Best of 2025: Television
Sorry to be dramatic, but I suspect we will look back at 2025 as the year that the Second Golden Age of Television officially came to a close.
There were some great new series/seasons, to be sure. But overall the networks went all in on lowest-common-denominator entertainment (what does Sherriff Country even mean?), long-standing reality TV competitions produced deeply unsatisfying seasons (looking at you, Survivor, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and even newcomer The Traitors), and the streamers scrambled to launch and almost immediately cancel new shows (RIP Boots and Mid-Century Modern) while long-awaited sequel seasons of one-time juggernauts arrived to mostly shrugs (Wednesday, Squid Game, and Stranger Things, to name but a few).
Was this just an off year? The 2026 Golden Globe nominations certainly seem to suggest that we’re all waiting for something new and exciting. But as media consolidation and the increasingly creaky economics of streaming become harder to ignore, I think we may be in real trouble.
Read on for the Great Pop Culture Debate panelists’ picks for the best TV series of the year. Did we forget your favorite? Add it in the comments below.
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Adults (FX/Hulu)
Let me first say that we don’t have to pit Adults against its timely release counterpart Overcompensating just because Owen Thiele is in both, or because Vulture already did. Now that I’ve said my piece there...I loved this one. In inviting folks to watch this one (and I did, a lot) I found myself saying “this one’s doing what How I Met Your Mother thought it was doing.” Actual twentysomethings hanging out, facing actual problems of the decade like battling the healthcare system without insurance, making dinner for an older partner, and yeah, even checking the mail. That’s the struggle of your 20s, and I had SO much fun watching this crew navigate it all. Also? Paul Baker. Nothing further. — AMMA MARFO
Andor Season 2 (Disney+)
This monumental second and final season of Andor was not only some of the best television this year, but some of the best Star Wars media ever created. Genevieve O’Reilly’s scene on the Senate floor resonates in such a powerful way to the tyranny we face today, and the show won an Emmy for writing. This show is a must-watch. — KEVIN DILLON
Colman Domingo in The Four Seasons (Netflix)
Given all the star power associated with The Four Seasons (Tina Fey! Steve Carell! Kerri Kenney going somewhat dramatic, and giving us the “unwrapping a thing” scene of my life! My anxious love Will Forte! ALAN ALDA!), I really wanted to like it more. It felt uneven and oddly invested as a whole. Moreover? We ruined what could have been a really rounded and complete miniseries by giving it a second season. For why?
But a crucial and incredible part of what we did get? Colman Domingo. Thanks to the nature of Civil Rights films, zombie show spinoffs, and James Baldwin adaptations, we don’t let Domingo exercise his funny bone that often. That is our loss as a society, people. Because when he does get to? He’s so good. Catch me replying to any inconvenience with his “I have a question. I hate this.” quip at every opportunity. — AMMA MARFO
The Gilded Age Season 3 (HBO/HBO Max)
Season 3 of The Gilded Age is so good because it finally leans all the way into the operatic tension between old money and new money, delivering sharper social battles, richer character arcs, and jaw-dropping historical drama. Bertha Russell is in full steamroll mode, waging a glamorous, no-prisoners campaign for cultural dominance, while Agnes van Rhijn doubles down on her razor-edged elegance, making every drawing-room showdown feel like a duel fought with etiquette and knives. The younger generation’s romances and ambitions add momentum, the servants’ storylines deepen with real emotional stakes, and the show’s world feels more alive and luxurious than ever — from the fashion to the opera houses to the power plays behind every polite smile. It’s smart, sumptuous, and deliciously tense, the series operating at the height of its soapy, prestige charm. — JAKE PITOCHELLI
Heated Rivalry (HBO/HBO Max)
At the time I write this, Episode 4 has just released and Heated Rivalry just beat Pennywise for the No. 1 spot on HBO Max. This show is a phenomenon, and rightly so. It is well acted, and the storytelling brings to life gay steamy hockey romances in the best way possible. If you aren’t watching, you should be! — KEVIN DILLON
King of the Hill (Hulu)
This reboot had a high bar to clear with me. As a devoted fan of the original who made up a quote game called “Jack or Bobby” prominently featuring one of its characters, I needed this to hit. And it did. Minor and tragically unavoidable stumbles in voiceover work notwithstanding, this is genuinely the only reboot I’ve experienced that would weave in seamlessly with its source series in a future rewatch. They nailed how Bobby’s whimsy would mature into a passionate work ethic, how Peggy would struggle in retirement as a relentless tryhard, and even how Hank and Dale would spar in our current political climate. Plus, credible aging up! We’re getting more in the years to come, and what else is there to say but, “Ho yeah”?! — AMMA MARFO
Mid-Century Modern (Hulu)
I am fucking livid that this hilarious, heartwarming, affirming show was axed after one very strong season. But I guess it’s a sign of the times in which we live. Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, and Nathan Lee Graham were an effective comedy trio right from the jump, playing three aging gay friends all living together in Palm Springs. The comparisons to a gay Golden Girls were as redundant as they were apt. The script induced actual cackles, and the insight into gay-male behavior was searing. Maybe that’s part of the reason it didn’t get picked up. We gays, ironically, hate having the mirror held up to us. The tragic passing of Linda Lavin, brilliant in her role as the Sophia for this show, may have also been a factor in it not being picked up. All I know is, we could desperately use more shows like this at this moment in history. And I fear we may only get fewer as time goes on. — ERIC REZSNYAK
Pluribus (Apple TV+)
PLURIBUS, or PLUR1BUS if you're Apple TV/Prince, is a great reminder that before Vince Gilligan created Better Call Saul or Breaking Bad, he wrote some of the best episodes of The X-Files. It's like a series set in The Twilight Zone, which means it also perfectly captures what it feels like to live in 2025. Rhea Seehorn gets her well-deserved showcase here as Carol, one of the last individual humans on an Earth that's been overrun by an alien hive mind. This could make her your traditional hero, but she's also a wonderfully messy, grieving, alcoholic, queer, insecure romantasy writer so... she’s not. Instead, she’s constantly surprising and unpredictable. The show is full of rich conflicts -- group needs vs. individual wants, standing up vs. going along, the girl vs. the world -- but even more so, it’s FUN. Equally thrilling, moving, and hilarious; there are even silent sequences in the back half of the season that play out like Jaques Tati meets Looney Tunes. And it moves with confidence. This show, much like Carol, is going to be who it is and do things its way, whether you like it or not. And I love it. — BRENDAN HAY
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 6 (Bravo/Peacock)
This season of RHOSLC is peak chaos: gout dick-sucking accusations flying, french fries v franchising, and the accidental icon known only as Soup Man. Angie K is of course in full Greek-goddess-of-war mode, jumping into every conflict with glam, volume, and absolutely no hesitation. Meanwhile, Britani Bateman's eccentric man-crazy personality is on full display. Additionally, the crossover between the RHOSLC ladies and Below Deck crew is perhaps one of the best group vacations, delivering with every scene and showing Meredith Mark's new water-bending skills. With franchise-defining drama, perfectly unhinged quotes, and plot twists dripping in snow, sequins, and sodium, RHOSLC is genuinely operating at its peak. — JAKE PITOCHELLI
Task (HBO/HBO Max)
Brad Ingelsby, who wrote Mare of Easttown, is back with another incredible TV show centered around Mark Ruffalo as he assembles an FBI task force to tackle crime in rural suburbs of Philadelphia. Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey are incredible. Just as it did with Mare, this show gives you so many great moments, side characters, and dives deep into its community. — KEVIN DILLON
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Disney+)
The Marvel machine struggled to operate efficiently this year, and its Marvel Animation shingle released a bunch of series that got lost in the shuffle (Eyes of Wakanda, Marvel Zombies both dropped with virtually 0 fanfare). This gem dropped at the very start of 2025 and deserves more recognition. I will admit that even I was put off by the childish Spidey suit design (spoiler: it gets modified and improved episode by episode), and the Ditko-inspired animation style takes some getting used to (but I love it). We’ve gotten the Spider-Man origin story roughly a zillion times at this point, but this alternate-universe take is engaging and modern, and gave us a unique take on the Peter Parker/Norman Osborn dynamic. Also check out easily the coolest version of the Scorpion I’ve ever seen, and a great origin story for the increasingly relevant street-level villain, Tombstone. – ERIC REZSNYAK
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