The 10 Best Tv Shows Of 2025 So Far Rolling Stone List Challenges

Leo Migdal

-Dec 9, 2025, 11:36 PM

the 10 best tv shows of 2025 so far rolling stone list challenges

In many ways, the last six months of TV have been defined by impeccably crafted throwback series that aren’t embarrassed to act like television shows. The best series of the first half of 2025 include medical dramas, police procedurals, and quirky small-town comedies — the exact kinds of shows that were abundant long before the invention of the VCR,... But the situation is more nuanced than that. Most of these shows feel modern in different ways. The medical drama is partially serialized, with the whole season covering a single hospital shift, while the small-town comedy takes place in an Inuk community in the frozen plains of northern Canada. And several our 10 best of the year so far are adventurous in other ways: a morally and politically complex drama set in the Star Wars universe; a miniseries where each episode was filmed...

This month is a bit slow in terms of notable TV premieres, so use the time to catch up on one or more of these great shows — listed here in alphabetical order —... The technical feat of this four-episode miniseries — each installment was filmed in an hour-long unbroken take — would be the most impressive thing about it, were it not for everything else about it. When 13-year-old Jamie (Owen Cooper, jaw-droppingly good in his screen debut) is arrested for the murder of a classmate, everyone around him tries to make sense of it: his father (Stephen Graham, who co-wrote... The more they learn — not only about this specific tragedy, but about the larger sociological forces driving it — the more maddening this tale becomes. An instant classic. The second and final season of Tony Gilroy’s mature and complex Star Wars prequel series — one of the very best things the franchise has done since Disney bought it from George Lucas —...

At times it felt rushed, or overly concerned with bringing its title character (Diego Luna) right up to the events of Rogue One. But in its best moments — the Empire manipulating public sentiment to justify destroying a whole planet, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) risking her life for an important speech, Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) revisiting a lifetime... Jussi Adler-Olsen’s novels about a cold-case squad made up of underestimated misfit detectives have already been adapted into multiple films in his native Denmark. Now they’ve translated smashingly to an English-language take, with Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) and Chandni Lakhani relocating the cops to Scotland, and in the process creating a slightly less acerbic police version of... In real life, 2025 has been a chaotic year. We've navigated the beginning of a divisive presidential term, the longest government shutdown in U.S.

history, witnessed a pope from Chicago get elected, a pop star in space, natural disasters and history-making events almost daily. In the fictional worlds that fill our TV screens when we look for just a little distraction at the end of our days, things haven't been particularly calm, either. But in a good way. We're talking about Emmy- and hearts-and-minds-winning "The Pitt" on HBO Max. We're talking about a tiny British drama on Netflix that took off with viewership and cultural conversation. And we're also talking about a couple of shows you've probably never heard of at all.

While TV this year has been full of viral hate-watches (like Hulu's disastrous-but-renewed "All's Fair") and some of the biggest shows of all time (like the final seasons of Netflix's "Squid Game" and "Stranger... As the year winds to a close, we hope you'll give these 10 absolutely superb TV shows a watch. You might be surprised by what you find. To see our longer list of the top 20 picks for the best TV shows of the year, scroll through the gallery below. What a year for new shows. As TV Guide narrowed down our favorite series of 2025, what stood out was how many of them — more than half — premiered this year.

And not one of those new shows is part of a franchise. It isn't easy to get any TV series made these days, especially when it isn't a spin-off of a spin-off, but the ones that beat the odds did it in style. Plenty of them were also massive, Emmy-winning hits, because nothing is more exciting than original storytelling. This year, Pluribus followed in the footsteps of Severance as a truly fresh Apple sci-fi series that got everyone talking. The Lowdown dug deep into Tulsa's underbelly for a vibrant noir mystery. The Chair Company uncovered an absurd conspiracy all its own.

Long Story Short spanned decades of one family's life with humor and care. Adolescence gave crime drama a new look with its immersive one-shot filmmaking. And The Pitt took a similar real-time approach, with every episode chronicling one hour in a chaotic emergency room. The series was also a nostalgic throwback to network TV's heyday, but bringing a broadcast-style workplace drama to streaming was its own kind of innovation. Plenty of returning shows had great years, too — just look to our No. 1 show for proof — and one series on our list made the most of a major cinematic universe.

But take a minute to appreciate the new shows and novel ideas that arrived when we needed them most. These are TV Guide's picks for the 10 best TV shows of 2025. Honorable mentions: Dark Winds, Dying for Sex, The Rehearsal, Task, Too Much The year's finest TV features stressed out doctors, bifurcated office drones, and more than one Delco accent. Hulu; Apple TV; ABC; Disney; HBO - Design: Alex Sandoval Although the year was full of ups and downs, TV remained a bright spot.

Returning shows including Severance and Abbott Elementary shined with stellar seasons, while a passel of new series like The Pitt and Task got our hearts racing. But that's not to say there weren't a few misses in the mix as well. To get a taste of what worked best and what missed the mark, see our list below: All Kier Egan wanted to do was eliminate pain from the human experience. But if Severance has taught us anything, it’s that science can no more separate the us from our hurt than it can stop the moon from controlling the tides. In its long-awaited second season, the darkly funny, exquisitely weird drama served up some key answers about Lumon Industries while pushing its characters to embrace their whole selves — both in and out of...

Much like the employees in Lumon’s Macrodata Refinement department, Severance contains multitudes: office comedy, sci-fi thriller, artsy allegory about worker exploitation, star-crossed romance, family drama. Marshmallows are for team players, but Severance is for everyone who’s ever felt the ache of a broken heart. —Kristen Baldwin Mare of Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby once again brought us to Philadelphia for seven episodes of suspense (and so many Delco accents). But this time we followed Mark Ruffalo's priest-turned-FBI-agent as he tried to take down Tom Pelphrey's big-hearted criminal. Anchored by incredible performances, Task's greatest strength was its writing, as both men grappled with unbearable grief: Ruffalo's Tom Brandis lost his wife — with the added layer of his adopted son having pushed...

Against all odds, the two fathers find a bond that makes Task far more than your average cop thriller. —Samantha Highfill Look, 2025 may just be a little more than half over, but it’s already been a great year of television for both new and returning shows. Severance returned after a three-year hiatus and did not disappoint. Hacks continues to show that comedies can be comedic. HBO hits like The Gilded Age and The White Lotus returned with new seasons that delighted viewers.

And broadcast proved that it can still hold its own against cable and streaming with some solid series. HBO Max delivered a solid hit with the debut of the new medical drama The Pitt, while Paradise reunited Sterling K. Brown and Dan Fogelman for a show very different from This Is Us. And Apple TV+ offered a look inside Hollywood with The Studio. Below, TV Insider’s staff has gathered to share our picks for the Best Shows of 2025 so far (taking into account those that have aired through the first week of August). Let us know what makes your list in the comments section below.

If you want to know your favorite reality TV stars’ favorite reality TV show, look no further than Love on the Spectrum U.S.. Featuring vibrant series newbies, Madison Marilla and Pari Kim, alongside returning favorites Abbey Romeo, Tanner Smith, Connor Tomlinson, Dani Bowman, James Jones, and more, Season 3 takes the Netflix docuseries to the next level,... In a sea of gamified dating competitions, Cian O’Cleary’s Love on the Spectrum U.S. rises above as romance reality TV at its best. — Rebecca Perlmutter After an eight-year hiatus from TV, Too Much is a return to form for Girls creator Lena Dunham.

The director pulls from her own life experiences to create a different kind of rom-com. There’s plenty of clichés, tropes, and bits of optimism, but it also bears a certain realism and insightfulness that’s rare for the genre. At the heart of it is Megan Stalter’s Jessica, who flits between moments of exaggerated comedy and gut-punching heartbreak. It may not be the most revelatory show of the year, but Stalter’s performance and Dunham’s clever-as-ever writing make for a love story that we won’t forget any time soon. — Morgan Pryor The year 2025 saw some amazing TV shows dominating the headlines and ratings, making it a great time to be a TV lover.

With network TV and streaming platforms like Peacock and HBO Max offering strong content, narrowing down a best-of-the-year list seemed impossible. Thankfully, the editors at Rolling Stone magazine curated a list of the 15 best TV shows of 2025. Rolling Stone named the 15 best TV shows of 2025 in a post shared on social media, highlighting the shows that skewered Hollywood, hailed everyday heroes, and explored flaws in human nature. The post emphasized how these shows made viewers feel a range of emotions and reminded us of the complexity of being human. “Adolescence” (Netflix) was a tense four-episode one-take crime drama that delved into the emotional fallout of a 13-year-old boy accused of Peace Nero is a writer and blogger who loves to explore different topics of self-development.

She shares her personal experiences in order to help people discover their true purpose in life. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This year has already delivered a fresh batch of TV shows that grab your attention and don’t let go. From gritty dramas to wild comedies, 2025’s new series and limited series are packed with bold stories and standout performances. We’ve rounded up the ten best newcomers that premiered since January 1, 2025, each bringing something unique to the screen. Whether you’re into heart-pounding thrillers or quirky character studies, these shows are worth your time.

Let’s dive in. Netflix’s ‘The Survivors’ is a six-episode Australian drama about a Tasmanian town haunted by a deadly storm from 15 years ago. Charlie Vickers and Yerin Ha star as Kieran and Mia, facing old guilt when a new murder shakes Evelyn Bay. With a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, the show blends gripping mystery with raw grief, especially through the mothers of the victims. Its twisty plot and strong cast make ‘The Survivors’ a must-watch for whodunit fans. Hulu’s ‘Deli Boys’ is a wild comedy about Pakistani-American brothers Mir and Raj Dar, who inherit their dad’s deli empire only to find it’s a drug-smuggling front.

The 10 Best Tv Shows Of 2025 So Far Rolling Stone List Challenges

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