A brand new show from the creator of Breaking Bad, an Alien series, the return of The Last of Us, Andor and more were things to be excited about in the realm of TV in 2025.
Here are our picks for the Top 30 Must-Watch Series released in 2025.
30.) The Last of Us: Season 2
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Adapting the divisive Last of Us Part II was always going to be a challenge, but Craig Mazin and his team have managed to do the source material justice by not shying away from some of the game’s most shocking moments. New fans to the franchise came to love and hate new characters and enjoy fan-favourite moments for the first time, while those who had played the game thoroughly enjoyed watching their reactions to the show’s biggest moments.
-Ashley
29.) Game Changer: Season 7
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Chaos, creativity, and pure joy continue to drive this game show to new heights. Game Changer’s 7th season might just be its best one yet, with the show taking some of its biggest swings creatively and from a production standpoint. I have found myself coming back to episodes constantly as the team at Dropout seems to be able to lift my spirits like few others.
-Ashley
28.) Zero Day
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Maybe years ago, a series like Zero Day may have felt silly, but dragging an ex-President out to solve a massive and potentially terrorist attack on the United States, and discovering just how deep and intertwined the rabbit hole goes, feels oddly possible. And the series, for any absurdities or issues I had with it, were often thwarted by Robert De Niro’s performance in his first limited series.
-Dylan
27.) Win or Lose
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Pixar once again flexes its creative muscles with this series about a softball team, told from the perspectives of a different character each episode, the week before the championship game. Win or Lose explores many of the different feelings and experiences we’ve all had when we were younger, like anxiety, family relationships and first love, all in a unique and visually interesting way. It is quietly one of the year’s most thoughtful animated releases.
-Ashley
26.) Smoke
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Atmosphere and unease do the heavy lifting in this slow-burning crime drama, which follows an arson investigator and a police detective as they team up to catch two different arsonists. Smoke prioritises mood and character over easy answers, creating a lingering sense of dread that seeps into every episode.
-Ashley
25.) Revival
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There’s a slow burn to Revival, which has plenty of cards close to its chest for its premiere season, and that’s okay because it gives plenty of time to introduce our core group of characters with the time they deserve, while also building the necessary mythology for a series in which the dead have come back to life.
-Dylan
24.) MobLand
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MobLand plays in familiar territory while offering a modern twist and some larger-than-life performances paired up against Tom Hardy, playing everything rather straight. The premiere season keeps you wondering if anything will ever blow up, or if they’re just talking smoke up each other’s asses, until it does in a big way that sets up a second season to be a big one.
-Dylan
23.) Silo: Season 2
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Isolation, control, and truth once again take centre stage as mysteries deepen and loyalties fracture. Silo expands its world in its second season but keeps its tension high as even more questions arise in this Rebecca Ferguson-led sci-fi drama.
-Ashley
22.) Long Story Short
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One of the more unique animated series of 2025 was Long Story Short, which didn’t use a traditional narrative structure; instead, it jumped around to different periods of characters’ lives, giving us the story beats in a way that felt like someone was telling you their life story. In that regard, it felt rather personal. It’s also very funny and features some ridiculous family drama that everyone can relate to, at least on a smaller scale.
-Dylan
21.) Stick
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What begins as a deceptively light character piece starring Owen Wilson evolves into a series about failure and reinvention. While certainly a comedy, Stick isn’t afraid to paint with some of the darker colours in this story about second chances and moving on that really exceeded expectations.
-Ashley
20.) Yellowjackets: Season 3
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It’s been confirmed that the next season of Yellowjackets will be the last one, so this penultimate season had to get a lot of things moving, and it did that, while also continuing to open intriguing new snippets of lore and mythology. How it will all pay off in the final season, I really don’t know, but I’m continuing to enjoy this ride. In this season, there were more deaths than ever, secrets unraveling, and things in the past and present all moving towards a big blow-up.
-Dylan
19.) South Park Season 27 & Season 28
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South Park returned with two new seasons in 2025, and each hit with the razor-sharp humour that the series is known for, this time squarely pointed, deservingly, at the White House.
-Dylan
18.) Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney
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The live nature of this Netflix series is unique, and the show, with its more natural flow, delivers a satisfying old-school talk-show vibe. John Mulaney makes for a great host within this structure, able to flow with a diverse assortment of guests.
-Dylan
17.) Dept. Q
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Dept. Q was a surprising new series to hit Netflix in 2025 that delivered the best slow-burning European mystery that I need to hit just right for me every year. The cast is all great, and the payoff to how the mystery comes together was well worth the journey. And I’m excited to find out there’s several books’ worth of material for more seasons to follow through on.
-Dylan
16.) Murderbot
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Dry wit and existential dread define this sci-fi adaptation about a security robot who has bypassed its programming and acquired autonomy which it needs to hide from those it is currently protecting. Murderbot captures the strange humanity of Alexander Skarsgard’s character while also dealing with a crazy cast of characters who constantly put themselves in dangerous situations.
-Ashley
15.) Daredevil: Born Again
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7 years later, Daredevil returns in this revival series that starts with an earthshattering bang before slowly rebuilding the world. The show takes a patient, character-first approach as we follow the stories of Matt Murdoch and Wilson Fisk, which makes it all the more impactful when the brutal violence finally kicks off.
-Ashley
14.) The Bear: Season 4
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After a divisive third season, The Bear returns to good form with its fourth season, which sees Carmy tackle some of his personal demons and compromise on his vision while the staff of The Bear work to keep the restaurant in the black. The show continues to succeed at turning everyday pressure into gripping television while also delivering some of the most heartfelt moments of the year.
-Ashley
13.) Slow Horses: Season 5
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Slow Horses’ fifth season continues to provide a perfect balance of humour and tension, using messy characters and bureaucratic failures to tell an espionage story that feels both thrilling and darkly hilarious. With newfound levels of incompetence and Gary Oldman continuing to deliver his unique brand of sharp British cynicism, this show remains one of the best spy shows being made.
-Ashley
12.) Peacemaker: Season 2
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Violence, trauma, and dark comedy collide as this series doubles down on its most chaotic instincts. Peacemaker balances outrageous humour with surprising emotional depth, allowing unexpected character growth to emerge from beneath all the explosions, crudeness and needledrops.
-Ashley
11.) The Pitt
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Told in real time, The Pitt gives a realistic look at the hardships of those working on the frontlines of the healthcare industry, following the staff of an emergency room for an entire shift. Incredibly written as cases and storylines playout of the course of several episodes, The Pitt reminded us all how great a medical drama can be and has become appointment television.
-Ashley
10.) The Chair Company
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There’s an angle of The Chair Company being an absurdist comedy that everything else it’s doing can easily be swept away or missed. But it’s a surprisingly smart show that uses the usual workplace comedy shtick to build a corporate social commentary that’s almost too smart for its own good.
-Dylan
9.) IT: Welcome to Derry
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I really wasn’t sure about an IT TV series, but boy was I proven wrong with IT: Welcome to Derry. The series manages to expand on the IT mythology in meaningful ways, without it all being about how we’ll eventually get to the films. Expanding on characters and scenes in the book, and building a full season around them, worked out wonderfully, and the themes of hatred building within the small town are still here, still what feeds the creature, and they build up to some massive moments that feel darker than what was seen in the films.
-Dylan
8.) The White Lotus: Season 3
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Every season of The White Lotus has continued to surprise in how Mike White can write such interesting and flawed characters across different hotels, and in how the themes and subtle style changes under his direction differ each season.
With the third season, we get another stellar cast, including Walton Goggins, Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, and more. There’s plenty of new memorable moments and lines, and the absence of Jennifer Coolidge after her appearance in the first two seasons wasn’t as hard to miss as I thought it might be.
-Dylan
7.) The Day of the Jackal
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The Day of the Jackal is an updated take on a classic novel, modernised in a way that feels perfect for the current time, while keeping the book’s core elements and characters alive. Each episode is thrilling, and the tension builds season-long until a cliffhanger ending that has me eagerly anticipating how the show will return and how.
-Dylan
6.) The Rehearsal: Season 2
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I have no idea how so many ideas and scenes came together in the second season of The Rehearsal. The first season was its own kind of special, but the second season somehow manages to achieve both ridiculous humor and awkward moments in spades while critiquing the flying community and the lack of communication and support given to them, in a way I have never seen before. And how does this season’s final finish? Insane, the most draw-dropping minutes of television I’ve watched this year.
-Dylan
5.) Alien: Earth
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An Alien series was an interesting idea that I assumed wouldn’t work until I watched it myself. Instead of hiding the Alien for half the season, it’s there right from the moment it goes. Instead of relying on nostalgia and references to the other films, it builds its own mythology and world on a planet we haven’t seen in this franchise before, Earth. Yes, it’s a horror series in the same way the films are, but it’s also wholly focused on exploring ideas of humanity, corporate identity, and more.
-Dylan
4.) The Studio
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A razor-sharp satire of Hollywood, this comedy thrives on fast dialogue, awkward power dynamics, and painfully recognisable industry absurdities while also being one of the most interestingly shot shows airing this year. The Studio is a true delight as it gives an inside-baseball look at the world of filmmaking with a fantastic core ensemble and featuring a stack of incredible cameos.
-Ashley
3.) Adolescence
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One of the most powerful series of 2025 is centred, if indirectly, on the type of content that interests and how it’s raising the next generation of boys into men full of hatred. Each episode is played out in real time, shot with either frenetic energy or contained pacing, and featuring stellar performances all around. It can be a tough watch, but it’s one that feels integral to our society in 2025.
-Dylan
2.) Pluribus
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Vince Gilligan’s first show outside the Breaking Bad world was always going to be an interesting one, and instead of doing anything that felt at all similar, he has instead crafted a sci-fi series that is very ambitious with some big ideas to explore, and one that challenges its audience and rewards those willing to pay attention and come for the long haul. As is the case with his previous projects, however, the characters are at the forefront, and bringing Rhea Seehorn across from Better Call Saul to star in this series was a perfect decision, as she’s phenomenal in it.
-Dylan
1.) Andor: Season 2
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The wait was worth it. Andor returned and delivered an incredible season of television that truly showcased the cost and effort needed to fight against one’s oppressors, as it depicts the growing pains of the Rebel Alliance and the last few years before Cassian Andor’s role in Rogue One. An incredible feat of writing with many beautiful scenes and monologues, delivered by a fantastic cast who have made this series something truly special. Andor is the best Star Wars media that Disney has made to date.
– Ashley
Find all of Explosion Network’s Best of 2025 coverage right here, and be sure to let us know your thoughts on any of our lists in the comments section.
