Culture | Watch the box

The Economist’s pick of the best television shows of 2023

Exceptional comedies, crime dramas, and psychological thrillers have come to the small screen this year

An illustration showing a woman sitting on an oversized television remote.
Illustration: Bianca Bagnarelli

“Barry”

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Watch the box”

From the November 25th 2023 edition

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Angela Merkel in Frankfurt, Germany in December 1991

Angela Merkel sets out to restore her reputation

But her new memoir is unlikely to change her critics’ minds

Blue books forming a winner rosette on a red background

The best books of 2024, as chosen by The Economist

Readers will never think the same way again about games, horses and spies


Elon Musk speaks at the Milken Institute's Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

What to read to understand Elon Musk

The world’s richest man was shaped by science fiction


Tech and religion are very much alike

They both have gods, rich institutions and secretive cultures

Woodrow Wilson’s reputation continues to decline

A dispassionate new biography chronicles the former president’s hostility to suffrage

The cult of Jordan Peterson

What the Canadian intellectual gets right about young men