Top 10 Favorite TV Shows of 2025

Every year there are a handful of shows that I enjoyed the hell out of watching, and 2025 delivered in a big way. This was a year where television felt daring, emotionally charged, and confident in its storytelling.

These series didn’t just entertain me, they pulled me in, challenged me, and in more than a few cases left me wrecked. Below are my ten favorite TV shows of the year and why each one earned a permanent spot in my head and heart.

1. The Studio (Apple TV+)

The Studio was exactly the kind of show I didn’t realize I needed this year. It’s sharp, self-aware, and effortlessly funny without feeling smug. I actually watched the whole series twice in a row.

The series peels back the chaos of Hollywood while still finding heart in its characters’ desperation and delusions. Seth Rogen, Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, and Chase Sui Wonders form an incredible ensemble that turns industry absurdity into something strangely relatable.

The cameos are playful, the writing is freakin’ great, and the show never loses sight of the fact that making entertainment is messy and ridiculous. It’s a blast and a perfect antidote to heavier prestige fare.

2. Andor (Disney+)

I didn’t think Andor could top its first season, and I was very happy to be wrong. Tony Gilroy takes the foundation he laid and builds something even richer and more devastating. This final chapter tracks the slow, painful construction of rebellion, showing how idealism fractures under pressure and compromise.

Diego Luna gives Cassian a quiet gravity that makes every choice feel costly, while performances from Stellan Skarsgård and Genevieve O’Reilly deepen the political and emotional stakes.

It treats its audience like adults and trusts them to sit with complexity. By the time it connects to Rogue One, it feels tragic, inevitable, and I was completely engulfed in the story. This isn’t just great Star Wars. It’s great television.

3. It: Welcome to Derry (HBO)

As someone who’s always been fascinated by Pennywise and the history of Derry, this series hit me hard. It: Welcome to Derry fully commits to the darkness of its world while grounding the horror in real emotional pain.

The characters are layered and unpredictable, and once the story gains momentum, it doesn’t let go. I found myself genuinely caring about these people, which made the inevitable cruelty hurt even more.

Bill Skarsgård is terrifying, expanding Pennywise into something ancient and unsettling while still finding new ways to surprise. The final stretch of episodes wrecked me emotionally, and that weight makes the horror land harder. This show completely blew me away.

4. Adolescence (Netflix)

Nothing blindsided me this year quite like Adolescence. This four-part series grabbed the cultural conversation for a reason. It’s devastating, uncomfortable, and impossible to ignore. Owen Cooper delivers one of the most powerful young performances I’ve ever seen, grounding the story in painful authenticity.

Written by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, the show confronts toxic masculinity and online radicalization head-on without falling into easy answers. The one-shot structure removes any emotional escape, forcing you to sit inside the discomfort. It doesn’t feel manipulative, it feels honest. By the end, I was shaken and grateful that a show like this exists.

5. Pluribus (Apple TV+)

Pluribus felt like a dare to its audience, and I loved it for that. Vince Gilligan crafts a strange, thoughtful sci-fi story that refuses to over-explain itself. Rhea Seehorn is fantastic as Carol, a woman surrounded by a world that’s lost its mind while she just wants peace.

The slower pace isn’t a flaw, it’s the point. The show asks you to lean in, pay attention, and sit with discomfort. In a landscape full of hand-holding storytelling, Pluribus trusts its viewers, and that confidence makes it feel special.

6. The Pitt (HBO Max)

The Pitt grabbed me with its real-time structure and never let go. Following one brutal 15-hour ER shift was an inspired choice that gave the series relentless momentum.

Noah Wyle anchors the show with a grounded, weary performance that reflects the reality of post-pandemic healthcare. What really impressed me was how strong the ensemble is, giving actors like Katherine LaNasa the spotlight they deserve while introducing exciting new talent like Supriya Ganesh and Patrick Ball.

The show strips away glamour and focuses on exhaustion, empathy, and survival. It feels old-school in the best way and deeply relevant.

7. Alien: Earth (FX on Hulu)

Alien: Earth surprised me right out of the gate. Noah Hawley approaches the franchise with patience and confidence, letting tension build slowly while exploring big ideas about identity, power, and free will.

The dual storylines slowly interlock like a brutal puzzle, and the result is gripping and often terrifying. I loved how philosophical conversations can suddenly give way to pure horror without warning.

The needle drops add an aggressive edge that makes the show feel dangerous and alive. This series understands Alien at its core and uses the long-form format to let its characters evolve in unsettling ways. By the end of the season, it left me stunned.

8. Platonic (Apple TV+)

Platonic Season 2 kept its chaotic energy while finding sharper emotional footing. The comedy still goes big and absurd, but what really stuck with me was its honest look at adulthood and working motherhood.

Rose Byrne is incredible, shifting effortlessly between dry humor and full-blown meltdown, while Seth Rogen continues to be the perfect comedic counterbalance. The show captures that isolating feeling of being slightly out of sync with the world around you, and it does it with heart and bite. It’s hilarious, relatable, and smarter than it lets on.

9. The Bear (FX on Hulu)

The Bear Season 4 hit me in a way few shows manage to do this deep into a run. Christopher Storer continues to explore the chaos of ambition and self-destruction, but this time with a surprising amount of warmth.

Watching Carmy and the crew try to repair themselves alongside the restaurant felt earned after everything they’ve been through. It isn’t perfect, and it doesn’t try to be. That messy sincerity is exactly why it works.

The love for Chicago, food, and chosen family bleeds through every episode, and Jeremy Allen White and the rest of the cast give performances that feel raw and generous. It’s sentimental, insanely stressful, and strangely comforting all at once.

10. Severance (Apple TV+)

Following that first season finale was a near-impossible task, and somehow Severance didn’t just meet expectations, it twisted them. The second season digs deeper into the emotional cost of splitting a human being in two, and the result is unsettling in all the right ways.

The love stories are complicated, the horror is sharper, and the show feels more confident in how strange it’s willing to get. Gwendoline Christie delivers an incredibly interesting performance that still hasn’t left my brain.

What I love most is how the series balances style and substance, creating a world that feels fully formed while constantly pulling the rug out from under you. It’s smart, unsettling, and endlessly compelling.

These shows made 2025 an incredible year for television. Each one took risks, respected its audience, and reminded me why I enjoy this medium so much.