I've watched most of Netflix's top-streamed shows in 2025 — here are 3 to watch and 2 you should skip
Netflix recently shared its latest Engagement Report, revealing the shows and movies that its subscribers binged from January to June 2025. The report details a huge 99% of all content viewing occurred in the first half of 2025, with over 95 billion hours streamed globally.
The appeal of Netflix Originals remained strong throughout the report, with audiences continuing to engage in not only new productions but also older, much-loved entries in the streamer's catalogue. Netflix notes that nearly half of the viewing for Netflix Originals in this report came from titles that debuted in 2023 or earlier.
That said, as a certified binge-watcher, I can attest that not everything in Netflix's original television catalogue is worth watching — even with the hours upon hours of streams that titles have received in the past six months.
I've put together three of the best Netflix shows I've watched this year — and two I wouldn't recommend — to compare to the streamer's data. I've also taken into account Rotten Tomatoes scores and other reviews from fellow Tom's Guide writers.
So, without further ado, here are the top three shows to watch on Netflix and two you should definitely skip.
As per Netflix's report, the UK series "Adolescence" reigned supreme as the most-watched show, amassing 144.8 million views in the past six months to date. The show was released on March 13, 2025, and has been viewed globally for 555 million hours.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
Over a 3.5-hour runtime, the series catapulted audiences into the chilling story of 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), who is accused of murdering a teenage girl who went to his school. The one-shot crime drama proceeds to follow the unravelling of Jamie's family, including his dad Eddie (Stephen Graham). It also details the ins and outs of the police investigation fronted by Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe (Ashley Walters), whose son attends Jamie's school, and the harrowing assessment of Jamie's condition made by Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty), the clinical psychologist assigned to his case.
The show scored a massive 98% RT score, with audiences giving it a 74% rating, securing it as a must-watch limited series. Even here at Tom's Guide, our reviewer said that it "might be the best original show Netflix has ever made". If you're a fan of gripping crime dramas, "Adolescence" is not to be missed.
This cult-followed K-drama has been the most talked about Netflix Original series in years, and the entire show takes out three spots in the top ten most-streamed list. "Squid Game" season 2, which debuted late last year, beats out the final season that dropped last month, cultivating 117.3 million views and 840 million hours streamed globally. Across all three seasons, the show has received over 231 million views.
The series follows Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-Jae) as he accepts a strange invitation to compete in a series of children's games for a share of a 45.6 billion won prize. After the first round, Gi-hun and the other 455 players learn the harsh realities of the games — the pot only grows by 100 million won once a player is eliminated (read: killed).
With a solid 86% rating on RT, and a nice 66% audience score, "Squid Game" delivers on drama, mystery and nice comedic moments, courtesy of some interesting character arcs. Now that all seasons are available to stream, you could easily binge the series on a weekend… and give yourself something to talk to your colleagues about on Monday.
Hilarious, easy-to-watch and stars Kate Hudson? Sign me up! After debuting in February, this basketball-based comedy has received over 41 million views and 209 million hours streamed, which is no mean feat for a Mindy Kaling production.
When a scandal forces her brother to resign, Isla Gordon (Hudson) is appointed the president of the Los Angeles Waves, a prestigious basketball team and her family's business. Often overlooked by her brothers, the board and the players, Isla works to prove herself the right person for the job — and (spoiler alert), does just that.
The series was renewed for a second season and has a nice 82% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It delves into tough topics but plays it all off with a healthy dose of tomfoolery, secret brothers and loving relationships — platonic ones, too. I cannot wait for the next instalment, and my only wish is for a LeBron James cameo.
Despite performing rather well in Netflix's report, ranking in fourth after "Adolescence" and "Squid Game" seasons 2 and 3, "Zero Day" received an underwhelming response from me (and Rotten Tomatoes).
The limited series follows former US President George Mullen (Robert De Niro), who, as the head of the Zero Day Commission, leads an investigation into a devastating cyberattack that wreaked havoc and caused thousands of fatalities across the country.
The series was De Niro's first major television role, but even the beloved actor couldn't save it from getting a poor 53% RT critics score and 53% audience rating. Admittedly, I always try to finish a series, but I couldn't make it past the first episode for this one, and not even the appearance of Lizzy Caplan could reinvigorate my spirits for this political thriller.
There's a lot to unpack here, but let's start with the figures from the report, shall we? The second season of "XO, Kitty" was released on January 16, 2025, and has since achieved 35.3 million views and 143 million hours streamed in the past six months. Comparatively, the rom-com's first season obtained 14.7 million views in that time, with eager rewatchers anticipating the new season.
Starring the beloved younger sister from the "To All The Boys" movies, Katherine "Kitty" Song Covey (Anna Cathcart) takes on Seoul, Korea, as she attends the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS) alongside her long-distance boyfriend, Dae (Choi Min-young), and rediscover a connection to her mom, a former student of KISS.
Now, I am a sucker for a rom-com series or film, and there's a fond place in my heart for the Netflix original movie trilogy, in which Kitty comes to life. But that's where I draw the line, unfortunately, as this spin-off seriously fell flat.
The interwoven storylines and endless love triangles are often confusing, the side characters are somewhat annoying, and the only episode I thoroughly enjoyed in the latest season was when Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) came to visit — and his brief appearance didn't restore my faith in the series. I'd argue the 63% audience score may be conflated with the love for the movies, but I seriously hope season three gives fans (and Kitty) the justice they deserve.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
15 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
This week, we remember a few icons and visit our happy place with ‘Happy Gilmore 2'
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who is feeling nostalgic after several celebrity deaths. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Ozzy Osbourne, Chuck Mangione and Hulk Hogan died this week, and if you were alive in the '80s, you're familiar with how each shaped music, television and pop culture. Warner is best remembered for playing Theodore 'Theo' Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show.' As the 'engaging, fun-loving teen who also got into a variety of scrapes in the Huxtable household,' Theo was a highlight of Warner's career, earning him an Emmy nomination in 1986, Times senior writer Greg Braxton wrote in an assessment of the actor's career. As for Osbourne, depending on the generation you grew up in, he was either one of your favorite heavy metal vocalists or one of your favorite TV dads (perhaps both). Beginning in 2002, the Prince of Darkness starred in MTV's 'The Osbournes,' a reality show that featured his family — wife Sharon, daughter Kelly and son Jack — and their everyday antics. It pioneered the celebrity reality TV genre, and Osbourne broke the TV dad mold by showing us that you can curse at your family with love. Meanwhile, Mangione, the prolific jazz musician, also left his mark on television after his hit song 'Feels So Good' became a running gag on the animated series 'King of the Hill' — he even lent his voice to the show for several episodes. (The revived series will return in August.) Then there's Hogan, who will be remembered both as a self-made celebrity and controversial figure. He helped lift professional wrestling to an entertainment juggernaut with 'Hulkamania,' but his use of a racial slur led to WWE terminating its 30-year association with him (though he was reinstated to their hall of fame in 2018). Later, like Osbourne, he would get his own reality show, VH1's 'Hogan Knows Best,' but it was canceled after a series of personal events, including Hogan's divorce and a car crash involving his son. It all might leave you feeling a bit wistful and wanting to watch clips of their memorable moments. But if you want to experience some nostalgia and go to a happy place, a comedic cultural touchstone has returned. In this week's Screen Gab, director Kyle Newacheck drops by to discuss Netflix's 'Happy Gilmore 2,' the sequel to the original comedy film that was nearly 30 years in the making. Must-read stories you might have missed Commentary: 'South Park' season opener puts Trump in bed with Satan and has Paramount on its knees: Comedy Central's animated series couldn't have returned at a better time. The season-opening episode is brutal in its treatment of Paramount, CBS and President Trump. 'Happy Gilmore' is back for another round, as are Adam Sandler and his longtime collaborator: Tim Herlihy has had a lasting and prolific creative partnership with Adam Sandler, the star of Netflix's 'Happy Gilmore 2,' which he co-wrote with the actor. De-aged stars, cloned voices, resuscitated dead icons: AI is changing the art and business of acting: AI isn't hovering at the edges of acting anymore. It has reshaped faces, smoothed dialogue and fast-tracked everything from dubbing to reshoots. And its reach is growing. Commentary: When 'Love Island,' 'Summer I Turned Pretty' have to tell fans to back off, should we cry or clap?: A billion-dollar industry is failing to protect the very people who built it in the first place. Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' (Paramount+) The Trekkiest of the 21st century 'Star Trek' series — its very name comes from the Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) speech that runs over the titles of what is now officially called 'The Original Series' — is back for its third season, which began earlier this month. Set in the years before Kirk's starship embarked on its five-year mission, this Enterprise comes with charmingly conceived, wholly convincing younger versions of characters we know well — including Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and Scotty (Martin Quinn) — and fuller versions of characters who never got much space on 'TOS,' like Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush). Above all, there are Anson Mount's heroically haired Capt. Pike, revived from the series' initial pilot, and Ethan Peck's Spock, note perfect and yet very much his own Vulcan. Like its model, it's episodic in nature, allowing for event-packed seasons that make it seem like it's been running longer than it has (in a good way), and though it can turn dark and philosophical, it has a lightness of heart that leaves ample room for comedy — and love. — Robert Lloyd 'The Gringo Hunters' (Netflix) I find no joy in watching folks from other countries rounded up by state-sponsored agents, only to be detained with no due process and deported back home, or to who knows where. It's performative political theater, not entertainment, despite what ride-along raid hosts Dr. Phil McGraw and Kristi Noem want us to believe. But when American criminals are rounded up in Mexico and deported back to the U.S. without so much as a trial? That's unique and juicy drama. This Netflix Spanish-language drama follows members of an elite Mexican police unit (played by Harold Torres, Mayra Hermosillo and Manuel Masalva) who specialize in capturing foreign fugitives — mostly Americans — hiding from the U.S. legal system in Mexico. They are, according to one agent, 'bad hombres.' Executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard and directed by Adrián Grünberg ('Bandidos') and Natalia Beristáin, the 12-episode series was inspired by a 2022 Washington Post article that chronicled the work of a plainclothes, largely secretive investigative team in Tijuana who relied on intelligence from U.S. agencies to catch suspects, but ultimately, the fugitives are deported for breaking Mexican immigration law. 'Gringo Hunters' delivers a compelling, often darkly humorous narrative that travels through the mansions, barrios, political corridors and bustling businesses in and around Tijuana and Ensenada. The series offers a refreshing spin on the investigative procedural and an alternate view of what it looks like when Americans are targeted for deportation by a country that doesn't want them. — Lorraine Ali A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they're working on — and what they're watching Kyle Newacheck is no stranger to directing, with a long résumé in TV ('What We Do in the Shadows,' 'Workaholics') and film ('Murder Mystery,' 'Game Over, Man!'), nor to working with Adam Sandler, who stars in their latest collaboration, 'Happy Gilmore 2.' At the time 'Happy Gilmore' was released in 1996, it was a modest success, but it gained a cult following thanks in part to repeated screenings on basic cable. Like the first, the sequel was co-written by Sandler and his longtime collaborator Tim Herlihy, and many of their iconic characters have returned too, like Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), Virginia (Julie Bowen) and Hal (Ben Stiller). The film also nods to the iconic actors from the original who are no longer with us, including Carl Weathers, Joe Flaherty and Richard Kiel. Here, the director talks about what it is like joining the project and working with Sandler and other members of the cast. 'Happy Gilmore' is a comedic cornerstone from the '90s. Do you remember the first time you watched it? What was it like to come on board for the sequel? I was 12 years old in 1996 when the movie came out, so I think the visuals are imprinted on the back walls of my brain. It was one of the first movies where I realized that movies didn't just 'appear' — somehow people are making these funny movies. After I watched the film, I picked up my grandfather's video camera in 1997 and began shooting funny videos with my friends. 'Happy Gilmore' was a movie that made all of my friends laugh. I remember everyone from my school constantly quoting lines and laughing together. Joining the sequel was a surreal moment for me, to say the least. The sequel brought back a lot of the original cast members who were so memorable, like Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald and Ben Stiller, but you also see new faces in the 'Happy Gilmore' universe like Bad Bunny, John Daly and Benny Safdie. Do you have a favorite moment from filming or a scene where the OG cast and new cast came together? I loved filming the scene where Frank (Safdie) confronts Happy outside the batting cages. Benny and Adam have such great chemistry, and it was fun to see the two worlds collide. Happy stands against his Duster while Frank leans against his electric Rolls-Royce. The scene itself holds this cool subtext that, to me, reaches through the screen. Plus, Happy dissing Frank's breath is always gonna be funny to me. You've directed a couple of other films, but a lot of your work has been on television, including on 'Workaholics' and most recently 'What We Do in the Shadows.' How is directing a film like 'Happy Gilmore 2' different from television? My approach is similar in everything I make, attempting to get the truth of the scene while prioritizing humor. Sometimes I have a lot of resources to do that and sometimes I don't. What was it like getting notes from Adam Sandler on the film as you were working on it? I love working with Adam, a.k.a. Sandman. He is a true maverick. He is not only the star but also wrote the film as well as produced it. He likes to roll up his sleeves and do the work. Him and I share a deep love for the set, and we have a ton of fun out there and definitely challenge each other along the way. Collaboration is at the core of creation. What's your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again? 'The Big Lebowski' [HBO Max]. Love it. It's another formative one for me — this time, I was in high school, about to graduate, and I played on the varsity bowling team. I love the characters/performances the most, and honestly assumed that most of it had to be off the cuff, but learn[ing] years later that the Coens [sibling directors Joel and Ethan Coen] had written every line the way it was performed made me fall in love with the screenplay. I love everything about that movie and can watch it over and over.
The Verge
16 minutes ago
- The Verge
Comcast's fix for streaming service overload is in your cable box
Streaming has become a tangled web of subscriptions, and now Comcast says it can help by putting all your services into one hub. Comcast is launching a new hub on its set-top boxes, called the StreamStore, where you can buy and manage subscriptions for more than 450 streaming apps and channels. The StreamStore lives within Xfinity's Xumo Stream Box and on X1 devices. It's also available on the web, and features a collection of more than 200,000 movies and TV shows to rent or purchase. Xfinity will let you add or drop channels through the store, while tacking on new subscriptions to your monthly internet or TV bill, further positioning the company as a sort of streaming broker. Other cable / telecom companies like Verizon have tried to step in as a digital subscription service middleman, though Comcast is taking things a step further by putting this hub on your TV. But is streaming really messy enough that you need Comcast to manage it? Some services included in the StreamStore include Netflix, Peacock, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Hulu, Apple TV Plus, HBO Max, and over 100 'niche' streaming subscriptions, according to LightReading. Xfinity already offers its own StreamSaver bundle, which includes a subscription to Apple TV Plus, Netflix with ads, and Peacock's ad-supported plan for $15 per month. The bundle is, of course, available through the StreamStore, and Xfinity says it plans on bringing new streaming bundles, apps, and 'enhanced subscription management and activation capabilities' to the hub in the future. (Disclosure: Comcast is an investor in Vox Media, The Verge's parent company.) Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Emma Roth Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Comcast Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Streaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
Indianapolis Star
17 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
Netflix 'Wednesday' meal coming to Wendy's. See what's in it
Wendy's has a new meal in collaboration with the hit Netflix show "Wednesday." The company unveiled the Wednesday Meal of Misfortune, a limited-time meal centered around four mystery sauces called the "Dips of Dread," along with "Rest in 10-Piece" nuggets, small "Cursed & Crispy" fries, and a new Frosty flavor called "Raven's Blood." The items will all be served in custom packaging. The meal will coincide with the release of Season 2 of "Wednesday." The season premiere will be in two parts. Part 1 will debut Aug. 6 at 3 a.m. eastern time, and Part 2 will premiere Sept. 3 at 3 a.m. eastern time. Wendy's said two mystery dipping sauces come in each meal, adding that "fate will decide which of the four dips" customers receive. The four flavors are : "Don't bother asking which sauce you'll get – you must surrender to your destiny. Those brave enough to try them all must endure multiple visits," Wendy's said in the news release. The items will be available at restaurants and via the Wendy's app nationwide beginning Monday, Aug. 4. In Canada, customers can get the meal in restaurants or via the Wendy's app starting Monday, Aug. 11. The company said the Meal of Misfortune will also be available at Wendy's stores in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and Guam.
