Thu Dec 11 09:20:00 UTC 2025: For Best Binge-Watching: Top TV Shows of the Year Revealed
From laugh-out-loud comedies to gripping dramas and eye-opening documentaries, television in the past year has delivered a stunning array of must-see shows. We continue our countdown of the year’s best in culture, highlighting standout series that captivated audiences.
The Last of Us (Sky Atlantic/Now): HBO’s adaptation of the popular video game delivered a powerful punch, shocking viewers with the unexpected death of a central character. The series transitioned into a poignant exploration of grief, loss, and unspoken love amidst a post-apocalyptic landscape.
All Her Fault (Sky Atlantic/Now): Sarah Snook shines as a mother whose son is kidnapped in a terrifying thriller with twists and turns that involve an intricate inner circle plot. Dakota Fanning added depth as a guilt-ridden working mother.
Anita (BBC Two/iPlayer): This moving film tells the story of Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, a centenarian and Auschwitz survivor who played in the camp’s women’s orchestra. Through firsthand accounts, the film examines the emotional torment of prisoners creating music in a horrific environment, while also managing tiny acts of resistance.
The Believer (Netflix): A “wellness guru” and cancer faker named Belle Gibson rises and falls due to fraudulent behavior. The series, which stars Kaitlyn Dever, examines the themes of greed, need, mass delusion and the exploitation of the credulous by technology.
Constellation (Apple TV+): Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks lead an amazing cast to deliver an interesting sci-fi mind bender.
The White House Plumbers (HBO): HBO takes on the dark side of Washington DC with a whodunnit starring Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux.
Poorly Drawn Lines (Hulu): This adult animated comedy is based on the webcomic of the same name by Reza Farazmand.
Doctors Under Attack (Channel 4): This film is an essential document of our times because the BBC could not broadcast it. It focuses on the targeting of Palestinian medics and it contains very graphic scenes and testimony.
Rain Dogs (HBO): Daisy May Cooper and Selin Hizli created a worthy successor to Julia Davis’s scabrous 2004 sitcom Nighty Night. Cooper stars as Nic, a woman juggling guilt, trauma and parenting catastrophe, still finding time for extramarital hi-jinks and yet somehow remaining deserving of sympathy.
American Rust (Prime Video): Jeff Daniels plays police chief Del Harris in a crime drama that explores themes of love, loyalty, and betrayal.
Traitors (BBC One/iPlayer): The third series of normies Traitors delivered Linda, AKA the worst/best traitor to ever roam the castle. The show is captivating as a study of human behavior, of deception, manipulation, self-preservation.
Dope Thief (Apple TV): The two amiable, small-time Philadelphia crooks at the heart of Dope Thief have a good thing going and the series has been reviewed as being both hilarious and heartbreaking.
Squid Game (Netflix): Whether Player 456 can take down the evil game masters and VIPs from within is one thing everyone wants to see in this killer game dystopia.
Rebus (BBC One): This TV adaptation of a series of Danish crime novels tells the tale of unpopular maverick copper Carl Morck, sent to work on futile cold cases in the basement.
This City Is Ours (BBC One/iPlayer): This City Is Ours never fully escaped from standard gangster tropes but instead, leaned into them with compelling relish. And that final rooftop standoff was breathtakingly tense.
Full Circle (Max): Claire Danes stars in this ambiguous psychological thriller and the two leads inspire each other into something genuinely startling.
A Thousand Blows (Disney+): This punchy underworld drama contained pretty much a full house of tropes.
Maia Gets a Job (Sky Comedy/Now): Rachel Sennott stars as Maia in this comedy series that is relevant to gen Z.
The Change (Channel 4): Bridget Christie’s comedy drama is a deeply personal call to arms for menopausal women who feel invisible.
South Park (Paramount+): South Park creators retaliate against the Trump administration’s censoring of the media, and they are still really, really funny.
M. Son of the Century (Sky Atlantic/Now): Luca Marinelli was chillingly compelling as a fourth-wall-breaking Mussolini in this story of ll Duce’s wobbly first steps towards fascism.
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