2025 has had no shortage of great television, and whether you’re a Blue Lights fan or a Celebrity Traitors obsessive, this list of the year’s best TV shows should keep you entertained.
Squeezing in an entire TV series right now feels ambitious at best. December is already packed with plans, Christmas TV takes over the schedule, and that’s before you even glance at the best films of 2025.
However, when you’re not watching the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special or driving yourself mad with Only Connect’s hardest questions, you may feel the urge to catch up with something you’ve not seen this year.
So, we’ve rounded up the 10 best TV shows that have aired in 2025 – and where you can watch them.
The best TV shows of the year
10. Blue Lights series 3
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Cast: Siân Brooke, Katherine Devlin, Nathan Braniff, Martin McCann
- Creator: Declan Lawn, Adam Patterson
- Length: 6 episodes
- Where to stream in the UK: BBC iPlayer
What it’s about: Two years into their careers as response officers, Grace, Annie, and Tommy are used to the chaos of policing. But their latest cases drag them into something darker: a hidden underworld lurking beneath middle-class respectability, where accountants and lawyers quietly prop up organised crime.
Why to watch: Considering it comes from the BBC, the premier source of police dramas, Blue Lights still feels like it’s flying under the radar.
Series 3 was another testament to its greatness; it’s rightly been compared to The Wire and Happy Valley, a lofty bar that it’s capable of reaching. Line of Duty series 7 may be at the top of people’s wish lists, but if they’re not watching this, they’re missing out.
9. IT: Welcome to Derry
- Genre: Horror
- Cast: Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Bill Skarsgard
- Creator: Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Jason Fuchs
- Length: 8 episodes
- Where to stream in the UK: NOW TV and Sky
What it’s about: In 1962, months after a young boy goes missing in Derry, a group of determined schoolkids try to uncover the truth of his disappearance and stumble into the path of a grave evil.
Why to watch: Just as the IT movies faithfully captured Stephen King’s horror tome, Welcome to Derry is a daring but consistent expansion and companion.
Even if it has a wobbly beginning and some dodgy CGI, its wheels steady when Bill Skarsgard’s dancing clown shows up, ratcheting up the cackling, teeth-flashing terror and even going toe-to-toe with Stranger Things.
8. The Rehearsal season 2
- Genre: Reality, Comedy, Drama
- Cast: Nathan Fielder
- Creator: Nathan Fielder
- Length: 6 episodes
- Where to stream in the UK: NOW TV and Sky
What it’s about: Nathan Fielder, a comedian who help people prepare for big moments in their life, takes on a new project: the aviation industry… and Sully Sullenberg’s story.
Why to watch: What is The Rehearsal? Is it a reality series – or a critique of how reality shows exploit people? Do you think it’s a scripted comedy, or a real farce? Is Nathan Fielder crazy, or is it all a perfectly calibrated charade?
There’s one answer: yes. Season 2 is a jaw-dropping, one-of-a-kind TV event that has to be seen to be believed. How did they do it?
7. Pluribus
- Genre: Sci-fi, Drama
- Cast: Rhea Seehorn, Karolina Wydra, Carlos-Manuel Vesga
- Creator: Vince Gilligan
- Length: 9 episodes (finale airs on December 24)
- Where to stream in the UK: Apple TV
What it’s about: Carol Sturka, the most miserable woman in a world overtaken by (almost) inescapable happiness, tries to figure out exactly what’s going on.
Why to watch: How do you talk about Pluribus without spoilers? In truth, you can’t, but we can say this: it’s an audaciously bracing, original idea from the creator of Breaking Bad (one of the greatest shows in TV history).
After her work in Better Call Saul, it’s an overdue lead role for Rhea Seehorn; this is a Christopher Nolan/Cillian Murphy-level pairing.
6. The Assembly
- Genre: Reality
- Cast: Danny Dyer, David Tennant, Gary Lineker, Jade Thirlwall
- Creator: Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache
- Length: 4 episodes
- Where to stream in the UK: ITVX
What it’s about: Four celebrities sit down with autistic and neurodivergent people to answer their questions – and nothing is off the table.
Why to watch: The Assembly is utterly captivating, a credit to both the stars who agreed to take part and its insightful, brave interviewers (who bring up questions we’d all love to ask). It’s a force for good, and a heartwarming showcase of kindness and compassion. A special shout-out to David Tennant’s episode, too; he deals with a J.K. Rowling question beautifully.
5. The Pitt
- Genre: Drama
- Cast: Noah Wyle, Tracy Ifeachor, Patrick Ball, Fiona Dourif
- Creator: R. Scott Gemmill
- Length: 15 episodes
- Where to stream in the UK: HBO Max or on-demand with a VPN
What it’s about: Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch and the other doctors, nurses, and staff at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Centre’s emergency room try to overcome an unpredictable and gruelling 15 hours in the hospital.
Why to watch: “Strictly speaking, The Pitt hasn’t been released in the UK. It came to HBO Max in January this year, and it’ll be available to stream in the UK when it launches next year.
That’s how good it is: failing to recognise the return of real TV – aka emotionally taxing, engrossing medical dramas with E.R. legend Noah Wyle that don’t take multi-year gaps – would be a disservice to this list. It’ll become an instant favourite when it drops over here… or you could use a VPN to watch it right now.”
4. Andor season 2
- Genre: Sci-fi, Action
- Cast: Diego Luna, Adria Arjona, Stellan Skarsgård, Denise Gough
- Creator: Tony Gilroy
- Length: 12 episodes
- Where to stream in the UK: Disney Plus
What it’s about: With Cassian Andor working for rebel spymaster Luthen Rael, the second season charts his four-year journey towards Rogue One, with the rebellion gaining momentum (and attention) as the Empire forges ahead with the Death Star.
Why to watch: Star Wars has lost its way; once the biggest franchise in the world, it has been reduced to niche, fan-brained, sludgy spectacle.
That’s why Andor feels like such a revolution: it’s a grown-up, rousing, and richly rewarding story befitting of the series’ once sancrosanct legacy. Let there be no doubt: this is the best Star Wars release since The Empire Strikes Back.
3. Celebrity Traitors
- Genre: Reality
- Cast: Alan Carr, Stephen Fry, Tom Daley, Paloma Faith, Jonathan Ross, Clare Balding, Nick Mohammed, Tameka Empson, Joe Wilkinson, Kate Garraway, Celia Imrie, Lucy Beaumont, Mark Bonnar, David Olusoga, Niko Omilana, Joe Marler, Cat Burns, Ruth Codd, Charlotte Church, Claudia Winkleman
- Creator: Mark Pos
- Length: 9 episodes
- Where to stream in the UK: BBC iPlayer
What it’s about: In the first-ever series of Celebrity Traitors, 15 celebs head to the castle to work out who’s lying to them – or worm their way to the final.
Why to watch: “Celebrity Traitors started on the backfoot. The normal series restored the Big Brother appeal of reality TV: watching normal people (translation: not influencers and Z-listers) become friends and squabble with each other. Would it work with celebrities?
In short, the sceptics (including this writer) were proven gloriously wrong. This was exhilarating, scream-at-your-telly television that was just as good as its predecessor. If this means we get two Traitors shows every year, we should count ourselves lucky.”
Let’s hope Celebrity Traitors season 2 casts even better celebs (plus, The Traitors series 4 is just around the corner).
2. Severance season 2
- Genre: Sci-fi, Thriller
- Cast: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, Patricia Arquette
- Creator: Dan Erickson
- Length: 10 episodes
- Where to stream in the UK: Apple TV
What it’s about: The fallout of the Overtime Contingency sees Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan separated and dizzied by their outie lives. When they reunite, they’re determined to uncover Lumon’s darkest secrets.
Why to watch: Severance Season 2 is a staggering small-screen feat; it’s practically flawless (except for one tiny misplaced dip). If it maintains this level of intricate, all-involving quality, it’ll sit comfortably in the highest echelon of television – to borrow Lumon’s verbosity, we should all feel jubilant at its ascendance.
1. Adolescence
- Genre: Drama
- Cast: Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper, Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty, Christine Tremarco
- Creator: Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham
- Length: 4 episodes
- Where to stream in the UK: Netflix
What it’s about: Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old boy, is arrested on suspicion of murdering his classmate, a young girl. As the police investigate, his family are left to face the truth of what happened.
Why to watch: Adolescence is terrifying: an intense, heart-thumping drama that confronts the clear, present, and nauseating danger of the ‘manosphere’. It also boasts dazzling one-take wizardry (to be expected from Boiling Point’s Philip Barantini) and towering performances you’ll never forget. It’s not just the best show of 2025: no other series on this list is as timely or important.
Read more: Ofcom reveals most-complained-about TV shows of 2025
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