Devin Meenan’s Top 5 TV Shows of 2025

I love TV even more than I struggle to keep up with new series. So, when I fall behind on keeping pace with new releases, I remember quality over quantity.

The shows I did watch and stick with are old favorites that came back for new seasons and new series that knocked my socks off. Old favorites returning for more episodes is a reliable comfort, while becoming obsessed with a new show is thrilling. This year, I experienced both plenty of times.

Here are the 5 shows that kept me hooked and entertained the most during 2025:

1. Andor 

Andor may be set in a fantasy world, but it is the TV that most defines the year 2025. Since Andor takes place in a galaxy far, far away, it gets away with bold political statements cloaked by allegory. 

The series, as a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, was always locked into an ending. Yet until the end, that never felt like an anchor around its neck. Knowing how Cassian Andor’s (Diego Luna) story ended only added perspective and depth to his character during the show.

The last leg of Andor, with Cassian’s love, Bix (Adria Arjona) abandoning him, promising they’d be together when the rebellion is over, was especially sad since the promise was doomed. Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgard) said back in Andor Season 1, the Rebels were fighting for “a sunrise [they] know [they’ll] never see,” and Andor convinces you a fight like that is worth waging. 

2. Pluribus

Pluribus was easily the most exciting TV debut season of 2025, bar none. Nothing less should be expected from creator Vince Gilligan and his star, Rhea Seehorn. They may have left the Breaking Bad world behind, but don’t doubt they can still make magic.

The marketing for Pluribus played up the mystery of what the show was really about. If you didn’t look too closely, the series rewards your patience with a mystery that’s disturbing and also escalating. 

Like our lead Carol Sturka (Seehorn), Pluribus viewers have been gradually understanding the mystery as the show goes on. And yet, no episode of Pluribus so far will convince viewers they’ve got it all figured out; few things are more exciting on TV than not having a clue what’s next.

3. Task

Prestige miniseries have become a dime a dozen, but one of the best is HBO’s 2021 series Mare of Easttown. So, it’s no surprise that creator Brad Ingelsby’s new series Task, another grim family drama intertwined with a police procedural, is also excellent.

Affable Mark Ruffalo stars as Detective Tom Brandis, an alcoholic former priest turned FBI agent. The series reminds you what a good actor he is, while gripping you tighter with each episode as it goes along.

Task explores thorny moral questions — like what’s the limit of something you can forgive your child for — without sitting in judgment. That particular question results in a stirring monologue from Ruffalo in the season finale, easily some of the best acting this year.

4. Invincible 

The superhero cartoon Invincible continued on as the best traditional superhero story out there right now during its third season. Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) speaks to young adult comic fans the way Spider-Man did to them as teenagers.

Mark is at the age where the weight of the world is on your shoulders. For him, as a half-Viltrumite superhero, it literally is. If you’re a fan of the original comic series, you’ll generally know what to expect from the show’s story. But that only upped the anticipation this year.

Invincible Season 3 Episode 8 “I Thought You’d Never Shut Up” adapted one moment fans had been waiting for since Season 1: Mark’s fight with the savage Viltrumite, Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), told as a sustained 30-minute action sequence.

5. Yellowjackets

The return of Yellowjackets for its third season was hotly anticipated at the start of this year. After two seasons of mysteries piling up, the marketing promised that this season, “Secrets will be spilled.” The season delivered on that.

The season especially goes into overdrive during its second half: Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 6, “Thanksgiving (Canada),” remains one of the strongest episodes of the year. It made inevitable conclusions feel like swerves and gave a show that risked dragging a shot in the arm. 

Among the cast, Sophie Nélisse as young Shauna and Steven Krueger as the doomed Coach Scott were the definite standouts. The final scene of the season, anchored by actress Sophie Thatcher and an Aerosmith needle-drop, is cheer-worthy like few other TV moments this year.

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What were your favorite TV shows of 2025? Let us know in the comments below!

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