The 21 Best TV Shows of 2025 (So Far)

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5 days ago

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When my colleague Josh Rosenberg and I updated this list in the spring, we couldn't shut up about how floored we were by 2025's initial TV efforts. Right off the bat, the small screen smothered us with future Emmy contenders: The Pitt, Paradise, The Studio, The Last of Us, The White Lotus, and Severance. Insane, right? In 2024, I would've been entirely satisfied if those were the only top-tier shows we saw all year.
Turns out, it was time for a heat check. As soon as we published our update in April, the TV calendar slowed down to a screeching halt. Save for a few (also exceptional) shows that you'll see below—Andor, The Rehearsal, and The Bear, mainly—it's been a quiet summer for TV fans. Thankfully, we're staring down a loaded fall TV season, which will include another Pennsylvania-set throwdown from the Mare of Eastown creator (Task), the prestige sci-fi series we've been waiting for (Alien: Earth), and a long-awaited spin-off of The Office (The Paper).
But let's not get too ahead of ourselves. For now, here are the best TV shows of the year so far.Andor
Over two months since Andor aired its series finale, I'm still in awe of how creator Tony Gilroy and co. managed to land such a searing political statement on Mickey Mouse's streaming service. In season 1, the prequel to 2016's Rogue One established itself as the best thing a Star Wars-branded anything has done since, well... Rogue One. But its Andor's second and (criminally)final season that cemented its legend. Gilroy pulled off too many triumphs to list here, but chief among them is an achingly relevant takedown of authoritarianism—and cowardly, power-hungry leaders. And the fact that Diego Luna was not nominated for an Emmy for his work in Andor? It's a shame.—Brady Langmann
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See the original post on YoutubeThe Rehearsal
It's no secret that Nathan Fielder's brand of comedy isn't for everyone. It's a brutal fact that haunts the comedian himself, despite his genius writing. So, it's entirely understandable that his HBO comedy series aims to help people rehearse important moments in their lives so that they seem less awkward when the big day arrives. In season 2, Fielder sets his sights on solving problems in the airline industry—specifically, communication between pilots before a crash. As with everything Fielder explores, this niche issue becomes a metaphor for humanity's failure to effectively communicate in any setting in the world. Add in a dash of Evanescence needle drops and Sully Sullenberger puppets and you have one of the most essential comedies on TV.—Josh Rosenberg
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See the original post on YoutubeAmerica's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
We're officially living in the age of Peak Sports Documentary—but that doesn't mean all of them are good. In fact, most of them are... well, not good. Allow me to cleanse your palate with America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which (aside from the phenomenal direction of Greg Whiteley, whom you'll hear more about below) which does far more than chronicle the life and times of the NFL performers. Season 2 of the docuseries is a portrait of friendship, young adulthood, and what it means to stand up to an institution to reap what you're worth. Also, "Thunderstruck" still rocks. —B.L.
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See the original post on YoutubeThe Bear
After The Bear filled season 3 with celebrity cameos and drawn-out performances that led to a 'To Be Continued…' cliff-hanger, season 4 remembered what made The Bear work in the first place. The Bear isn't just about the restaurant; it's about the people who work there—especially Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White). So, season 4 finally explores the consequences of Carmy's breakdown at the end of season 2, and how his changed perspective will affect the restaurant moving forward. It culminates in a brilliant finale that just might set up the end of the series as we know it. —J.R.
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Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, and Helen Mirren lead this mob drama for Paramount+ about a London crime family who are in way over their heads. Brosnan and Mirren play the batshit and highly entertaining leaders of the Harrigan family, while Hardy acts as the fixer called in clean-up the problem after they muck it up. It's a hard job, especially because the Harrigans can create quite the mess. Is MobLand's plot a little nutty? Sure. Is it full of powerhouse performances from A-listers who feel like they don't belong in a show called MobLand? You bet. —J.R.
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See the original post on YoutubeOvercompensating
There's only been a few TV show pitches from TikTok creators that actually pan out—and Overcompensating, starring celebrity impressionist Benito Skinner, is by far the best yet. The Prime Video comedy series follows a closeted former high school football star who goes off to college and attempts to emulate the straight and cis males at his new school. Of course, they're overcompensating to impress their toxic peers as well. Overcompensating smartly displays a vicious cycle where everyone is hiding their true selves and acting out just to fit in. —J.R.
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See the original post on YoutubeThe Pitt
If you forced me to declare the best show of the year right now, The Pitt and Severance are my 1A and 1B. Who has the edge? The Pitt, if only because I don't want to live in a world where we don't have The Pitt. Out of what felt like nowhere, The Pitt gave us 15 episodes depicting one 15-hour shift at a Pittsburgh hospital, with no music and at least a dozen performances worth shouting out. The commitment of The Pitt's creative team—including ER veteran Noah Wyle—to maintaining medical accuracy while tackling what feels like all of America's problems at once? I truly can't find words for it. Wyle deserves the Emmy. —B.L.
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See the original post on YoutubeSeverance
There's so much to love—admire, really—about what Severance pulled off in its sophomore effort. (And I mean that. My recaps this season went well past 2,500 words each.) For its shout-out here, I just want to say how damn well written season 2 is. Season 1 lobbed up a wild amount of characters, storylines, and mysteries for its next batch of episodes to deal with. Somehow Severance was not only bold enough to answer so many of its biggest questions, but it did so in a way that somehow satisfied just about all of its rabid fans. And while I'll give The Pitt my best-of-the-year crown for now, Severance has the greatest episode of the year in the Jessica Lee Gagné–directed 'Chikhai Bardo.' —B.L.
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See the original post on YoutubeAmerican Primeval
American Primeval asks the question: What is the worst time to live in American history? Director Peter Berg decided on the Utah War of 1857—and after watching all six episodes, it's hard to say he wasn't dead-on. The limited series on Netflix starring Taylor Kitsch and Betty Gilpin is violent, dark, and unforgiving. It's also one of the most entertaining (and contained!) tales of the old West that I've seen on TV today. And I've watched a lot of Yellowstone. —J.R.
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See the original post on YoutubeThe White Lotus
My (occasional!) frustration with this season of The White Lotus is well-documented. Still, a down year for series creator Mike White is much better than the rest of 2025's slate. In season 3's jaunt to Thailand, White explored themes of spirituality, violence, generational trauma, and the depths of the North Carolina accent. Not every character's arc resonated this time around, but as usual, a stellar ensemble cast—Parker Posey, Carrie Coon, and Aimee Lou Wood are easily this season's MVPs—made for genuine appointment viewing. And I doubt that will change when season 4 rolls around. —B.L.
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See the original post on YoutubeParadise
Looking for twists? Every episode of Paradise ends in the cliff-hanger of the decade. Let me give you an example. The president of the United States (James Marsden) is assassinated in the first episode, and that isn't even the most exciting thing that happens over the course of the series. No, the real kicker is that Special Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) and the entire town of Paradise lives in a man-made bunker deep in the Colorado mountains because a cataclysmic event occurred on Earth's surface. Created by Dan Fogelman (This Is Us), Paradise is a campy, wild ride that makes for excellent popcorn TV. —J.R.
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See the original post on YoutubeThe Last of Us
The Last of Us broke a Hollywood curse during its first season. The postapocalyptic drama starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey was the first series to successfully adapt a video game to the screen with near universal critical acclaim. Sure, it helps that The Last of Us's source material is basically an interactive movie. But Chernobyl director Craig Mazin and the game's creator, Neil Druckmann, still managed to pull off an incredible feat. As they look to expand the story by adapting the second game over (potentially) three more seasons, it looks like Mazin and Co. have achieved the impossible yet again. —J.R.
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See the original post on YoutubeHacks
In its fourth season, Hacks could've simply repeated the hits—meaning, some light bickering between Ava (Hannah Einbinder) and Deborah (Jean Smart) leading to a happy, feel-good crescendo. But Hacks is too smart for that. Instead, just at the point when many long-running comedies slow down and fade away, Hacks dials up Ava and Deborah's hostility into a this-is-almost-not-funny-anymore place. Einbinder's and Smart's performances only deepen and grow more complex—and outright exciting—because of it. Also, Meg Statler and Paul W. Downs remain national treasures. —B.L.
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See the original post on YoutubeYour Friends & Neighbors
Jon Hamm playing a rich dude with rich-dude problems? It should not only sound familiar but also better make you proceed past your Apple TV+'s free trial post-Severance. At times, Your Friends and Neighbors feels like someone smashed all of the top Apple TV+ series into one—the gooeyness of Ted Lasso, the divorced-dad antics of Shrinking, and the A-list bona fides of The Morning Show. Somehow, it works. Most of that, admittedly, is an unsurprisingly stellar performance from Hamm. —B.L.
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See the original post on Youtube1923
Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan took on his most ambitious project yet with his limited-series prequel 1923. Starring Brandon Sklenar, Harrison Ford, and Helen Mirren, the period western told the story of the Dutton family in circa-1920s Montana with epic gunfights, long treks across America, and bitterly cold winters. I'd be lying to you if I didn't say it was one my most anticipated shows of the year. Thankfully, Sheridan delivered with an epic two-hour finale that ranks among some of his best work yet. —J.R.
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See the original post on YoutubeThe Studio
When I finished The Studio, I ran to a meeting and loudly (slash obnoxiously) declared it the best comedy of the streaming era. In the moment, it felt like a take I'd back down from later, but... it hasn't at all. Seth Rogen nails his takedown of modern Hollywood in a way only Seth Rogen can—with love, affection, razor-sharp satire, and that big goofy laugh on top of it all. The list of celebrities riffing on fictionalized versions of themselves—you're the GOAT, Martin Scorsese!—is too massive to name-check here. But rest assured, the main cast of Rogen, Chase Sui Wonders, Catherine O'Hara, Kathryn Hahn, and Ike Barinholtz absolutely eat the heck out of every single scene. —B.L.
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See the original post on YoutubeAdolescence
The term 'essential viewing' is a TV-critic cliché—but I have to break it out here, because Adolescence absolutely is essential viewing. In telling the tragedy of the Miller family, whose young son commits a heinous crime in a fit of rage, Adolescence bottles up everything that is troubling about teenage boys right now. In only four hours, the series manages to put all of their loneliness, anger, and confusion on full display. The icing: a career-best turn from Stephen Graham, as well as the thundering introduction of 15-year-old actor (and surefire future star, if he isn't already) Owen Cooper. —B.L.
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See the original post on YoutubeThe Righteous Gemstones
It's sad that every time I return for one of these lists, I'm saying goodbye to another one of TV's greatest comedies. Last year, both Curb Your Enthusiasm and What We Do in the Shadows aired their final seasons. That was painful enough! In 2025, Hollywood adds The Righteous Gemstones to the list of dearly departed comedies. The megachurch family romp starring Danny McBride, John Goodman, Walton Goggins, and Adam DeVine will live forever in our hearts. Now can I get an amen? —J.R.
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See the original post on YoutubeThe Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox
I swear that I write some combination of these words every year: Sports documentarian Greg Whiteley's work is some of the most essential storytelling on TV right now. And just as baseball season rolls around every year, so does a new docuseries from the man behind Wrestlers, Last Chance U, Cheer, and America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. This time, a major professional sports team—the Boston Red Sox—finally allowed Whiteley inside its doors. Whiteley's profiles of Red Sox stars Triston Casas, Brayan Bello, and Jarren Duran are nothing short of incredible. Even if you're not known as someone who would show up to Fenway Park just to sing 'Sweet Caroline,' you don't want to leave The Clubhouse out of your queue. —B.L.
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See the original post on YoutubeThe Traitors
After hearing everyone talk about The Traitors on end for two seasons, I finally dabbled with the Mafia-esque competition show for season 3. The Bachelor's Gabby Windey and RuPaul's Drag Race's Bob the Drag Queen were two large draws for me as an occasional reality-TV fan (though admittedly not a reality-TV stan), but my main concern was that I was not entering the series knowing the backstories of the multiple Survivor, Big Brother, and Housewives alums. Turns out, none of that mattered. These reality-TV personalities are here because they're entertaining enough on their own. Plus, there isn't enough praise in the world for how much Alan Cumming commits to the bit. —J.R.
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See the original post on YoutubeRunning Point
If The Studio didn't exist, I'd tell you that Running Point is far and away the best comedy of the year so far. Kate Hudson's basketball sitcom does something ingenious: It effectively makes a half-hour comedy out of Los Angeles Lakers president Jeanie Buss's life and career. (Buss is a co-executive producer on the series.) The series follows Isla Gordon (Hudson), who is the new president of the fictional Los Angeles Waves basketball squad. She faces all sorts of things that I bet Buss faces in real life—meddling brothers, diva-like superstars, Pat McAfee–esque talking heads—and the result is (I have to say it, sorry) a slam dunk. Oh, and Chet Hanks has a prominent role in the series. And he is damn good. —B.L.
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