Top 5 Most Anticipated Television Shows of 2023

5. The Witcher Season 3

It’ll be Henry Cavill’s last season but that’s fine, I still expect to enjoy it a lot. I’ve enjoyed both seasons and while they aren’t the most consistent, I love the lore of the world. Season 2 gave us a good tease of something big at the end and now I’m curious to see how they’ll pay it off.

4. Fallout

I don’t know much about this show. In fact, I’m not 100% certain it’ll come out in 2023. But if it does from Amazon Prime, I’ll be curious about it. The world is interesting and I don’t have that much exposure to it. It’s probably a video game that I should checkout. But I think something like this with a big would could translate well to a television series.

3. Shadow and Bone Season 2

I really loved the first season, so to get a 2^nd, I’m excited to see what is going to happen. The characters are interesting, the world is interesting and generally, I didn’t have any real qualms with the show, the only thing, and this isn’t a bad thing, I might want to rewatch season 1. It’s been just long enough that I’ll want to know what happened and relive it again.

2. Star Wars Shows

We should be getting the Mandalorian Season 3, which I’m so excited for. Plus the Ahsoka show, also really excited for that one. I know I need to catch up on stuff like Andor, Kenobi and finally finish Book of Boba Fett, but none of them really excited me. Mandalorian Season 3 is must watch the week that it comes out for me. And I hope that Ahsoka will be the same. Oh, and I almost forgot Skeleton Crew which sounds like a lot of fun as well and isn’t tied into Star Wars cannon seemingly as much. So I’m more interested in it.

1. Marvel Shows

Obviously, and there might be a number of them with Secret Invasion, Loki Season 2, Echo, Agatha Coven of Chaos, Ironheart, and maybe What If Season 2 as well in the mix. If you want to know my favorites or most anticipated in that and see how they rank against the movies, check out the January 3^rd episode of 10 Minute Marvel.

Honorable Mentions

Of course I have some of those as well.

• But the first one is Anasi Boys an adaptation of a Neil Gaiman book but one that I thought was just alright. It’s certainly one I’d checkout, if it sounds interesting enough once some reviews start coming in.
• Extinction, on TNT not a streaming show, also sounds interesting, a software engineer who gets stuck in a time loop where the world keeps ending in different ways, that sounds entertaining. I believe it’s already been out in the UK, it’s coming to the US in 2023.
• Probably should be on the list already, but The Continental coming to Starz, which means it might be a bit until I see it. But this one I do want to see, a prequel series to the John Wick films about the Continental Hotel from that series, set in the late 1970’s.
• Dune Sisterhood because it is a Dune show, don’t know too much about it, but I’m curious. It’s on HBO Max, and still alive, so it’s lower on the list because who knows when I’d see it.
• And I’m not seeing it for this year, but if Wheel of Time Season 2 comes out, that’ll be towards the top of the list.
• Also, Stranger Things season 5. But that is supposed to start filming this year, so unlikely to come out.

What shows are you looking forward to?

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The Board Game IPs

So how did I create this list, let’s start there. This is based off of a video by Foster the Meeple, which you can find here. Their list was mainly IP’s that didn’t already have a board game with them. Or they only had more mass market games. I didn’t quite do that. Mine might already have a game with them, but I want more games with that IP. Or I want better games with that IP.

Let’s run down the list quickly.

10. Mutant Chronicles

I’d want to see this as a Project Elite type of game. Mainly something where you go after lots of monsters, play real time, and just have fun scenarios and powers.

9. Sonic the Hedgehog

For Sonic, I’d like a game like Downforce where you have a specific car that is yours though and you are racing to get as many rings as you can. Player with the most rings at the end wins.

8. Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone, it could go two different ways. One way is playing at character level. Get into that dungeon crawl or adventure style of game. The other way would be to pit all the factions against each other in a race for dominance.

7. Locke & Key

Chronicles of Crime or Destinies from Lucky Duck Games would be the one that I’d base a game off of. Give it story and give it that dynamic element of the app. Especially with the VR element that Chronicles of Crime can add it’d really show off the weird world that can be Locke & Key.

6. Stormlight Archives

This one is coming, in some form. But another game that I think would work well in two ways, like Shadow and Bone. I think the idea of factions is even easier with the different lords you could play as and control. But there is so much rich story and history to the world, an adventure game would be amazing.

5. Keeper of the Lost Cities

Keeper of the Lost Cities has that Harry Potter like vibe to it with the displaced kid finding where they are really supposed to be. For this game idea, I’d want that adventure or dungeon crawl type of game. I think even exploring the school, Foxfire, over years as you level up your character and gain new skills would be interesting. Place some big mystery over everything, kind of that adventure type of game makes the most sense.

4. Stranger Things

For Stranger Things, I would love a Mansions of Madness style of game. Solve mysteries and fight monsters like the kids do. And the location tiles, when you eventually go into the upside down, which you might not always do, you flip everything over and on the reverse side of the tiles is the same location but just the upside down version.

3. Arcane

Arcane definitely needs to be a story driven dungeon crawl game. I think I suggested something to Middara. It’s a rich world with a lot of story to reach and choices to make. But then there is a dungeon crawl element. I’d want that dungeon crawl and campaign element for Arcane because of again a very rich world.

2. The Dresden Files

The Dresden Files, I bounced around a while where I wanted this game idea to land. I want it to be a Tainted Grail style of game. It’s dungeon crawl adjacent but really more of a of an adventure game. Give me a game set in the world of magic, monster and fey that Dresden Files has. I don’t even need Harry Dresden in it, well maybe some references to him, but a big campaign about what other wizards are doing would be amazing.

1. Sword Art Online

Finally, the IP I’d love most to have a good game for is Sword Art Online. There is a little card game but it’s not that great. The rules are definitely poor. But I want a boss battler, but not just a boss battler. A game I haven’t played yet, but is coming soon, Oathsworn or another one like that ISS Vanguard, would be solid examples. Oathsworn, in particular, has story/mystery that you play through and then fight the boss monster. That’s what I’d love for an SAO game.

Upcoming Streams

So change to the schedule. I can finally get some more games played on Thursday so I am pushing off the stream. Now, possibly, I am going to do my first Crowdfunding BIG and little on Friday. But I’ll know for sure soon. Life just got in the way of a lot of gaming over this past week, so I don’t want to miss out on more.

But tomorrow at 8 PM Central I will be streaming again. This time more Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. You can find the upcoming video here. So join me then on Malts and Meeples to chat and watch some game play.

And then next Monday there is not going to be a stream because it is the 4th of July. So no stream for the holiday mainly because I’ll probably be wrapping up driving by the time I’d normally be streaming and if not I’ll be tired out. So I’ll be streaming on Wednesday next week.

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5. Fate: The Winx Saga

This is an odd one for the list. I almost put Lucifer on the list again because the last season is very good. But I wanted to write about a new show. And it came down to this and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Fate: The Winx Saga beat it out.

Fate: The Winx Saga is just that type of over the top mystery and fantasy that I like for some reason. It has some likeable characters and the premise is fun. Why is this girl from the regular world coming to the Winx school? It’s actually going to be a premise of a book I’ll be talking about as well. It’s most definitely overly teen dramatic, but it works for great entertainment. I’d probably not have it on the list, but anime is it’s own category.

4. What If?

Now, of course there is going to be some Marvel on the list, even if The Falcon and the Winter Soldier didn’t make it. What If? is just a fun show. It does ask the questions What If something small had changed and what that would mean for the Marvel Universe.

And each of the episodes is cannon. It is it’s own portion of the Multiverse where something like T’Challa becoming Star-Lord happens instead of Peter Quill, and you get a funny episode. But what if there was a zombie virus? Or what if when Fury was trying to recruit the Avengers they were all killed? Or what If Christine Palmer had died in the accident that led Doctor Strange to magic?

3. Loki

Another Marvel show, Loki was just so much fun. My one knock on the show is that they took the “evil” Loki from after Avengers and quickly got him back to where he was at the end of Ragnarok. It’s a minor quibble with the show though. Loki is a fun romp through time with a great reveal at the end.

And Owen Wilson, I didn’t know I wanted him in the MCU. But I am really glad that he is here. The show shows off the humor that Marvel can do, while creating a look and feel that is just different than any other show. For some people it seemed pointless, but I disagree, I think it set up a whole lot for upcoming Marvel shows and movies.

2. Shadow and Bone

A non-Marvel show, had to be one. But this is a really close #2 behind my #1. Shadow and Bone is a wonderful fantasy series with some really good characters. While Winx was a bit more of a popcorn sort of show, Shadow and Bone crafts a great world and a great story. It makes me want to read the books, but I’m waiting for more of the show.

The characters are really interesting, and the magic in the world is very cool. Just the whole premise seems different than what you see in a lot of fantasy series. But it’s a show that the characters really drive. And an amazing aesthetic to go with everything doesn’t help, but I want to know what happens to the characters next.

1. WandaVision

Final one on my list shouldn’t be a surprise to podcast listeners because I had it as my #4 MCU property overall. I love WandaVision. The story is compelling, and while there were a thousand theories that were spawned and then proven wrong by the show, I really like what the show did. It told a story of Wanda and her grief from everything she’d been through.

And that story was told with some really interesting characters. Beyond that, it was told in a fascinating fashion as Wanda controlled everything as if it were a sitcom, or did she? And we got to see everything travel through decades and different styles. There is something so wonderful about the familiar story that is being told, but in the weird way it is told.

What were your favorite shows of the year? I have a lot I need to catch up on, even just on Netflix. I’m watching through Locke & Key season 2. I have Arcane I want to see and other shows like Sweet Tooth that came earlier in the year that I want to watch and never got to. It is really a situation where there are so many good shows. And like I said, Hawkeye would be on this list were it done and same, most likely, with Wheel of Time that I’ve been really enjoying.

What are your favorite new or new to you shows of 2021?

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The Plot

Alina is an orphan who, like most orphans either gets brought to fight in the army or become a cartographer. She’s a cartographer, and her best friend, Mal, is in the army. Neither of them have the powers that the Grisha have, expect, well, Alina actually does, she just doesn’t know it. She quickly finds out that she is what is known a sun summoner. A power set that is not common and is basically just a myth. This attracts the attention of General Kirigan, the head of the Grisha. Meanwhile, Kaz, the leader of a group known as the Crows, finds out about a dangerous job to get through the darkness that separates the lands in order to get the sun summoner.

What I Didn’t Like

That’s a very basic summary of the start of the plot that I give you there. I think that the plot as a whole is pretty solid. There are a few elements that feel pretty standard young adult fantasy. The friendship and relationship of Alina and Mal works well, but in terms of any complexity to it, it is what you’d expect.

And, I will say, not as a real dislike for myself who hasn’t read the books, or my wife who has, they combine two different series in the same world that happen at different times. So Kaz and Alina’s stories don’t cross in the books, at least not in the same way that they do in the show. I couldn’t tell that they were supposed to be separate with how they weave things together. That said, some readers of the books might notice that or not like it as well for that reason.

What I Liked

So, I say that some of the story is a bit standard. But for the most part, I don’t feel like that is the case. We get magic and science mixed together with the armies have guns and weapons but you still have the Grisha who very powerful as well. The setting unique and the scenario is unique as well. This darkness that separates things is not normal for fantasy, so it’s a good plot device that drives a wedge between the countries, literally.

The acting in the show is also very good. Freddy Carter as Kaz is amazing as are all of the Crows. They really stand out as some of the most interesting character. Jessie Mei Li as Alina is good as is Archie Renaux as Mal, but they are given less to work with, so their story is just more lacking. It’s fairly standard to YA where the main characters are a bit more vanilla. And Ben Barnes as General Kirigan is a very strong actor, he has the charisma that his character needs.

The world building is done well in the show as well. I don’t like it when shows give you an information dump at the beginning, actually same with fantasy books. I want to find out about the world when I need to. And Shadow and Bone gives you the information as you need it. Shows tend to be better about not doing that, and Shadow and Bone is very solid at just giving you enough so you aren’t confused.

The aesthetic of the show is also really well done. Like I said, it blends magic, almost the industrial revolution, and guns along with that for the show. So it’s not your normal high fantasy look, there is a bit of dirtiness to the world and the people which you also don’t always see. It manages the idea of a dirty or real world that the characters live in, but without going grim dark to make it gritty.

Who Is This For?

I do call this a YA (Young Adult) series, at least for the books. But it isn’t YA in a bad way, there are a lot of good YA stories out there. There are also a lot that just live off of angst. This isn’t one of those. It tells a compelling story for adults without making the theme too mature so that you’d question teenagers watching it. This goes back to that actual world but not gritty. So I recommend this for most people, especially if you like fantasy.

Final Thoughts

This is a really enjoyable show. The people I’ve told about it have really liked it as well. The fantasy is just enough different to keep even us big fantasy lovers engaged throughout. And in terms of acting, this is so much better than most YA shows, it’s impressive. So if you want to find some good fantasy, I highly recommend Shadow and Bone.

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WandaVision

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Loki

There are a ton of Marvel shows coming to Disney+ in 2021. The ones that I’m very confident that we’ll get are the three listed above. WandaVision is the one that I’m by far the most excited for. I think that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will have some nice buddy cop vibes. I think Loki jumping through time and working with the Time Variance Authority will be fun. But WandaVision, with Wanda and Vision, and maybe Wanda becoming Scarlet Witch, maybe things to do with mutants, all of those things are really exciting. It also is the most out there of the shows, so I think WandaVision will feel really unique.

The Watch

The Watch is one that I didn’t hear about until late, and normally wouldn’t have caught my attention that much. But basing a show off of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is really interesting. I’m definitely curious to check it out. And BBC America does a really good job with most of their shows, so I have some hopes for it. It’s also nice that I can watch that one without having to get another subscription, as I have so many that I could get.

Mr. Mayor

I liked Ted Danson a lot in A Good Place. And while I generally am concerned about shows that use an actor right after their big success, like this one is, I’m willing to give it a shot. If it can mix the style of humor A Good Place maybe with the feel of Spin City, that could be a lot of fun. Or, this could be a complete train wreck as they try and work a boring or unfunny comedy using Ted Danson’s name, which has happened a lot on television before.

Battlestar Galactica

I didn’t even like the latest version of Battlestar Galactica that well, but it is such as Sci-Fi classic that I’m definitely curious about a reboot of it. Add in that it’s being produced by Sam Esmail who was the creator of the acclaimed series Mr. Robot, I have more hope for this one. I think there should be a lot of interesting things to explore in this series, and I hope it doesn’t feel just like a straight reboot.

The Wheel of Time

It’s not expected to debut in 2021, so I’m excited for it again. I really need to finish the series, but in some ways I have to work through the whole thing again, which is a lot. But I like the cast a lot for this. I think that it’s interesting and diverse, which is not something I was expecting. I also think that like Brandon Sanderson was able to weave together Robert Jordan’s work, this might also tell a tighter narrative. And that’s going to be the key thing, if this tells a nice tight story over several seasons, I think it will be a great show. If not, I expect to watch a few episodes and then be done.

Invincible

Robert Kirkman, best known for being the comic creator of The Walking Dead, also created Invincible. This is a well developed superhero world that has received a lot of acclaim. Anything superhero I’m interested in. And while I don’t know a ton about the Invincible comic, I am very interested in it. And it’s a superhero show that, unlike the Boys, isn’t likely to take a super gritty look at superheroes.

Shadow and Bone

Another series that I don’t know a ton about, but my wife has read the series and really likes it a lot. It’s a fantasy series which always interests me. And the world building, just from a brief synopsis, and magic stand out as interesting. So many fantasy stories reuse what’s already been done and feel derivative, so I hope this won’t become that for Netflix.

The Sandman

I’m generally a Neil Gaiman fan. And The Sandman was one of the first things that I read by him. I want to see what an adaptation of that will look like, because it is a very unique world and setting. This is one of those shows that will either work and be amazing or it’ll be a complete train wreck. I hope that it’s amazing, but I could see it flopping or just doing okay, because people will watch it since it is Neil Gaiman.

The Book of Boba Fett

This one I wouldn’t have been able to say up until a few days ago as the Mandalorian Season 2 wrapped up. I am very interested in any live action Star Wars stuff coming to Disney+. It was fun having Boba Fett back in the Star Wars cannon and actually being useful as compared to normal. Ming-Na Wen is an amazing actress as well, so I am excited to see her in a bigger role, like she had in Agents of SHIELD, but hopefully something that is more consistently better.

Resident Alien

Alan Tudyk stars as an alien in this SyFy channel comedy. I love what Alan Tudyk does. Tucker and Dale vs Evil is one of my favorite films. And I hope that this show is awesome as well. I like comedy shows, and Tudyk does comedy extremely well. But, I’m always a bit concerned about comedy shows because they have to be extremely well written in order to be actually funny. I trust that Tudyk can carry the show, though, so I’m hopeful that it’ll be a good time.

Now that’s a lot. I think there were a lot of shows form 2020 that got pushed out further and pushed out further until they became 2021 shows. And this list is only new shows for 2021, not returning shows. I am going to do a whole list of those as well.

What are you most looking forward to?

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