- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
TIME Magazine named Reservation Dogs the best television show of 2023 along with Succession. The two shows tied for the best slot because TIME's television critic couldn't decide which one was number one.
"For the first time in my career, I just couldn’t decide which of two series—both of which wrapped up nearly flawless runs this year—most brilliantly fulfilled the potential of the TV medium in the year 2023," Berman said.
The series followed the lives of four Native American teenagers living in rural Oklahoma, first premiered in 2021 and was an immediate hit among critics and audiences alike.
In naming Reservation Dogs as the best televison show, TIME Magazine said the following about the show:
"Reservation Dogs, by contrast, never chased the mainstream zeitgeist. Instead of homing in on the 1% of the 1%, Sterlin Harjo’s half-hour dramedy chronicled the hijinks of disenfranchised outsiders: four Native American teens on an Oklahoma reservation mourning a friend who died by suicide. Profane, poignant, and sometimes psychedelic, the series moved fluidly between coming-of-age awkwardness, small-town character comedy, and the spiritual immediacy that comes with growing up with ancient traditions in a place that has seen so many untimely deaths. While the teenage Rez Dogs remained at the show’s center, learning how to become adults from the elders around them, its circle never stopped expanding until it encompassed the entire fictional community of Okern—young and old, present and absent, living and spectral. In its final season, you never knew, going in, what kind of journey an episode was going to take you on. One rode a time machine to the 1970s; another reunited college-bound Elora (Devery Jacobs) with a long-lost father played by Ethan Hawke. A cast blessed with veterans like Zahn McClarnon and Gary Farmer but anchored by newcomers breathed vitality into every frame."
More Stories Like This
Artesian Arts Festival Call for ArtistsHere's What's Going On in Indian Country Dec. 6 — Dec. 12
The Grand Rapids Public Museum Announces Anishinabek: The People of This Place Exhibit Redesign Collaboration
Vanderbilt Honors Mater; Hushtola Art Market Draws Near
NFL and Nike Partner with Native American Athletic Foundation to Host All-Star Game at Cowboys' Ford Center
Can we take a minute to talk about tribal sovereignty?
Sovereignty isn't just a concept – it's the foundation of Native nations' right to govern, protect our lands, and preserve our cultures. Every story we publish strengthens tribal sovereignty.
Unlike mainstream media, we center Indigenous voices and report directly from Native communities. When we cover land rights, water protection, or tribal governance, we're not just sharing news – we're documenting our living history and defending our future.
Our journalism is powered by readers, not shareholders. If you believe in the importance of Native-led media in protecting tribal sovereignty, consider supporting our work today.
Right now, your support goes twice as far. Thanks to a generous $35,000 matching fund, every dollar you give during December 2024 will be doubled to protect sovereignty and amplify Native voices.
No paywalls. No corporate owners. Just independent, Indigenous journalism.