2023 was a year that had a slightly better beginning than its predecessor. However, it would be wrong to not account for global events. From the Palestinian genocide to the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the earthquakes in Turkey and Afghanistan, the catastrophes that unfolded resulted in many viewers switching from conventional streaming mediums to social media.

A strike by Hollywood screenwriters grabbed headlines. They had a valid point. As AI tools such as Chat GPT took the internet by storm, jobs related to content writing were directly threatened.

One can say therefore that an interplay of cultural, political, individual and organisational narratives was a key factor contributing to the content being watched. An example of this was how Palestinian movies and TV series had entire families glued to the screen as they began watching history. Born in Gaza and Farha were among the leading Netflix streams.

Yet, it was not all politics. 2023 was an interesting year for viewers from diverse backgrounds, religions and ethnicities. What do they have in common? Captions and subtitles. People raced to watch shows such as Troll, Muted, The Glory, Daily Dose of Sunshine and re-runs of Money Heist, All of Us Are Dead, Ruido, Dear Child, Elite and Squid Game. There was no shortage of English series such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3, Citadel, Shrinking, Kaleidoscope, How I Met Your Father, Manifest, Night Court, That ‘90s Show, Anatomy of a Scandal, The Night Agent and The Strays to name a few.

Content-wise 2023 addressed fiction more than it addressed reality. If large numbers of Western viewers were unaware of the global sociocultural and political catastrophes, the filmmakers followed close behind. A return to exploring cascades of unresolved heists, missing aircraft and ships was suddenly the trend. It was ironic how major streaming platforms kept the entertainment focused on the past to divert attention away from the global catastrophe of the year.

2023 was a year that spiritually awakened many people globally. It also marked resulted a shift in what viewers want to direct their attention to. A perfect blend of global media industries was seen. However, unbiased and truthful representation of Muslims was missing from the screens. This is an issue requiring attention of those capable of making changes.

For fictitious content, the year wasn’t too bad. However, the viewers did not get to see the best work of screenwriters, directors and actors either; humdrum if one were to put a sign on it. Comedies like Never Have I Ever and Ginny and Georgia and thrillers such as You, both fan-favourites, remained popular throughout the year. Spin-offs were the cream of the releases. Some shows that broke with the conventional norms for storyllines e.g. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, The Lying Life of Adults, Velma and Nine Perfect Strangers also made the cut on the charts. The biggest on-screen drama, however, had the cinemas flooded with black and pink; Oppenheimer and Barbie.

The year did not disappoint though. It would be unjust not to emphasise that Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and Disney+, even FOX and NBC, had excellent options for viewers to scroll, shortlist and select from. It was not as if there were only a few top series or movies in a season.

The end of the year is the right time to sit and watch a few new releases or cosy up to tune into some re-runs. A blend of mainstream and ritualistic age-old shows such as Gilmore Girls, Virgin River Season 5, Family Switch, Maestro, Reacher, Emily in Paris, The Great British Baking Show Season 6, The Claus Family 3, Christmas as Usual, The Crown, Raffa, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Such Brave Girls maybe just thing for some. For the winter break, it is best to have one’s ‘to-be-watched list’ close at hand.

It is hard to predict at this point the kind of shows and series and themes and plotlines that will be the highlighting feature of 2024. For now, the Christmas season has Hollywood in a loop as all platforms are eager to perform a miracle that will add new audience accounts.

The writer is an undergraduate student of psychology at FC College, Lahore