As the annum comes to an end, we reflect on the various events that ravaged the world. Even with the apparent subsidence of the global pandemic, things are still seemingly getting worse. In that case, nothing but films and series provided a sort of escapism from the banal.
Netflix has released lots of new content over the years, delivering great work across all genres. However, after an economic meltdown at the beginning of 2022 – despite having a hugely successful 2021 – Netflix decided to change its model by introducing ad-supported content and barring password sharing, making the latter illegal in the United Kingdom.
Despite this crisis, the streamer has been consistently producing new Originals and adding seasons to usual fan favourites, namely You, The Umbrella Academy, The Witcher etc.
Grab some popcorn and show some excitement for the best that is yet to come. With a very interesting line-up of Netflix Original shows yet to arrive in 2023, here are eleven such titles that deserve your utmost attention.
The 11 most highly-anticipated Netflix shows in 2023
You season 4 (Sera Gamble, Greg Berlanti)
Joe Goldberg is undoubtedly one of Netflix’s most dangerous and psychotic creations. With a penchant for books, panties and murder, Joe Goldberg terrorized his objects of interest on-screen for three consecutive seasons and is coming back for more.
Joe will now be seen in the United Kingdom and Europe, disguising himself as a Professor and encountering several new characters, most of whom are rich English socialites from Oxford University. Their opulent lives, fueled by substance and tone-deafness, will surely be altered with Joe’s arrival.
The season will premiere in two parts on Netflix, with the first volume streaming on February 10th, 2023, followed by the second on March 10th, 2023.
Bridgerton season 3 (Jess Brownwell)
After Chris Van Dusen ran two successful seasons, Bridgerton now has a new showrunner for the third season. The show is adapted from Julia Quinn’s eponymous novel series, and the third season is based on Quinn’s fourth novel, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, disrupting the chronology. The third season will take a look at Penelope Featherington’s budding relationship with Colin Bridgerton amidst rising murmurs about the identity of Lady Whistledown.
Producer Shonda Rhimes has promised an eight-season run for the show. The third season will star fan favourites like Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Claudia Jesse, Jonathan Bailey, Phoebe Dynevor, Simone Ashley and Florence Hunt, among others.
The premiere date of this season is still yet to be declared, but it should release sometime around Christmas Day like the two previous seasons.
Junji Ito’s Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre (Junji Ito, Shinobu Tagashira)
Jung Ito is a brilliant Japanese mangaka whose potent and grotesque masterfulness of existential anxieties, phobias, terrors and fear of the unknown has been genre-defining and phenomenal. Ito’s specific brand of grotesque horror and the uncanny is surreal and has been adapted many times. This series will contain 20 of Ito’s brilliant and most magnificently horrific works, adapting them into anime. Some of the stories from the collection will be Souichi, Tomie, The Hanging Balloons, and more.
Long-time collaborator Shinobu Tagashira, who has previously animated Ito’s works on-screen, is coming back to add his own touch to the Netflix series. It said, “All the talented animators working on this series are putting in their best effort to animate my stories, so I cannot wait to see how they will take my characters and reimagine them in an eerie, new world.”
The show will premiere on Netflix on January 19th, 20223.
That ‘90s Show (Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, Lindsay Turner, Gregg Mettler)
That ’90s show is a spin-off to the fan-favourite sitcom That ’70s show which already has a massive fanbase. Like its predecessor and as indicated by its name, the Netflix series will pay homage to all things ’90s and reveal the adventures of Eric Forman’s daughter. Forman was one of the main characters in the sitcom.
That ’90s Show is set in 1995 and will most likely be equally wild, as indicated by the tagline that reads, “sex, drugs and rock ’n roll never dies, it just changes clothes”. The show will serve as a reunion for old cast members, namely Kurtwood Smith, Debra Jo Rupp, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama, Ashton Kutcher, Laura Prepon, Topher Grace and Tommy Chong. New cast members include Mace Coronel, Callie Haverda, Ashley Aufderheide, Reyn Doi, Maxwell Acee Donovan, Samantha Morelos etc.
The show will premiere on Netflix on January 19th, 2023.
The Crown season 6 (Peter Morgan)
One of Netflix’s highly coveted and most polarizing shows, The Crown, will come to an end with its sixth and final season. Traditionally revolving around the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the series has showcased several monumental events across the queen’s lifetime besides taking a closer look at scandals and other secrets revolving around the royal family.
After an intense fifth season which saw Prince (now King) Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage hit rock bottom, this ten-episode final season will focus on some of the most horrific events in the early 2000s, including Princess Diana’s tragic demise. Starring Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II for one last time, the series will also star Jonathan Pryce, Elizabeth Debicki, Lesley Manville, Dominic West and Olivia Williams, among others. They will be joined by new actors reprising Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The premiere date of this season is still yet to be declared, but it will begin streaming sometime towards the end of the year.
The Witcher season 3 (Lauren Hissrich)
Much to the chagrin of fans, Henry Cavill is exiting The Witcher universe after the third season. With Liam Hemsworth taking over as Geralt of Rivia, it has created quite a stir in the fandom among those who considered Cavill to be synonymous with the brooding witcher. The third season will pick up from the loose ends of season two and focus on Geralt, Cirri and Yennefer’s battle against various obstacles.
Following the chronology of Andrzej Sapkowski’s books, this season will most likely be based on Time Of Contempt. Besides Cavill, the third season stars Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Joey Batey, MyAnna Buring, Eamon Farren, Anna Shaffer, Mahesh Jadu, Royce Pierreson and many more, besides newcomers Robbie Amell, Meng’er Zhang, Hugh Skinner and Christelle Elwin.
The premiere date of this season is still yet to be declared but should release sometime around summer 2023.
The Umbrella Academy season 4 (Steve Blackman)
Based on Gabriel Ba and Gerard Way’s eponymous graphic novel, this popular Netflix show will come to an end with the fourth and final season. After the Umbrella Academy and the Sparrow Academy team up against the notorious Kugelblitz in season three, fans are excited to see what the fourth season has in store. Talking about possible season four storylines, Blackman said, “I want to pose to the viewer and the fan, ‘Would they be happier without their powers?’ I mean, all they do is complain about being who they are,” before talking about if the group could seemingly be “normal”.
The third season introduced new cast members like Britney Oldford, Jake Epstein, Justin Cornwell, Cazzie David and Genesis Rodriguez, in addition to existing cast members, namely Elliott Page, Aidan Gallagher, Justin H. Min, Robert Sheehan, David Castaneda, Tom Hopper, Colm Feore and more. The upcoming season will have only six episodes instead of ten, said Blackman.
The premiere date of this season is still yet to be declared, but it will begin streaming in mid-2023, as per reports.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Shonda Rhimes, Tom Verica, Betsy Beers)
Queen Charlotte is one of the most popular and revered characters on Bridgerton. This upcoming mini-series is dedicated to this iconic character and will focus on her reign, tracing the life of the young Queen and focusing on her romantic adventures with her husband, besides giving an insight into the lives of young Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton.
Cast members include Gold Rosheuvel, India Ria Amarteifio, Adjoin Andoh, Ruth Gemmell, Sam Clemmett and others. The exclusive clip promises a fun, intriguing and steamy ride which is typical of the Bridgerton-verse.
The premiere date of this new series is still yet to be declared, but many believe that the show will begin airing sometime in May 2023.
Shadow and Bone season 2 (Eric Heisserer)
Based on Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy, which is set in a fictional world of fantasy ravaged by bloody battles, Shadow and Bone are one of Netflix’s most popular fantasy series. Besides familiar faces like Jessie Mei Lei, Ben Barnes and Kit Young, among others making a return, the second season will see a new ensemble, including Patrick Gibson, Jack Wolfe, Lewis Tan and others.
While the showrunners had once expressed interest in making five seasons to do justice to the depth of the narrative, not much is known about how many seasons the series will have in total. The second season will see Barnes more intoxicated by power than ever and promises “political intrigue, bloody battles, flying ships, reunited friends, new countries and a family secret that will shatter all expectations”.
The season will premiere on Netflix on March 16th, 2023.
Never Have I Ever season 4 (Mindy Kaling, Lang Fisher)
Highly popular among fans for its typical Kaling humour, Never Have I Ever has captured hearts with its ditzy protagonist, Devi in the centre whose chaotic crises regarding love, life and academics are hilarious and heartwarming to witness. With the fourth season, the series will come to a close.
Starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Richa Moorjani, Darren Barnet, Poorna Jagannathan, Jaren Lewison, Ramona Young, Lee Rodriguez, John McEnroe and others; the fourth season will also see possible new cast members and focus on Devi’s final years in school and the pressure to get into a good college as she juggles love triangles, peer pressure and more.
The fourth season should premiere sometime in 2023, sticking to its annual release schedule, probably around August.
Vikings: Valhalla season 2 (Jeb Stuart)
After receiving high acclaim for the very first season, fans of Vikings: Valhalla were overjoyed when Netflix renewed it for another two-season run. While the first season focused on the historic Viking Leif Eriksson and his adventures during a socio-political turmoil between the Vikings and the English, the second season will be more gory and intense.
Upon announcing the renewal, Stuart said, “While the storylines for Leif, Freydis, Harald, Olaf, Canute and the rest of our amazing cast are secret, I can say without hesitation that their journeys will be even more epic than what you’ve seen so far. SKÅL!!!” The showrunner has also promised an intense season three.
The second season premieres on January 12th, 2023.
