liebes Kind" captivated the global Netflix audience, superstar Pedro Pascal (48) became the "daddy" of another protégé in"The Last of Us" and fan favorite Tom Hiddleston (42) once again embodied the god of mischief and deception Loki for Marvel. The following eight hit series caused a sensation in 2023.

"Dear Child"

The international streaming services based in Germany released a whole host of local series productions in 2023. But only the Netflix show "Liebes Kind", based on the novel of the same name by Romy Hausmann, caused a storm of enthusiasm worldwide - and even made it into the streaming market leader's all-time best list.

In the thriller series, the directing and writing duo Isabel Kleefeld and Julian Pörksen masterfully tell the story of a gruesome kidnapping situation that is reminiscent in many ways of the very real case of Natascha Kampusch (35). The first three episodes of the six-part mini-series in particular are hard to beat in terms of suspense - even if there are a few logical holes here and there towards the end of the series.

For long stretches, "Dear Child" is carried by twelve-year-old Naila Schuberth, who delivers a magnetic performance in the claustrophobic abduction setting. The young actress may have a great acting career ahead of her.

"The Last of Us"

The renowned US cable channel HBO also had a global series hit on offer in 2023 with the end-time show "The Last of Us". As co-creators of the series, "Chernobyl" creator Craig Mazin (52) and Neil Druckmann (45), the developer of the video game of the same name, breathed new life into the zombie genre. The cast around "The Mandalorian" star Pedro Pascal and the young actress Bella Ramsey (20), known from "Game of Thrones", was able to inspire all round. In addition, HBO clearly spared neither expense nor effort in the elaborate production to conjure up the post-apocalyptic world of the acclaimed game series on the screens.

However, in addition to breathtaking survival action and a generally oppressive atmosphere, "The Last of Us" also impressed with a few narrative twists, such as the third episode entitled"Love Me the Way I Want". The episode focuses on the unlikely romance between two men who get to know and love each other in the midst of the end of the world. In addition, lead actor Pascal, who takes care of a supposedly weaker and smaller person for the second time after "The Mandalorian", triggered a veritable daddy hype in the spring. Just one more indication of the pop-cultural relevance of this terrific series.

"Painkiller"

The Netflix series "Painkiller" - just like the 2021 production "Dopesick" available on Disney+ - revolves around the terrible opioid crisis that has claimed the lives of over a million people in the USA since 1999. In their fast-paced miniseries, co-creators Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster tell the story of how Purdue Pharma and the unscrupulous Sackler family successfully trivialized the opioid OxyContin and brought it to the people in order to plunge unsuspecting people into the most severe addictions, which ultimately led to death in many cases.

However, the film also focuses on these victims and their completely normal lives - such as in the person of car mechanic and family man Glen (Taylor Kitsch, 42), who unwittingly and through no fault of his own becomes a junkie after an accident at work. Painkiller" masterfully jumps back and forth between all these storylines. The first moments of individual episodes show real relatives of victims of the opioid crisis. These harrowing scenes linger in the memory long after the series ends.

One of the most surprising things about "Painkiller", however, is that this extremely tragic subject matter is presented in a light-hearted and extremely entertaining way, while at the same time the feeling for the gravity of the crime committed is never lost. No other series production has managed such a balancing act this year.

"Dead Ringers"

The mini-series "Dead Ringers" with Oscar winner Rachel Weisz (53) in a double role offers anything but light fare. Weisz plays identical twins and obstetricians Beverly and Elliot Mantle in the psychological thriller series - a remake of David Cronenberg's (80) 1988 film classic of the same name. With a cash injection from the wealthy New York upper class, they set up a somewhat different maternity clinic in which pregnant women are not treated as sick, unlike the rest of conventional medicine.

With "Dead Ringers", series creator Alice Birch (37) and her all-female team of writers take a provocative look at the human approach to the experience of procreation. At the same time, body horror scenes of caesarean sections and bloody foetuses are shocking in the truest sense of the word, while a brilliant double lead actress, Weisz, hovers above it all, opening up the abysses of two fascinating characters to viewers.

"Loki"

Celebrated actor Tom Hiddleston - now one of the longest-serving Marvel veterans alongside Samuel L. Jackson (75) and Paul Bettany (52) - returned to Disney+ screens in the fall with the second season of his superhero series "Loki". While the big Marvel universe as a whole had to contend with failures such as "Ant-Man 3", "Secret Invasion" and "The Marvels" this year, the innovative series "Loki", which is often reminiscent of the animated cult "Rick and Morty", delivered once again and delighted audiences and critics alike.

Unlike many of their Marvel colleagues, the "Loki" creators around season two head writer Eric Martin know how to create extremely exciting, surprising and touching stories from the multiverse concept. With Oscar winner and "Everything Everywhere All at Once" star Ke Huy Quan (52), the cast of the Marvel series, which was already impressive in season one, has been further strengthened.

"Platonic"

As the title suggests, the Apple TV+ comedy series "Platonic" revolves around the platonic friendship between two people in their 40s: brewery owner Will (Seth Rogen, 41) leads the life of an urban hipster in his 30s despite his slightly advanced age, while housewife and mother Sylvia (Rose Byrne, 44) is more down-to-earth.

After losing sight of each other for a few years, the former best friends get to know each other again at the beginning of "Platonic", with Sylvia's entourage particularly bothered by her friendship with a man. As a result, Will and Sylvia rediscover some of the light-heartedness of earlier times.

Platonic" is carried in particular by the incomparable chemistry of the leading actor duo. After all, the likeable stars Byrne and Rogen already proved that they harmonize excellently in front of the camera in the two "Bad Neighbors" films of the 2010s. At the same time, the smart show from co-creators Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller (47) takes a highly entertaining and satirical look at common everyday problems that people usually face in the middle of their lives.

"Beef"

In the Netflix series "Beef", the dissatisfaction of successful self-made millionaire Amy (Ali Wong, 41) and unsuccessful handyman Danny (Steven Yeun, 40) comes to the fore when the two contrasting characters have a violent confrontation in traffic. In an instant, everyone involved assumes the worst of their counterpart. Amy and Danny's enmity takes center stage as the black-humored comedy series progresses.

Ultimately, however, the mini-series by creator Lee Sung Jin is not so much about this "beef" as it is about the smaller and larger disappointments and frustrations of two people who are probably in a kind of mid-life crisis.

The Netflix series, which is entertaining and thought-provoking in equal measure, is underpinned by a terrific soundtrack of iconic 1990s musicians and bands such as Offspring, Incubus, Tori Amos, Bush and the Smashing Pumpkins, which point to a better, more innocent time in the lives of Danny and Amy.

"Poker Face"

With the series "Poker Face", "Knives Out" and "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" creator Rian Johnson (50) continues his triumphal march through the crime genre. The show with the famous leading actress Natasha Lyonne (44) represents a return to the classic case-of-the-week format of earlier TV series such as the unmissable role model "Columbo": As human lie detector Charlie, Lyonne takes on a new murder case in every single episode. She is helped by the fact that she always recognizes when her counterpart is telling an untruth.

In the tonally very different episodes from season one, Lyonne's Charlie has to deal with numerous top-class guest stars. For example, cult actress Chloë Sevigny (49) plays the ageing front woman of a faltering heavy metal band in an episode that revolves entirely around the music business. A second season has already been ordered by the US streaming service Peacock.