TV Obsessive
2025 has come and gone, but it’s time to look back and choose our favorite TV shows of the year, our favorite performances, what disappointed us, and what we’re looking forward to in the year to come. That’s right, it’s time for the prestigious TVObs Awards!
Michael Suarez
Favorite New TV Show of 2025: The Studio
Pretty much a blast from start to finish, Apple TV’s The Studio was the chaotic dream this film fan didn’t even know he wanted. Seth Rogen is solid as studio head Matt Remick, particularly in the episode “The Note,” which has him square off with Ron Howard (who got a well-deserved Emmy nomination for his work). The highlight of the first season must be “The Oner,” which is wonderful in concept and in execution, but it also has Sarah Polley playing herself, and frankly, if that’s all this episode had, it’d be reason enough to celebrate for me. Definitely looking forward to the next season.
Most Disappointing TV Series in 2025: Saturday Night Live
I’m not suggesting SNL is now terrible, because it isn’t, but I’d be lying if I said the show hasn’t become disappointing to me week after week. The reason? The cold opens. Enough is enough. Not every cold open has to be political, and not every cold open has to feature President Donald Trump. It’s gotten old, and while I’m not saying the show shouldn’t do any political or Trump-focused sketches, the cold opens could be more creative. And, if the show just has to address the current administration, perhaps they can do more than just James Austin Johnson walking on stage and saying things.
Favorite Overall TV Show of 2025: Andor Season 2
While I loved both Season 1 of this show, Season 2 will forever be one of the finest pieces of television storytelling I’ve ever seen. It took the bold approach in telling micro-arcs every three episodes in the service of one massive series arc, and it paid off so well. The fact that the show ultimately just ends in setting up Rogue One and manages to be a masterclass in episodic storytelling is saying something. The standouts of the season include back-to-back episodes, “Who Are You?” “Welcome to the Rebellion,” and “Make It Stop.” I cannot recommend this season enough, and that it manages to feel so timeless and current is both impressive and tragic.
Favorite Performance in a TV Show in 2025: Elizabeth Dulau, Andor
One word: wow. This was a performer whose work I really liked in Season 1 and again in Season 2. However, when “Make It Stop” came along so late in the final season, I was blindsided by how damn good Dulau is. I hope she gets a lot of work for the rest of her life, because she managed to deliver a performance that made me not only fall in love with the character of Kleya but also determine her as one of my all-time favorite Star Wars characters, period. Incredible.
Most Painful TV Show to Part With in 2025: Stranger Things
I will genuinely miss this show, even though I’ve gone years without seeing a new episode over the past decade. Sometimes great, sometimes frustrating, but always entertaining, Stranger Things will always be more than nostalgia for me. Sure, I loved the ‘80s aspect as much as anyone who did, but it’s always been about the characters for me. This was reinforced by the series finale, “The Rightside Up,” particularly the epilogue that showed characters growing up and moving on. I was honestly shocked by how honest the epilogue was, whether it was the older teens making plans to meet up, even though I know that’ll never happen, or the central group of kids considering where their lives will take them now that high school is over and they are going their separate ways. I was moved, as I was reminded of how things were for me at that age. I have to give props to such a fantastical show for giving me the feels in a way few series ever have.
Most Anticipated TV Show of 2025: Scrubs
I loved Scrubs’ original run so much, and I return to the show every now and then. Of course, I will be tuning in for the reboot, especially since pretty much everyone is back. I’m keeping my expectations as low as possible, though, because one never knows what a rebooted show will look like. Regardless, this is must-see TV for me.
Brien Allen
Favorite New TV Show of 2025 — Alien: Earth
Yes, I know, this is going to be a controversial one. The Alien fanbase seems to be completely polarized on this one. Everyone either absolutely adored it or completely hated it. And, of course, as with any fandom these days, it seems, the haters are by far the more vocal of the bunch. For me, though, this show was a pure joy. I found myself looking forward to every single episode, as I completely immersed myself in podcasts and online forums for the previous one.
The very concept that they open the series with, that there are three paths to longevity being explored—android, synth and cyborg—had me immediately hooked. I loved Wendy and the Lost Boys, these children coping with their adult android bodies, and the back-and-forth conflict between Kirsh and Morrow played out perfectly. On the actual “alien” side of things, the idea of giving us new types of aliens was even more brilliant. The ocellus, of course, stole the show, though I will say, I actually liked where they were going with the xenomorphs. Sue me.
The Alien franchise has been plagued with disappointing movie after disappointing movie in the last few decades. Was this entry into the canon perfect? No, of course not. Pretty close though, for me. More importantly, it was fun and it was highly watchable. This series has restored my faith.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Murderbot, Pluribus
Most Disappointing New or Returning TV Series in 2025: Doctor Who (2005) Series 15
It’s getting to be almost cliché to say that Doctor Who has become disappointing. I didn’t even bother to mention it last year as a dishonorable mention, because Ncuti Gatwa was at least better than Jodie Whittaker and it was only his first season, so maybe things would level out and they could get him flying right.
Sadly, no. And, to be fair, I like both Jodie and Ncuti as the Doctor. I think they both have done a good job with what they’ve been given. It’s just that the writing has been so horrible for both of their runs. Every episode is a rambling, incoherent mess that gets resolved in completely ungratifying ways. The Disney-fication of Doctor Who has just made these inadequacies flashier and more annoying. Makes me sad.
DISHONORABLE MENTIONs: It: Welcome to Derry Season 1, Robin Hood Season 1
Favorite Overall TV Show of 2025: Foundation Season 3
This was a hard category to settle upon just one answer. Knowing that Severance and Andor are probably going to be on one or more other folks’ lists, I’m going to go with Foundation again this year.
Foundation just continues firing on all cylinders, delivering consistently quality episodes that elevate and enhance the original source material. The added storyline of the genetic dynasty steals the show once again, with each of the three “brothers” taking an interesting and divergent path from their predecessors. They also continued fleshing out the character of Demerzel, making her one of my contenders for favorite performance.
What pushed it over the top for me this year though was the season finale. There were so many jaw-dropping moments I did not see coming. They’ve really written themselves into several corners now. With so much of the production staff changing hands, including the loss of show-runner David S. Goyer, Season 4 has me worried. Foundation is setting the bar right now for great sci-fi on the small screen. I hope they can keep it up.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Severance Season 2, Andor Season 2
Favorite Performance in a TV Show in 2025: Denise Gough (Dedra Meero) in Andor Season 2
Andor, of course, is a masterpiece. A large part of what makes it such are the performances. There are just so many great characters, each one so well acted. For me though, the absolute stand-out was Denise Gough playing Imperial Lieutenant Dedra Meero.
Dedra goes through quite the roller coaster this season. She starts out riding the wave of her success from the previous season, a rising star in the Imperial Security Bureau. Included in that is a power couple relationship with Syril Karn (Kyle Soller). It’s the most awkward and perfect pairing in Star Wars history.
Bit by bit, her world crumbles before her very eyes, both professionally and personally, until she has lost everything. She runs through such a gambit of emotions, all the while maintaining that turd-under-the-nose sneer. She so awful, and yet you almost feel sorry for her in the end. Almost.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Emma Corrin (Dorothy) in Black Mirror S7E3 “Hotel Reverie,” Laura Birn (Demerzel) in Foundation Season 3
Most Painful TV Show to Part With in 2025: The Sandman
I didn’t start collecting The Sandman comics with issue #1, but I caught on somewhere midway through the original run. I backfilled my missing issues and went on to read everything Neil Gaiman ever put out. I have watches, and pins, and t-shirts. So, yeah, I’m a big fan.
What they did with this series was nothing short of miraculous. It looked amazing. Was I happy with all the choices made, especially some of the casting? No, of course not. But it was no Dark Tower either. You could tell this was made by folks who loved this universe themselves and were trying to make something for their fellow fans.
And then… well, we all know what happened. We are so lucky the plug wasn’t pulled entirely on Season 2. As it was, they had to blast through the remaining source material, at the breakneck pace of one trade paperback per episode. That is what makes this such a painful parting. Knowing what could have been. Multiple seasons, possible spin-offs. All lost to us, because Neil turned out to be worse than any monster he ever wrote about.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Andor, Cobra Kai
Most Anticipated TV Show of 2024: Blade Runner 2099
Seems like this year, just about all of my picks are steeped in nostalgia. Blade Runner, the original film, is easily in my top ten movies of all time, and I’ve probably watched it a hundred times. However, I’m a little meh on Blade Runner 2049, and while I wrote on the animated series Blade Runner: Black Lotus, it was even more meh.
But I can’t help but be excited for this upcoming live-action series. Casting looks good, but other than that, they’re keeping a pretty tight lid on things for now. They’ve got Amazon bankrolling the project, so fingers crossed. It’s another big universe with a lot of potential to explore.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Spider-Noir, Neuromancer
Chris Sheridan
Favorite New TV Show of 2025: Pluribus
Is it at all surprising that the creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul has another masterpiece on his hands? The general premise, of a “virus” of sorts turning almost all of humanity into a connected hive mind and one woman immune from it, isn’t necessarily something you’d expect from Gilligan, but his fingerprints are all over it: extremely clean cinematography, sharp writing, and excellent character development are all on display. And plenty is mined from just that “basic” premise, particularly the psychological effects this all has on the main character, the immune Carol (Rhea Seehorn). Seehorn turns in a fantastic performance, spending a lot of time interacting with the equally great Karolina Wydra, but also a significant stretch just being alone. In these scenes it’s basically a one-woman show, and she nails it. Throughout the show, you wonder where this is all going to go, and while that’s an important question to ask, what’s more important is how the small number of characters respond to and evolve in this new world, and what is happening (or will happen) to them as a result. Gilligan has struck gold once again.
Favorite Overall TV Show of 2025: The Chair Company
As a die-hard fan of Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, I followed every morsel of information on The Chair Company up to its release. And when it finally did, I was not disappointed. The premise of the show, about Robinson’s character suffering an embarrassing incident (a chair breaks under him) and uncovering a vast conspiracy, is wonderfully executed. The Robinson/Kanin formula of bizarre characters, placed into a long-form narrative, works perfectly, and there’s a blend here of the hysterical revolving door of weirdos and what is, surprisingly, a genuine, compelling conspiracy plot. I was genuinely intrigued by each new plot development, twist, and cliffhanger. This isn’t just a throwaway vessel to create a Robinson/Kanin character playground, it’s a vast, meaty, and detailed show that demands a couple of viewings to fully absorb all of the clues. I adored it, and I cannot wait for the next season and whatever our boys can take things next.
Favorite Performance in a TV Show in 2025: John Cena in Peacemaker S2
James Gunn made a huge swing for the fences in making the second season of Peacemaker contrast sharply with Season 1’s science-fiction action vibe, instead going for a much more character-focused action-drama. Peacemaker/Chris Smith (John Cena) really goes through it in this season, getting a lot of second chances that he never knew he would have, and experiencing a lot of growth as a result. Cena’s emotional performance anchors all of it. It doesn’t stick the landing, but that doesn’t remotely diminish what is my favorite performance of the year by a significant margin. Cena first appeared as the character in Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, and after a season of Peacemaker and now in this second season, he’s really had a chance to let the character evolve. From dramatic nuance, to wry humor, to crippling emotion, Cena sells all of it. He’s already shown that he’s a talented actor, but here, he proves that he really has the chops for whatever he tackles next.
Most Painful TV Show to Part With in 2025: The Righteous Gemstones
Over the course of the last few years, I have fallen in love with Danny McBride’s The Righteous Gemstones and its titular vulgar megachurch family. It boasts the strongest writing and character development in a McBride property yet, and McBride draws from his own religious upbringing to skewer the two-faced preachers who preach the gospel to their followers but are absolute monsters in their personal lives. It’s vulgar, it’s shocking, and it’s hysterical. But at its core, it possesses a real beating heat of genuine characters that you grow to love not just because they’re funny, but because they’re well-realized, wonderfully-written people. The vulgarity is punctuated by moments of genuine sincerity and growth. While the final season is the weakest of the bunch, it’s still very good, and I will very much miss spending time with the Gemstones—as well as look forward to seeing McBride continue to evolve as a creative mind.
Most Anticipated TV Show of 2026: Spider-Noir
They had me at Nicolas Cage. Cage voiced the 1930’s hard-boiled private investigator/hero in Into the Spider-Verse, and returns for a live-action take on the character (also produced by Lord and Miller). There’s still not a lot known about Spider-Noir, but I will be keeping a close eye on whatever information I can get my hands on. Cage is my favorite actor; he has a lot of misses, but he always throws his all into a role, and when he hits, he hits.
Ryan Kirksey
Favorite New TV Show of 2025: Pluribus
The new Vince Gilligan Apple TV show made us ask questions (including on the TV Obsessive podcast) such as “Would it be so bad if there was a virus that took over the world, but it made everyone happy?” and “What would I do if I could go anywhere in the world and have everything I ever wanted?”
Most Disappointing New or Returning TV Series in 2025: Squid Game Season 3
Season 3 of the global hit Squid Game was widely criticized for a predictable and shallow conclusion that many fans felt betrayed the emotional depth of the original series. The most significant source of disappointment was the Player 222 twist, which saw a newborn baby enter the games as a competitor, transforming protagonist Seong Gi-hun into a passive protector rather than the liberator we saw at the end of Season 2. Additionally, Detective Jun-ho’s three-season search for his brother—the Front Man—ended with an underwhelming confrontation that lacked closure.
Maybe it’s a product of its own success after taking the world by storm with Season 1, but Squid Game was mostly downhill from there, and it ended with a whimper instead of something that could have slapped us in the face like we were playing Ddakji.
Favorite Overall TV Show of 2025: Andor Season 2
Remove the light sabers, Force users, Death Stars, and evil emperors, and what does Star Wars have left? Well, they apparently have one of the most intriguing, politically-relevant stories on television.
This show explored the cost of fascism and rebellion from both sides. It looked at what it meant to sacrifice your entire life for something (shout-out to my guy Luten Rael). And it looked at what an Empire was doing to everyday people, exploring the gritty reality of a life lived under the thumb of oppression. A true masterpiece over its two seasons.
Favorite Performance in a TV Show in 2025: Owen Cooper, Adolescence
If you haven’t seen Adolescence on Netflix yet, it’s important to know that Owen Cooper had never acted before this four-episode miniseries. It’s important you know that BEFORE you watch, so you will be mesmerized in real-time at how a 14-year-old novice could pull off such a complex and layered character.
He won the Emmy and Critics Choice Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and now has fans clamoring for what’s next (he’ll be young Heathcliff in 2026’s film Wuthering Heights).
Most Painful TV Show to Part With in 2025: Stranger Things
Although the series only spanned five seasons, Stranger Things ran for nine and a half years (2016–2025). More than half of my children’s lives have passed by during that time. And speaking of children, it will be hard to find a show in the future that can connect generations the way Stranger Things did. It was appointment viewing for our extended family when it came out.
Watching the characters’ transition from kids on bikes to young adults and the teens growing into young professionals mirrors a lot of my own journey, having grown up in the same time frame as this show.
The show revived 1980s pop culture, from classic music to Dungeons & Dragons to mall shopping, creating a sense of borrowed nostalgia for Gen Z and genuine chance to reminiscence for older generations. Say what you will about the final season and how the show ended, but for many of us, there has been a lot of time and emotion wrapped up in the last nine years with Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, Eleven, and the whole gang.
Most Anticipated TV Show of 2026: The Pitt Season 2
Maybe I’m thinking too much about nostalgia these days after Stranger Things ended, but the throwback model of The Pitt Season 1 was a welcome pivot away from shorter seasons and longer wait times. Season 2 is coming back in less than a year?! The first season had 15 episodes?! That just simply doesn’t happen outside of network television anymore. But HBO and Noah Wyle worked out a model that resonated across the television landscape, and I’ll be right there on January 8 looking to see what’s happening now at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.
Caemeron Crain
Favorite New TV Show of 2025: The Lowdown
Of everything on the list, I struggled with my choice here the most. There were a lot of good TV series that premiered in 2025. But, while I enjoyed Pluribus, I feel like the world is holding it in higher regard than I do. I thought The Chair Company was hilarious, but at times I found myself wishing it would settle down just a little bit. Alien: Earth was fantastic, but the way Season 1 ended made me a little worried about where the series will go in Season 2. Task was great, but I’m not even sure that one should be getting a Season 2, as it was originally billed as a limited series. So, I’ve settled on The Lowdown.
If you haven’t seen this series, you should rectify that. Created by Sterlin Harjo, The Lowdown stars Ethan Hawke as journalist/truthstorian Lee Raybon, and has an amazing supporting cast (Keith David, Kyle MacLachlan, Jeanne Tripplehorn and others). It’s set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the setting also feels like a character.
The Lowdown is a little hard to pin down in terms of genre (neo-noir comedy?), but it does have a mystery element that helps carry you through its first season. And it’s recently been renewed for Season 2!
Most Disappointing New or Returning TV Series in 2025: Yellowjackets Season 3
There aren’t many TV series that grabbed me as immediately as Yellowjackets did. Its pilot episode is superb, as is the entirety of Season 1. I started to have some worries about where things were going towards the end of Season 2, but ultimately reconciled myself to what the show had become. Entering Season 3, I had decided to try to bracket whatever criticisms I might have and just go along for the ride.
It was bumpy one, as Yellowjackets Season 3 struck me as very uneven. It had its moments, to be sure (e.g., the frog scientists), but at times I felt like the show didn’t know what it was doing anymore, or understand its own characters.
Yellowjackets has been renewed for a fourth and final season, and I will watch it. But, it makes sense to me that Season 4 will be the last, and I don’t have great hopes for it.
Favorite Overall TV Show of 2025: Severance Season 2
There was a lot of great TV in 2025, but for my money nothing tops the second season of Severance, which aired early in the year. I love everything about this show. Its premise is fascinating. The directing is great. The writing is great. The music is great. All of the performances are great. I don’t know what else to say about it.
Favorite Performance in a TV Show in 2025: Nathan Fielder, The Rehearsal Season 2
I know this choice might seem odd to some who are thinking that Nathan Fielder plays himself in The Rehearsal, but that is to my point. He plays a version of himself, where it is hard to pin down the distinction between the character he is playing and who he is in real life. And, this is right in line with what The Rehearsal is doing as a whole.
The series questions any distinction between authenticity and inauthenticity. It plays on the line between reality and fiction to where that line itself ceases to exist. I’m not sure anyone could pull this off except Nathan Fielder.
Most Painful TV Show to Part With in 2025: Stranger Things
If I were to give this award to my favorite show that ended in 2025, I’d be giving it to The Righteous Gemstones. However, I feel like that series has run its course, and it makes sense for this to be the end of it. The same could be said for Stranger Things, which ended definitively and well, but I got to thinking about just how long the show has been in our lives.
Stranger Things has never been my favorite show, but it has managed to play on my nostalgia in a way that is impressive. I’m not a fan of nostalgia, in general. I think it’s bad. But, Stranger Things deployed its nostalgic vibes in ways that were never too direct, and the nostalgia was never the point. I’d even argue that, when it comes down to it, the point of the series is about letting go of the past and moving into the future.
Regardless, there has always been something comfortable about watching Stranger Things. It’s been there for us from 2016 through 2025, and there is a certain pain to losing it as we enter 2026. I’ll avoid getting too political.
Most Anticipated TV Show of 2026: Silo Season 3
When it comes to my most anticipated show of 2026, I hesitate a little to choose something without a confirmed release date, but all indications are that Apple TV will be giving us a new season of Silo within the coming year. I had some complaints about this series during its first season, but it really grabbed me with Season 2. Further, as someone who hasn’t read the source material, the ending of Season 2 made me really excited and intrigued to see where the story goes next. Here’s hoping I’m right that we find out in 2026!
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments!
