Best TV of 2025
TLDR
Update on the Series
My reviews are shortening, maybe I’m tired of writing! I have been updating the blog elsewhere much more in the past year. I also, would like to find a solution to recommending later seasons of shows. Maybe I’ll limit it only to first seasons? To try introduce new shows to people. I dunno.
Anyway, because I wrote a longer post about Andor, I’m going to give the front image to Death by Lightning, which could use more PR.
Death by Lightning
Historical Drama / 4 Episodes / 47 - 66 minutes each
Netflix (as of December, 2025)
50% about President Garfield and 50% about his assassin.
It is unnervingly relevant these days, while being optimistic and depressing. It’s fictionalized history, but clearly not attempting to be as accurate as other period dramas where I really have to research what is true (e.g. John Adams), but not nearly as liberal as others with almost no historical accuracy (e.g. Gilded Age) so I feel like it’s educational. It found a nice middle ground that I really enjoyed (though still do your research, characters are made more one dimensional for the sake of the short run time and narrative). It’s powerful, devastating, and weirdly funny. The cast is incredible. Michael Shannon, Matthew Macfayden, Nick Offerman, Bradley Whitford, and Betty Gilpin are just top tier. It really demonstrates how some assassins can originate as someone who loved their target, and the mental break of the idol never being able to live up to the fictionalized version twists them.
Quick bulletpoints regarding accuracy:
President Garfield really wrote, “Assassination can no more be guarded against than death by lightning. And it is best not to worry about either one.” And he was more aware, calculated, and widely known than the show depicts him in his rise to the presidency.
James Blaine was not nearly as great as he came off in the show.
Roscoe Conkling was not nearly as evil as he came off in the show. He was a strong advocate for slavery abolition and equal rights and even co-authored the 14th amendment. He was also once offered the chief justice position of the Supreme Court. And his downfall was not nearly as dramatic as the show depicts.
Chester A. Arthur was not nearly as incompetent as he came off in the show. He was a pretty efficient and qualified man, as a school teacher and principal, quartermaster, and attorney. He didn’t have these dramatic epiphanies.
Lucretia Garfield did not actually have that confrontation with Guiteau or Arthur, nor did she run the country during her husband’s demise.
Charles Guiteau did not actually interact as much with all of the politicians as it was depicted in the show. He did meet Arthur and Garfield in passing, and Garfield again once in the White House, but not nearly as much interaction as they dramatized. He also was really at an Oneida free love colony, but in real life he similarly became obsessed with the founder John Humphrey Noyes. Advocating for him and eventually threatened him.
You’ll like it if you liked John Adams, Boardwalk Empire, W., Frost / Nixon, or other US political dramas.
Andor (s2)
Political Drama / 12 Episodes / 42 - 58 minutes each
Disney Plus (as of December, 2025)
4 three episode blocks, each a year of Cassian Andor and a surging Rebellion rising up against an Empire that is nearing total domination.
Does television get better than this? Read my ridiculously long post about it here. And do not get deterred by the Star Wars title. It’s better than Star Wars. This is the new trilogy. Andor, Rogue One, and A New Hope.
You’ll like it if you like science fiction / political dramas like The Expanse or Battlestar Galactica, or more rebellion / anarchy / rebellion shows like Slow Horses, Chernobyl, or Mr. Robot.
Shrinking (s2)
Comedy Drama / 12 Episodes / 29 - 44 minutes each
AppleTV (as of December, 2025)
Jimmy continues his unconventional therapeutic methods as he continues to work through his wife’s passing and raising his teenage daughter.
The cast has come together much better, and the dynamics are way more fun. Less of an emphasis on Jimmy (Jason Segel), and more on the ensemble, this is the epitome of “it takes a village”. Paul, Gaby, and Brian are get much more screen time, as do Sean and Liz. Just great vibes and fun. It hits emotional highs and lows. Go watch and enjoy.
You’ll like it if you liked the first season, Ted Lasso, After Life, Scrubs, or Platonic.
Dying for Sex
Drama / 8 Episodes / 27-35 minutes each
Hulu (as of December, 2025)
This show is inspired by the true story of Molly Kochan, who, after being diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, goes on a journey seeking pleasure and self-discovery, supported by her best friend Nikki.
This is a close the blinds, NSFW show. It gets really raunchy at points, but the real reason you’ll want to watch it alone in private is that you’ll cry. It’s a brutal and painful version of the cancer story. It’s incredibly raw. If you’ve dealt with a close death or fear end of life care, this is going to trigger you. If you need a good cry, the friendship between Jenny Slate and Michelle Williams is a love that will crush you.
You’ll like it if you liked Fleabag, The Big C, Broad City, Dead to Me, or anything else that features a strong female friendship.
Nobody Wants This (s1)
Romantic Comedy / 10 Episodes / 27-34 minutes each
Netflix (as of December, 2025)
A non-Jewish girl and a rabbi start dating.
Veronica Mars and Dave Rygalski (I do know he was in a more famous show than Gilmore Girls, but I never watched it), absolutely crush it. It’s hard to do a rom-coms these days, let alone a tv show, and these two are both just fantastic in it. Nauseatingly beautiful and witty, with just some absolutely great comedy by the entire cast, I found myself binging this show and enjoying the whole ride. It has some great discussion of religion, relationships, family, career, and life in your 30s. The last one in this genre that I enjoyed was Love, featuring Britta and the guy who loves Beth Cooper.
However, I do not recommend season 2, which did come out in 2025, more on that at the end of the article.
You’ll like it if you like Love, Love Life, New Girl, or other rom coms.
Honorable Mentions (Tier 1)
As far as I’m concerned, we’re still in the golden age of television! Here are five more winners:
The American Revolution - This Ken Burns documentary was just stellar. It was in my top 5, but because it’s a lengthy documentary, I’ve moved it here because it obviously isn’t for everyone. Raised in New England, I had gotten plenty of Revolutionary War education, but this was a step above. Really providing far more context and spreading the focus around on many more figures and theaters. Informative, efficient, and thought provoking, it was a beautiful portrait of the ambition of the American experiment and the never-ending striving for a More Perfect Union. This is a must watch for anyone interested in American history.
Hacks (s2) - I’m dropping this into Honorable Mentions only because it’s an older show / season and I’m just late to it. Years of it winning award after award (similar to Veep) I felt like I needed to give it a try. I heavily disliked season 1. But friends urged me to keep watching and I absolutely adored season 2. Our main two characters become far more deeply layered (particularly Ava gets more layered). Starting the show after multiple seasons where it’s clear they found a way to work together made the first season’s main relationship’s ups and downs between Deborah and Ava tiresome. In season 2, the core relationship between Ava and Deborah moves on from will they / won’t they to a much more powerful and meaningful partnership. Add to that, it’s just funnier and the broader cast really steps up and gets better. The season arcs are incredibly rewarding and I highly recommend, although I’m not sure if I will continue. I’d hate to ruin a good thing!
For All Mankind (s4) - another fantastic season. But I won’t harp on this show anymore. Nominating it annually for top five would be unfair… even if it’s true.
Murderbot (s1) - Light hearted hard sci-fi is rare, but this bite sized sitcom finds its own niche in the generally big budget sci-fi epics. Because of that, it feels so much more like our world than typical space shows are. Skarsgard is great in it, as well as the rest of the cast. It looks like a promising start to a franchise.
The Pitt (s1) - I’m technically not finished with this show, but even halfway through, I can tell it’s pretty fantastic. I am not typically a fan of the typical medical drama, but its rave reviews had me intrigued, as well as the structure of it being nearly live, with each episode being one hour of a 15 hour shift. It’s a crazy and messy ER, with just a great cast that you immediately feel a part of. It feels less dramatic than most medical shows, and more real. It’s powerful and fast paced, and both hard to watch and hard to turn off. Weirdly a show where I don’t absolutely hate the commercial breaks (although, it seems like a waste of everyone’s time to just have 100% of the ads just be for HBO Max, unless… the purpose is to just get you to pay for a higher subscription tier…)
I don’t need to write much about this show since most outlets have already raved about it. But it should be mentioned that shows like this remind me to check myself and remember that healthcare is about people, both patients, medical personnel, and providers, and to never overly devolve it into numbers. Being a numbers person and in healthcare operations, I can veer away from what should be a support function, and it’s good from time to time to reevaluate.
Honorable Mentions (Tier 2)
These were highly enjoyable, but not as good as the previous bunch.
Stick (s1) - First half struggled, but the second half paid off. Getting pitched as Ted Lasso for golf was tough for it to overcome. But once the characters settled into their group structure, I found it quite rewarding. Similar to Ted Lasso, it deals with men’s mental health, through a sports lens, with great music, characters, and optimism, and it’s not actually a sports show. Where it really differs is that golf isn’t a team sport. This is a near one-on-one relationship.
I promise that it isn’t a golf show (similar to how Ted Lasso isn’t a soccer show). I don’t like golf, and I found it enjoyable, but there are plenty of references for golf lovers to get an extra kick out of it all.
The Last of Us (s2) - Great, but rudely short, this is disqualified from being in the top 5 because it’s not a complete story arc. Still, there were some absolutely fantastic episodes and scenes. Episode 2 is peak television. I just want more story. 7 episodes is not enough and ending on a cliffhanger is always a surefire way to irk me.
Rick & Morty (s8) - This was a great return to form for R&M. After closing some large overarching messy multi season narratives and struggling for a good rhythm in recent seasons. This season returns to a mostly consistent and good level standalone episodes with cool crazy sci-fi concepts. While it inevitably has fewer viral memes and epically great episodes, it’s still filled with fun and amusing scenarios; meta cameos, and great references and callbacks. At its heart though, Rick and Morty is growing. Becoming less crass and extreme and more mature. Despite them never aging, I feel that they are actually growing positively and that they have more great stories to tell. Episode 10 is one of the better episodes I’ve seen in a long while from the series.
Abbott Elementary (s4) - There are inevitable hiccups, but this is another enjoyable installment of what is a dying breed of great network standard sitcom for the whole family. While all the characters are great again, Ava in particular really rises to the next level. The show does an excellent job of focusing on entertaining and still maintaining relevance in this day and age without being too biased and overly political. The “double” crossover episode with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was a great time.
Creature Commandos (s1) - Cartoons and anime generally are hard for me to get invested in. But this was spectacular. With another smashing success, James Gunn has proven he is a legend at adapting comic books. Taking an absurd group of characters, he builds a show that somehow delivers way too much heart and way too many laughs for what it is. I’m sure I’ll tire of formulaic Guardians of the Galaxy / Suicide Squad / Peacemaker ensembles someday. But that day is not here yet. And I’m all for it.
Peacemaker (s2) - John Cena continues to be an incredibly underrated actor (there’s a moment so powerful I burst into tears, I had never heard a man make that sound before). James Gunn… well see above. This show continues to deliver a powerful message of masculinity and emotional maturity for men. It’s funny and violent, but at its core it’s just about a man learning and growing. I always push for boys and men to consume this sort of content with such positive male role models.
Interior Chinatown - More than a bit of a mess. Read my review here. It’s still ambitious and a good attempt with difficult source material. Worth watching even if it can get tedious and overly meta.
White Lotus (s3) - This show adds another incredible cast, and some absolutely iconic moments. This scripted high budget show is reality tv for people (like myself) who don’t like reality tv (pretend not to). Voyeuristic, but with production value. Sure, the story is a bit boring, random, and frustrating. But I enjoyed the ride. I mean you’re giving me Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, and Parker Posey? Take my money.
Alien: Earth (s1) - This is a sci-fi show set in the Alien universe. Unlike the typical Alien movie, which has basically a simple template that they replicate with slight changes every time, this one attempts to expand the universe. Not by a Prometheus style mythos, but simply taking the original premise and bringing it to Earth. Still staying true to the “Jurassic Park chaos theory” at its core that the corporations will always blindly believe they can control everything. This show holds a mirror to our humanity that doesn’t feel very far fetched, with late stage capitalism ruling us. It suffers a bit, leading to frustration with its pandering “Stranger Things" / Peter Pan / Power Rangers YA vibe, but does focus this take more on the synths which is fun. Showrunner Noah Hawley, “To sustain itself, the show needed to be about something larger and fit the monsters into that larger story.” It does not do as well as its recent film counterpart, Alien: Romulus, in not having stupid decisions being made; it’s absolutely littered with them. At the end of the day it was an entertaining horror sci-fi show, that unfortunately leaves a lot of questions at the end that are disappointing, but generally gives us a worthy addition to the Alien franchise. Also, don’t watch if you have an aversion to bugs, or our future overlords / eventual winners of the impending AI conflict.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off - If you like Scott Pilgrim, this is a must watch. This cartoon alternative reality version features basically all the same actors doing voice overs, and they explore the whole plot again, with different choices and perspectives. It’s really enjoyable. I’ve dropped it to honorable mentions since it feels like a spin off that you must have watched the original to enjoy it fully rather than a standalone story.
Common Side Effects (s1) - I like a lot of what creator Mike Judge makes, in particular Silicon Valley and Idiocracy, and there was a lot of cool concepts in this show, but I felt it landed short and incomplete of a full story. There’s so much more that I want, maybe season 2 will deliver.
The Not So Great List
Marvel: Zombies (s1) - This is a waste of time. Just weird fan fic of lots of crossovers, with played out jokes that have been done a million times in the rest of the MCU / What If… What’s worse is that this isn’t even a complete story. It seems to end on a cliffhanger and was only 4 episodes long. Tell us a full story, not just cartoon action sequences for fun. Skip it until further notice.
Chad Powers (s1) - This isn’t a very good show, but things need to be said about it. As a former Ted Lasso Reddit moderator and superfan, I’m on the lookout for the next one, and this one is weirdly close, but not quite right (Stick is closer, but neither deliver the team / coach dynamic that was so legendary in Richmond). One of the surprising traits of my fellow moderators and myself was that we are all fans of musical theater, and Chad Powers delivers that same thread with just as many songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber in a show about college football as Willie Nelson… It’s fascinating to me that they focus on prosthetics and makeup about the same amount as football. It’s high production quality, with real teams, logos, and stadiums which is great, but suffers with a strange screenplay.
It’s mind boggling to me that they change some of Glen Powell’s face, but keep basically the same hair color? It felt like a dark haired wig would go much further? (though upon further review, it looks like they were trying to emulate the source material, Eli Manning’s undercover disguise) Perry Mattfeld did a wonderful job as Coach Ricky, but the season felt too short at just 6 episodes, just when things were getting good. Her acting and presence with Glen Powell is definitely the most redeemable part of the show. The pieces are there, and I have high hopes for a second season that could really elevate this from awkward and silly to a true redemption arc for an emotionally and psychologically stunted manchild. Oh, and they couldn’t come up with a better name than the Catfish, for a team getting… catfished?
What’s the end game here? At some point… people will figure this out? Vegas gambling isn’t exactly gonna let his weird backstory lies keep going. I’m not sure where it’s going but I feel like there’s a spark of chemistry between Perry and Glen, and I’ll keep going for it. Also justice for Gerry Dougan, he deserves better.
Nobody Wants This (s2) - So I put the first season in the top 5 and was so excited for season 2, but something has gone dreadfully wrong and they’ve weirdly earned their title. It unravels what was a great ending to season 1 for no reason other than the sake of drama and dragging out the show. Noah and Joanne seem to have lost their charm that made season 1 nauseating to watch because their chemistry was so good it was annoying. In this season they’re just both annoying. They seem to have forgotten how to communicate, how to have fun, and how to love each other. Also, they just don’t really address how his new workplace, Temple Ahava, isn’t working out… There’s a lot in that plot point, and they just never address it.
In a positive move, the second season refocuses the show away from just the main relationship and becomes more ensemble focused, with core arcs for Morgan / Andy and Esther / Sasha, but never quite fully commits to letting them be main characters. Morgan’s relationship is half baked and obviously filled with red flags and the latter feels like they left out key scenes and the motivations of both of them is confusing. Some episodes they’re incredibly in sync, in others they’re on the verge of divorce and we’re left wondering what happened off screen? Also, their daughter is inexplicably missing for every episode except one brief cameo? Which is odd. Their drama feels real and heavy, and they just don’t get enough screen time and motivation to make it land as well as it could. Sasha is also the best part of the show at this point. Further exploring their genuine platonic male-female relationship between him and Morgan would also have been a better story as well.
My fix would have been to allow Noah / Joanne to grow and progress as a couple with the main conflict being not getting the senior rabbi position at his temple. Allow Morgan and Sasha to really deal with their friendship and relationships. Morgan rushing in with someone new and Sasha / Esther with the ramifications years later of that initial rush. I’m still annoyed that their relationship whiplashes from happy to sad from episode to episode without much warning.
Chief of War (s1) - It started really promising. The premise is excellent, it’s well made and acted, but it doesn’t do enough plot wise in its runtime (nine 45+ minute episodes). I may be a bit cruel, but it leaned too far into being overly violent and appalling rather than being a dramatized efficient retelling of lesser known history. There are so many real historical figures and plot points that actually happened, it only made me more disappointed that it wasn’t done well enough. Half way through they start vamping and just stalling the plot for not really any good reason. They clearly have plans to drag this out for a few seasons, and it probably would have been better off as a miniseries, but perhaps that wouldn’t have justified the production cost. I’ll consider watching a second season, perhaps I’m being too critical, I just can’t find myself to recommend it to anyone or say I enjoyed the whole season.
Only Murders in the Building (s5) - It may be time to put this show to bed. Tea Leoni and her sons were fun comic relief, and the (main celebrity cameos of this season) three billionaires were enjoyable (particularly any time they called Ellen Pompeo a Home Decor Witch or Christoph Waltz just being an unrelatable weirdo), but the pros kind of end there. The show has gotten too formulaic, that we’ve started falling asleep more often knowing that the episode’s contents aren’t important. The plots are getting more ridiculous and that stupid futuristic robot was a weird addition. The worst offense was a strange knack for continually having our protagonists spend episode(s) solving clues and discovering new ones, only for it to be revealed minutes later through a sheer accident anyway. Two examples come to mind right now. 1. They spend an episode trying to hunt down the doorman who is MIA, and they figure out he’s in the building, only for the robot seconds later to simply tell them, he’s in the building. 2. The underground casino is both the best and worst kept secret in the building? At points it seems like everyone knows and no one knows it’s there. The reveal of it and the billionaires are supposed to be a big deal, but Thea gets an invite plus three randomly and they all just go anyway? Like what is the point of their effort, if things just land in their lap?
Y Axis are their ranks, X Axis is when I finished them, size of the bubble is my enjoyment, colors are irrelevant and random.
List of shows I watched in 2025:
Shrinking (s2)
Day of the Jackal (s1)
Dune: Prophecy (s1)
The Buccaneers (s1)
Abbott Elementary (s4)
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (s5)
Creature Commandos (s1)
Interior Chinatown
Justified (s3)
For All Mankind (s4)
Better Things (s2)
White Lotus (s3)
Reacher (s3)
Northern Exposure (s3)
Mythic Quest (s4)
Daredevil: Born Again (s1)
Nathan for You (s1)
Ripley
Welcome to Wrexham (s4)
Andor (s2)
The Last of Us (s2)
Poker Face (s2)
Nathan for You (s2)
Murderbot (s1)
Squid Game (s2)
Stick (s1)
Squid Game (s3)
Taskmaster (s19)
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (s17)
Rick and Morty (s8)
What If... (s3)
The Bear (s4)
Righteous Gemstones (s3)
Severance (s2)
Side Quest
Nobody Wants This (s1)
Black Mirror (s7)
The Paper (s1)
Hacks (s1)
Sex and the City (s5)
Peacemaker (s2)
Alien: Earth (s1)
Marvel: Zombies (s1)
Foundation (s3)
Sex and the City (s6)
Hacks (s2)
Arcane (s2)
Your Friends and Neighbors (s1)
Haunted Hotel
Death by Lightning
Abbott Elementary (s5)
Gilded Age (s3)
Dying for Sex
Chad Powers (s1)
A Man on the Inside (s2)
Chief of War (s1)
Only Murders in the Building (s5)
The American Revolution
The Rehearsal (s1)
Common Side Effects (s1)
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Taboo (s1)
Nobody Wants This (s2)