Shelby Elpers’ Top 5 TV Shows of 2025

Undoubtedly, there’s more TV than ever, or so it feels.

New streaming services are launching, seemingly, every day, and broadcast & network schedules are evolving with more scripted and unscripted programming. It can be challenging to keep up with everything all of the time. 

So, there’s something to be said about the shows that have become familiar favorites, TV shows that return with new seasons every year. It’s special to spend that time with a show amidst early cancellations and truncated seasons.

Likewise, it’s refreshing when a new show can capture one’s attention well after its season finale, thanks to how grippingly it bursts onto the TV scene. Luckily, there have been a lot of TV shows, new and returning, like that for me this year.

In the order in which they premiered this year, here are my top shows of 2025!

1. Animal Control (FOX)

Animal Control remains one of the most underrated workplace comedies on TV.

The third season feels like the show coming into its own. After two seasons, the show’s confidence has grown to deliver its best season yet.

The comedy is quicker, reflecting the ensemble’s more established rhythm. The animal-related cases range from zoo breaks to Super Bowl parties featuring Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski. There’s also a serialized story involving a penguin that escaped from the zoo, which speaks to Animal Control Season 3’s strengths.

The animal-friendly storylines get to the hearts of the characters more than ever, making it all the more exciting that Animal Control Season 4 premieres in 2026.

2. The Pitt (HBO Max)

Is there really a list of the best TV shows of the year if it doesn’t include The Pitt?

This show has become appointment and watercooler TV in a time when such shows rarely exist in the same capacity and frequency that they once did.

The medical drama, which comes from the dream team of creator R. Scott Gemmill, producer John Wells, and executive producer, director, and star Noah Wyle, has become one of the biggest shows of 2025 since its debut in January.

The Pitt follows a shift in a Pittsburgh ER in one-hour increments across 15 episodes. It takes a realistic approach to emergency medicine and everything that exists alongside it — exhaustion, grief, love, mental health, trauma. It is compelling and current, intelligent and immersive. The Pitt is unforgettable TV.

3. Wild Cards (The CW)

Wild Cards continues to pay homage to the consultant procedural dramas that come before it while blazing an endearing path of its own. 

Its sophomore season still relies on the excellent chemistry between leads Giacomo Gianniotti as Detective Cole Ellis and Vanessa Morgan as Max Mitchell. Their partnership goes to new, often darker and more romantic places in Season 2, and Wild Cards earns those turns with the serialized stories.

Also, the second season has three more episodes than Season 1, giving the show more time and space to successfully explore its charming ensemble.

Not to mention, Wild Cards knows how to deliver a cliffhanger that leaves fans, like myself, eager to see what’s next. Thankfully, longevity is on the show’s side, having already been renewed for a third season that premieres in the new year. 

4. Daredevil: Born Again (Disney+)

As a fan of Netflix’s Daredevil, Daredevil: Born Again feels entirely surreal.

It’s never guaranteed that you will see some of your favorite characters again after a show is canceled, even if they exist around (and now in) the ever-expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, the mere existence of Daredevil: Born Again and its bringing back so many cast and crew members is celebratory.

Even when it struggles to find its footing after seven years away and amid creative hurdles, the show makes it so easy to lean into the good.

Most importantly, Charlie Cox hasn’t missed a step (or a punch, if you will) as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and Vincent D’Onofrio is just as chilling as Wilson Fisk clings to power. They are definitive castings in superhero media, and it’s good to have them (and the rest of the Daredevil cast!) back.

5. Dancing with the Stars (ABC)

Dancing with the Stars has become a yearly TV staple for many since its premiere in 2005. So, it’s no wonder that the show’s 34th season, celebrating the ballroom dancing competition show’s 20th birthday, is the biggest yet. 

With guest judges like former host Tom Bergeron and dances so iconic that they inspire TikTok trends, this show is at the forefront of TV conversations this year.

In an impressive feat, the show’s viewership continues to rise, and it beats its own absolutely bonkers voting record every week. Millions of people vote for their favorite stars and partnerships to take home the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. This year, the win goes to Robert Irwin and his partner Witney Carson.

All of which proves that hundreds of episodes and thousands of dances later, Dancing with the Stars is still having a cultural impact.

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What TV shows were your favorites this year? Let us know in the comments below!

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