The Worst TV Shows Of 2023
With the year coming to a close, there's no better time to look back on all the ways TV failed us in 2023. From overly ambitious miniseries and indulgent passion projects to soulless genre fare and repugnant reality competitions, the past 12 months have been a brutal reminder that streaming did not, in fact, usher us into a new golden age of television. For every series with great characters and compelling storylines, there are a half dozen stinkers that test the patience of audiences.
In determining the shows included on this list, we relied on our own first-hand experience, as well as the consensus of the wider critical community. While there are certainly kind things to say and admirable qualities about every title mentioned, it's difficult to ignore the overwhelming negatives that each of these shows possess.
Potential spoilers lie ahead for all programs discussed — please proceed with caution.
Squid Game: The Challenge is reality TV at its worst
Production companies: Studio Lambert, The Garden
Rating: TV-MA
Number of episodes: 10
Where to watch: Netflix
Let's be clear: No one is criticizing the production value of "Squid Game: The Challenge," nor are we pretending like there's no reasonable line of thought in producing a reality competition series based on the South Korean runaway hit. Our question for Netflix is quite simple: If you're going to court controversy over a reality TV show, can't it at least be entertaining? "The Challenge" has little to offer audiences beyond exact replicas of games seen on the series (which has little novelty over two years after YouTuber Mr. Beast produced his own "Squid Game" competition) and the same rage-bait contestant characterization that every tired social experiment reality series ultimately ends up relying on.
In fairness, the latter issue can be largely attributed to the show's ludicrous 456-person cast — compare it to this year's excellent and tonally similar reality competition "The Traitors," and it's easy to see how much focus can improve contestant-driven series without reducing every contestant to a villain or a saint. (Perhaps a desire for this is why Netflix allegedly rigged the early rounds of the competition in favor of TikTok and Instagram influencers). All that being said, "The Challenge" is watchable — but only in the same way a car crash is technically watchable as well.
Krapopolis wastes a talented voice cast on ... well, crap
Cast: Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Pam Murphy, Duncan Trussell, Hannah Waddingham
Creator: Dan Harmon
Rating: TV-14
Number of episodes: 11
Network: Fox
Where to watch: Hulu
The writing has been on the wall for "Krapopolis" ever since someone decided to name it "Krapopolis." With each announcement that came out about the Dan Harmon-created series — like, for example, that it would be the first television series "curated on the blockchain," or that it would have some opaque NFT choose-your-own-adventure tie-in, or that it would be delayed by almost an entire year after spending two years in development — the title began to feel less charmingly crass and more like a genuine indicator of the level of effort at play here.
Indeed, it doesn't take long for the ostensibly comic "Krapopolis" to reveal itself as a Greek tragedy — although there's something slightly less bleak about what Madea does to her children than what Harmon does to his criminally stacked voice cast. Although the jokes land effectively enough more often than not, they aren't nearly funny enough to justify how underwhelmingly broad and empty the rest of the endeavor is. Fortunately, "Krapopolis" is the sort of show that may just need time to grow into something worthwhile — and with another season already ordered by Fox, time is just about all it has.
Paramount's Fatal Attraction TV adaptation can't justify its own existence
Cast: Joshua Jackson, Lizzy Caplan, Amanda Peet
Creator: Alexandra Cunningham and Kevin J. Hynes (based on the 1987 film of the same name)
Rating: TV-MA
Number of episodes: 8
Where to watch: Paramount+
There was no shortage of talent involved in the Paramount+ remake of Adrian Lynne and James Dearden's 1987 erotic thriller "Fatal Attraction." In addition to creators Alexandra Cunningham (former executive producer of "Desperate Housewives" and writer on "Bates Motel") and Kevin J. Hynes, as well as the contributions of Dearden himself, the first three episodes of the series were directed by Silver Tree. If there was anyone who should've been able to launch a sexy, dangerous, and morally dubious television mystery, it would be someone who executed several classic episodes of "You," "The Flight Attendant," and "Dead to Me."
And yet, "Fatal Attraction" was pretty much dead on arrival when the first three installments were dropped on Paramount's streaming service. Despite a killer creative team and a talented cast, the series did little to elevate "Fatal Attraction" beyond what the film accomplished several decades ago. It's an emotionally flat downward spiral that renders itself indistinguishable from the schlock one would expect from Lifetime or Investigation Discovery, all while retracing themes exhausted by better stories. It's no wonder the series was axed a few months after its premiere.
FUBAR lives up to its name in the worst way
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Monica Barbaro
Creator: Nick Santora
Rating: TV-MA
Number of episodes: 8
Where to watch: Netflix
For those not up to date on their military lingo, FUBAR is an acronym for "F***ed up beyond all recognition" — which coincidentally happens to be a fair assessment of Arnold Schwarzenegger's contemporary acting career, especially in the wake of his shoddy Netflix action-comedy series "FUBAR."
Everything about the project feels stuck in the past, including Schwarzenegger's casting as a super-secret agent with a sudden paternal conflict. It certainly doesn't help that his presence is often merely a vehicle for Netflix to jam in as many references to his past work as possible (though, to be fair, delivering hackneyed self-referential "jokes" seems to be the "Terminator" star's primary function as an actor in 2023).
And though Monica Barbaro does a fine job playing the emotionally estranged daughter of Schwarzenegger's CIA operative, their father-daughter dynamic is so predictable and cliched that neither one of them has much material of substance to work with. Still, "FUBAR" must have its fans somewhere — if only within Netflix — as the series has been renewed for a second season.
Citadel sees the Russo brothers apply their bland visual style to an equally bland story
Cast: Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Creator: The Russo Brothers
Rating: TV-14
Number of episodes: 6
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Fresh off directing "Avengers: Endgame," Anthony and Joe Russo probably could've taken on whatever project they wanted — and, honestly, it's not hard to see why they ultimately picked Amazon Prime Video's "Citadel." Given a blank check to produce the world's first localized cross-cultural franchise television show, the Russo brothers seemingly had the opportunity to be at the forefront of another historic change in the entertainment landscape. If only the flagship show were anywhere near as interesting as the gimmick behind it.
America's "Citadel" series has absolutely nothing special going for it outside its multi-national aspirations. It's a bland if occasionally flashy spy thriller that could have had just as much of an impact if it had trimmed all the action elements and been sold to Max as an addendum to "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy" — the plot would've made just as much sense, too.
A second season of "Citadel" was under production before the WGA strike. Hopefully, without the extraordinary reshoots, creative disagreements, and leadership changes that plagued its first outing, audiences can finally see a stronger, more coherent version of what Amazon and the Russos envisioned for this franchise. But based on this first season — which shares many issues with other Russo projects "The Gray Man" and "Cherry" — we aren't holding our breath.
Secret Invasion is a useless political thriller too timid to actually tackle politics
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Emilia Clarke
Creator: Kyle Bradstreet
Rating: TV-14
Number of episodes: 6
Where to watch: Disney+
Marvel Studios' Disney+ series have almost always left a little something to be desired when compared to other shows that don't rely on a 15-year built-in fanbase watching for homework. But while shows like "WandaVision" and "Moon Knight" manage, despite a few disappointing flaws, to be solid entries in the growing Marvel Cinematic Universe, "Secret Invasion" is the first MCU series that feels bad even within the context of the larger franchise.
In its endeavor to sell itself as a gritty political thriller (without doing the bare minimum of having an interesting political perspective), "Secret Invasion" takes an already typically stretched and plodding Marvel narrative and saps it of all the life, color, and charisma that makes otherwise middling projects like "The Marvels" worth watching. And it's all so that Marvel can prove once again that their only mode of complexity these days is a "villain" who has valid, lucid concerns about the world but is also a murderous psychopath the moment the plot needs them to be. Suffice it to say, if there's one Marvel project you should skip before "Avengers: Secret Wars," it's this one.
The final season of The Flash limps across the finish line
Cast: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton
Showrunner: Eric Wallace
Rating: TV-14
Number of episodes: 13
Network: The CW
Where to watch: Netflix
After nearly 10 years on television, the CW superhero series "The Flash" has finally come to an end, bringing the entirety of the Arrowverse to a close with it. Given that it was once one of the most fun shows to tune in to weekly, we'd love to write that it got its act together and raced across the finish line with its head held high. Sadly, this mad dash ultimately limps to an exhausted crash.
In two "graphic novels," "The Flash" made a valiant attempt to add yet another chapter to its impenetrably convoluted story that would bring back all the "best" villains for a few final battles. Aside from underscoring just how unimaginative the series' ensemble of antagonists are in hindsight (each one a speedster momentarily faster than Grant Gustin's titular hero), they serve as a showcase of how technologically ill-equipped the series is for the level of sci-fi-fantasy it aspires to achieve.
With no solid villains or superhero spectacle, all the final season of "The Flash" is left with is the core soap opera that has only gotten more cloying and trite with age. Though fans will always have the series' highs, ending on such a sour note made for one of the most disappointing television moments of 2023.
Velma resurrects Scooby Doo! but abandons its soul
Cast: Mindy Kaling
Creator: Charlie Grandy
Rating: TV-MA
Number of episodes: 10
Where to watch: Max
The only people who were excited by the release of "Velma" were likely the cringe-inducing swamp of YouTubers whose careers rely on labeling things as "woke." But while the Mindy Kaling-led "Scooby Doo!" reboot certainly got its fair share of undue hate from keyboard warriors online, there's no ignoring that it's one of the worst shows Max put out in 2023.
Created by veteran sitcom writer Charlie Grandy, the series was seemingly meant to revive the classic cartoon for a modern audience that has a clear taste for the irreverent, juvenile humor of shows like "Rick and Morty" and "Big Mouth." But there's a fine line between irreverence and mean nihilism, and Grandy's inability to find this line quickly is debilitating for a series that many associate with nostalgic optimism. In other words, nobody wants to see the Mystery Gang cruelly bullying each other like they're the cast of "Mean Girls."
This, combined with the series' insightful but overbeaten meta-gags, made "Velma" intolerable. Even so, the gang will be returning for more mysteries down the road, as a second season is currently in production.
FBOY Island is primetime television in Season 3
Cast: Nikki Glaser
Production companies: STXalternative, TheYearOfElan Productions
Rating: TV-MA
Number of episodes: 10
Network: The CW
Where to watch: Max
There was a time when men were kind. There was a time when men wouldn't produce TV shows where self-described "F*** Boys" deceived women supposedly looking for love. And there was a time when they finally did produce this TV show, but at least had the decency to keep it on a streaming service. Then it all went wrong.
Under other circumstances, it would be a waste to give "FBOY Island" a spot on this list. After all, what more is there to say about this soul-sucking reality show that promotes the narratives that so-called "nice guys" finish last, that love is a contest of blunt affection, and that, at the end of the day, you have to settle for one of the options immediately in front of you. But because there is, apparently, no justice in the world, the series has made the jump from streaming to primetime.
Call us old-fashioned, but something about setting up a competition to sexually and emotionally manipulate women with a lead-in from "Penn and Teller: Fool Us" feels particularly gross. And seeing as the show's as stomach-churning as ever, it's worth being included as one of the worst TV shows of the year.
Gotham Knights needs to be the last Batman show without Batman
Cast: Oscar Morgan, Olivia Rose Keegan, Misha Collins
Creator: Natalie Abrams, Chase Fiveash, and James Stoteraux
Rating: TV-14
Number of episodes: 13
Network: The CW
Where to watch: Max
"Gotham Knights" is the sort of TV project that you could tell was going to be bad before it even premiered. Fundamentally, this spin-off is a cynical attempt to make a young, sexy comic book series that cashes in on Batman's popularity without any connection to an actual comic book — or even Batman himself.
Case in point, the series' lead is Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan), an original character who is ostensibly Bruce Wayne's adopted son. The way this storyline unfolds in the series would already be fan-fiction-level schlock, but its mere existence is baffling if you've ever even just casually picked up a "Batman" comic and know that the character already has half-a-dozen adopted sons.
The "Gotham Knights" creative team has never explained why Turner isn't, for example, Dick Grayson or Tim Drake, so it's anyone's guess why such a decision was made. It's possible DC just didn't want to give them access to such big-name heroes — a possibility that becomes depressingly feasible as the series populates its dull stories with misused, bargain-bin characters like Duela Dent and Carrie Kelly. Meanwhile, the official DC blog is publishing hard-hitting pieces like "Actually, it's pretty great that we keep making Batman TV shows without Batman."
Sure. Okay. We'll see if that remains true when Warner Bros. inevitably wipes the series from existence for a tax write-off.
Queen Cleopatra fails as a drama and a docuseries
Cast: Jada Pinkett Smith, Adele James, Craig Russell, John Partridge
Producer: Jada Pinkett Smith
Rating: TV-14
Number of episodes: 4
Where to watch: Netflix
After the 2022 she had, it's probably safe to say that a lot of people were rooting for Jada Pickett Smith to get a win with the second season of her "African Queens" anthology series. But in her and director Tina Gharavi's attempts to bring the life of one of the world's most famous yet mystifying rulers into a contemporary context, "Queen Cleopatra" obfuscates the line between documentary and drama beyond all credibility.
Ignoring the often racist accusations against the series about the titular historical figure's much-debated racial identity in the series (as many historians agree, attempting to define Cleopatra within modern racial categories is a fool's errand that always erases some truth), the series' lack of genre identity or purpose ruins whatever dramatic or historical impact it might have. As a period political drama, it's too dry and self-important to be engaging, but as a documentary, it deviates too much from the historical record to be illuminating. If a series like "Queen Cleopatra" can't entertain or educate, it has failed twice over.
The Idol is a miniseries of wasted potential
Cast: Lily-Rose Depp, Abel Tesfaye
Creator: Sam Levinson, Abel Tesfaye, Reza Fahim
Rating: TV-MA
Number of episodes: 5
Network: HBO
Where to watch: Max
What is there to say about "The Idol" that hasn't already been said? The collaboration between Abel Tesfaye (aka best-selling global musical icon The Weeknd) and "Euphoria" creator Sam Levinson has been ripped apart by critics and audiences alike for several months now — a well-deserved response for any show that turns its series finale into an awkward and self-congratulatory talent show.
But the end of "The Idol" is far from the worst thing about this rare HBO dumpster fire. Beneath the underwritten characters, ponderous directing choices, half-baked plot twists, and all the rest of the rote, dreamy depravity that this series tries to pass as transgressive art, there is a compelling story to be told about a young artist fighting for her identity.
In Jocelyn's (a bored and boring Lily-Rose Depp) struggle against the dual constraints of her craft and career, there is the seed of great TV. It's a truly infuriating shame that this potential gets drowned out by Tesfaye and Levinson's indulgent (to the point of bordering on gross egotism) storytelling sensibilities. It's dramatic malpractice from start to finish, and not worth the time it takes you away from the best TV shows of 2023.
How did we decide the worst of the worst?
Looper's contributing writers are extremely well-watched, maintaining a high level of literacy with the current landscape of TV and film. This writer has watched, analyzed, and covered many of the shows included on this list. The rest, they watched in their free time.
In constructing this list, the writer first took into consideration every television show they had seen in 2023. After coming up with their final choices, they took into account indicators of the wider critical and audience response (Metacritic, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, etc.) and consulted with Looper editors to ensure that this list ultimately stood as an informed assessment of the wider consensus rather than a singular opinion. In this way, the goal was to present a list that accurately documented the television shows that are generally regarded to be the worst released this year.