Top Ten TV Series So Far in 2025
By Dan Pal
Since half the year is over and I’ve watched plenty of TV I thought it would be time mention those series I’ve been most enjoying in 2025.
10. Murderbot – AppleTV+
This one just sneaks into my Top Ten as I’ve really only discovered it in the last week or so and the entire series has not yet dropped. Still, the seven episodes I’ve seen so far are quite good and unlike anything else I’m watching. Alexander Skarsgard stars as a bot, also known as a “SecUnit,” that travels to planets with a group of astronauts. We learn through the great and often very comical voice over narration from Skarsgard as the bot that he has gained autonomy while carrying out missions with the others. What’s so original about the series is that unlike other science fiction characters typically shown on television, Skarsgard’s bot has a great sense of humor. He would rather watch his soap operas than deal with the failings of humans. The series has a great and very diverse supporting cast, led by Noma Dumezweni as the soft and caring head of the science team. I love the humor sprinkled throughout each episode and especially the bot’s perspective on the humans. The series also has plenty of special effects but those do not overpower the largely character-driven story. This one’s a keeper for me.
9. The Studio – AppleTV+
I was really hot on this series after its first two episodes. Seth Rogen heads a studio in Hollywood that attempts to compete in the highly competitive industry by doing things like green lighting a series featuring the character from the Kool-Aid commercials. The show is very fast paced. Watching each episode is like being thrown into a Hollywood wildfire. There’s not a lot of let up. The supporting cast is fine, including the great Catherine O’Hara, but it is the cameos by big name stars and directors such as Martin Scorsese, Sarah Polley, Zoe Kravitz, Ron Howard, and Charlize Theron that really make the show come alive. It’s great fun, if a bit repetitive and overly energetic at times. Each episode has its own unique arc. Some are better than others but its commentaries on Hollywood are also well-worth the ride.
8. Hacks – HBO/Max
I’ve previously liked but not loved Hacks. The talent is great but sometimes I’ve found the ribbing between Jean Smart as older comic Deborah and Hanna Einbinder as up and coming writer Ava to be somewhat tiresome. However, I’ve really enjoyed this season more than any of the previous ones. The writing seems sharper and the actors, especially Einbinder, are making their characters more complex and interesting. Michaela Watkins has been a lot of fun to watch as HR assistant Stacey this season. It’s unlike any other character she’s played. Julianne Nicholson also deserves the Guest Actress Emmy this year for playing the “Dance Mom” who appears on Deborah’s late night talk show. It’s fun and yet painfully real as is most evident with Ava’s breakdown mid-way through the season. This one will compete head on with The Studio for the Best Comedy Series Emmy this year.
7. Severance – AppleTV+
I ranked its first season number one for the year in 2022. After a long wait season two arrived with a lot of fanfare. It remains a very compelling and original series although I wasn’t as wild about some of the plot developments, stand-alone episodes, and the generally perplexing storyline which often left me lost and confused. However, this is one of the series on my list that is appointment viewing. Instead of waiting until each season has dropped, Severance, is a watercooler show. Podcasts dissect it. Critics write endlessly write about it. There’s nothing like it on television. Adam Scott had some really great moments this season and would generally be considered the frontrunner for the Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series Emmy if it wasn’t for another actor who I’ll mention shortly. I look forward to wherever the show goes next. It’s deeply interesting and original.
6. #1 Happy Family USA – Amazon Prime
I was a big fan of Ramy Yousef’s previous live action series Ramy in which he played a version of himself dealing with his Muslim faith, his family, and some interesting adventures. His new series is animated and allows Yousef to voice multiple characters, including his own father, and to go places he might not have been able to go to on Ramy. I find Yousef to be an endearing personality who has a great perspective on being Muslim in America during this century. The characters, loosely based on his own family, are complex and far from stereotypical. I particularly like Alia Shawkat as his sister Mona and Timothy Olyphant as his neighbor Dan Daniels. Oscar-winner Kieran Culkin also voices the character of Dr. Riley, a dentist with his own foibles. This is a very funny satire that is eye-opening and also very honest.
5. Adults – FX/Hulu
I’ve written about the increase in the number of films and TV series that focus on the troubles Gen-Zers are having making it into adulthood. What has caused it? The pandemic? Social media? Whatever the case, the series Adults tracks, in a very comedic way, just what one group of young adults is experiencing. All of the show’s main characters are living in the home of rich friend Samir, whose parents seem to be on an extended trip away, and living rent-free. But man, they are enjoying it! True, they’re struggling with jobs, finances, and sexuality but they’ve got each other. This is a very funny show with a bunch of talented young comedic performers. I watched several of these episodes more than once and while they can be a little over the top at times, they’re very enjoyable and the cast is great.
4. The White Lotus – HBO/Max
There is something so intriguing about the way Mike White plots this series. You know there’s going to be a murder but how he gets there varies each season. Some thought this one moved a bit slower than the previous seasons. It didn’t hit me that way. I found the characters well-developed making their individual actions compelling. Whatever was going on between brothers Lochlan and Saxon proved daring and not all together unsurprising. The final episodes were full of twists that made the conclusion fun and unexpected. I wasn’t as wowed by what Parker Posey was doing as Victoria though. She never quite created the magic Jennifer Coolidge did in the first two seasons. (Come on Mike White, how about bringing her back as a long-lost twin sister?!) I look forward to where the series goes next.
3. The Four Seasons – Netflix
The Alan Alda film from 1981 has always been one of my favorites. I’ve always loved films where characters are at the center of the story and I love the concept of friends getting together once a season for a trip. (I’ve done this myself with various friend groups over the years.) I was unsure about how well the film would adapt to the series format but I thought it worked quite well. Much of the plot derived from the film but Tina Fey and company certainly took some big swings in a couple of new directions. I enjoyed the cast, except for Kerri Kenney as Steve Carell’s ex-wife Anne. I found her annoying as she kept turning up everywhere! Sadly, she’ll likely be in a follow-up season based on the developments at the end of this season. Still, I’m glad the series exists and enjoyed the nostalgia it brought to those of us around when the original film came out. (And it was SO great to see Alda in a cameo! How about Carol Burnett and Rita Moreno for the next one?!)
2. St. Denis Medical – NBC/Peacock
More people need to be watching this sleeper comedy series. It is the funniest thing on television right now. Using The Office/Parks & Recreation mockumentary style it captures various quirky characters who work in an ER. They’re performed by a great cast, most notably Wendi McLendon-Covey, David Alan Grier, Josh Lawson, and Mekki Leeper who are all doing top notch work. We’ve experienced this kind of broad comedy before but that doesn’t make it any less funny. This is the kind of series that, if marketed correctly, could be a staple of rerun TV, like the aforementioned shows, in the future.
1. The Pitt – HBO/Max
A couple of months back I wrote about my love of this series. Yes, it’s another ER story but with its great writing, its focus on one 15-hour day, a host of very well-developed characters, and a stellar cast, this one became endlessly watchable. Hospital shows have never been my cup of tea but this one grabbed me from the start. Noah Wylie deserves the Emmy for his lead role. What he accomplishes is touching and powerful. Don’t let the subject or a fear of hospitals scare you away. This is quality television at the highest degree.
Other series I’ve also liked so far this year:
Mythic Quest
The Last of Us
Overcompensating
Abbott Elementary
Black Mirror
Invisible Boys
Mo
What about you? What’s on your list of the best of TV so far in 2025?
The only ones I’ve seen from the list are Hacks (a couple of episodes) and White Lotus. Clearly I’ve got some catching up to do!
A lot of these would make my list too!
There’s a few I haven’t seen that are on my list: Adults is one. Murderbot is one I just started watching a couple of weeks ago too and it’s fantastic!
I gulped down season 4 of the Bear in 2 nights. It was so good. Season 3 was almost a throw away season- mainly for character development (which I enjoy and appreciate, but not all people do). Season 4 is more like season 2 in the way it hits.