A selection of 2025's must-watch TV series With all of the fuss of Christmas now behind us, and the excitement of New Year’s Eve still the better part of a week away, you might suddenly have found yourself with a lot of time on your hands to kill. And if you wanted to use that time to stay out of the cold, resting at home while polishing off the last of your festive chocolate, we salute you. Should you find yourself looking for something to fill in those hours, though, might we suggest that this could be an opportune moment to catch up on some of the telly that you missed out on when it first came out. We’ve rounded up 21 of the biggest shows from the last 12 months that would make idea “Crimbo limbo” viewing… The White Lotus The cast of The White Lotus season three Taking a look out the window right now, there are few things we can think we’d fancy more than a trip away to somewhere gorgeous and sun-soaked (although we’d probably prefer somewhere where we wouldn’t be dicing with death as soon as we check in). Season three of The White Lotus aired earlier this year, and was, in many ways, the most jaw-dropping of the lot. The jury’s out on exactly where it stands in the ranking of the show’s three outings so far, but this latest offering still featured some dazzling work from the likes of Aimee Lou Wood , Carrie Coon and, of course, Parker Posey ’s inimitable performance as Victoria Ratliff. Stream it on: Now The Celebrity Traitors Speaking of star-studded getaways, we’ll admit that we had our reservations before the first celebrity season of The Traitors got underway in the autumn, but these concerns were quickly dashed the second we caught our first glimpse of Alan Carr in that cloak. If you weren’t among the millions who tuned into The Celebrity Traitors night-after-night earlier this year, perhaps it’s time to finally see what all the fuss was about. Stream it on: BBC iPlayer Squid Game The first season of Squid Game was the very definition of a TV phenomenon when it premiered in 2021, slowly climbing its way to become one of Netflix’s biggest ever seasons. A second season finally arrived at the end of last year, with the third and final batch of episodes debuting over the summer, just six months later. Praise for the show’s final outing might have been slightly less unanimous than the first two, but reviews were still pretty glowing, so if you’re still to dive into the final chapter of Gi-hun’s story, take this as your sign that the time has come. Also, just as gripping, though much less serious, is the second season of the divisive reality show Squid Game: The Challenge , which also arrived on Netflix in 2025. Stream it on: Netflix The Studio One of the biggest new comedies of 2025, The Studio was co-written by and stars Seth Rogen as the new head of a Hollywood studio navigating the many hurdles of the modern film industry. While the regular cast includes Emmy-nominated performances from the likes of Kathryn Hahn, Catherine O’Hara and Ike Barinholtz, the show also makes use of cameos from countless real-life figures from the film industry, including everyone from Ron Howard and Martin Scorsese to Zoë Kravitz, Dave Franco and Charlize Theron as themselves. Stream it on: Apple TV+ Riot Women From the genius mind of Sally Wainwright, who previously gave us hit shows including Happy Valley, Gentlemen Jack and Last Tango In Halifax, comes this empowering kitchen sink drama about a group of middle-aged women who come together to form their own punk band. Riot Women ’s cast is also a veritable who’s who of greats from the British TV scene, including Tamsin Greig, Joanna Scanlan, Lorraine Ashburn, Sue Johnston and Anne Reid, alongside Olivier nominee Rosalie Craig. Stream it on: BBC iPlayer Adolescence At this point you’ve probably already heard so much about Adolescence , undoubtedly the biggest new show of 2025, that you don’t need us to tell you any more about it. But just in case… This gritty four-part drama made all kinds of waves when it premiered earlier this year, thanks to its uncomfortable subject matter, stellar performances from its cast (including break-out star Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham , who co-wrote the show) and the unique technique of having each episode filmed in one continuous take. No, it’s not the stuff of cheery festive viewing, but we also wouldn’t get to the end of 2025 without at least giving Adolescence a try… Stream it on: Netflix Toxic Town Over the last few years, Netflix has really been on a roll when it comes to original British programming, with hits like Black Doves , Baby Reindeer and various star-studded Harlan Coben adaptations all premiering on the platform. Unfortunately, all of the furore around Adolescence somewhat overshadowed Toxic Town , another original drama from acclaimed screenwriter Jack Thorne, which also boasts its own impressive cast. The series shines a light on the real-life Corby toxic waste scandal , which resulted in several women from the same town giving birth to children with birth defects and limb differences, with those involved having praised Toxic Town for its depiction of the serious subject matter . Stream it on: Netflix Slow Horses Now onto its fifth season, the buzz around Slow Horses is showing no signs of slowing down, with the latest run of episodes proving just as popular with Apple TV+ users as the first four. Joining Gary Oldman ’s Jackson Lamb this time around are The Celebrity Traitors’ own Nick Mohammed as the fictitious mayor of London, Zafar Jaffrey, while series regular Christopher Chung’s Roddy Ho took on a more major role , earning the Australian actor a wave of praise from critics. Stream it on: Apple TV+ Severance The team behind Severance may have kept us waiting the better part of three years for the resolution to that season one cliffhanger, but it was kind of worth the wait. Answering some of our questions, but leaving us with about 1,000 new ones, the dystopian drama’s return once again had us simultaneously gripped, thrilled and, indeed, totally baffled. Roll on season three, we say! Stream it on: Apple TV+ Pluribus Pluribus While two of Apple’s new shows made triumphant returns to the platform in 2025, we reckon it’s new addition Pluribus that was the real jewel in the service’s crown this last year. From the creators of Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul , the latter’s Rhea Seehorn has received near-unanimous glowing praise for her performance as Carole, a woman who suddenly finds herself one of the only human beings on earth immune to a new apocalyptic and brain-altering virus that has united almost everyone on the Earth in a peaceful hive-mind, with the results being both chilling and hilarious. Stream it on: Apple TV+ Wayward This mysterious miniseries from Feel Good creator Mae Martin centres around a man who teams up with two teenagers to unearth the truth about a dark and secretive facility for troubled youths in their hometown. If you’re still on the fence, we’ve got two words that will undoubtedly entice you: Toni Collette . Enjoy. Stream it on: Netflix Mid-Century Modern Mid-Century Modern Mid-Century Modern was that rare thing in the current age of TV – a multi-camera sitcom with a laugh track that didn’t just make us cringe. That probably had something to do with the way it leaned into the strengths of executive producers Max Mutchnik and David Kohan (who co-created Will & Grace), James Burrows (who directed all your favourite episodes of classic 90s and 2000s shows like Friends and Frasier) and Ryan Murphy (whose hit-and-miss shows in 2025 included All’s Fair and Monster). Effectively merging the best parts of Will & Grace and The Golden Girls, the show featured Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, Nathan Lee Graham and the late Linda Lavin as a group of gay men (and one’s mum) who move in together after the death of another member of the gang. Stream it on: Disney+ Forever After huge rom-com hits in 2024 with One Day and Nobody Wants This , Netflix kept the ball rolling this year with the release of Forever . Based on the hugely popular Judy Blume book of the same, Netflix’s adaptation of the classic novel moved the action into the present day , while introducing new themes into the story like class, race and mental health. Stream it on: Netflix Film Club Sex Education alum Aimee Lou Wood has had a truly amazing year, thanks to hits like The White Lotus, Daddy Issues and Toxic Town, plus her upcoming role in Sam Mendes’ ambitious Beatles movies , production on which got underway earlier in 2025. Among all the fuss around her other projects, her original series Film Club may have got a little lost in the mix, which is a shame as it’s a very sweet piece of work that deserves to be seen. Like Forever, it’s a modern rom-com about a reclusive young woman who begins to re-evaluate her life when she learns that her lifelong best friend is about to move away, putting an end to their weekly tradition of watching films together every Friday night. As well as Aimee herself, the show also features stellar performances from Nabhaan Rizwan and Suranne Jones , who is allowed to stretch her comedy roles with her performance as Aimee’s neurotic on-screen mum. Stream it on: BBC iPlayer Death By Lightning Alright, we’re going to be completely honest with you here. Death By Lightning pretty much passed us by completely when it started streaming on Netflix in November, but we’ve seen it on enough best-of-2025 lists that we’ve already reserved a spot in our “Crimbo limbo” to check it out for ourselves. The historical drama features Succession ’s Matthew Macfadyen and two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon in a story exploring the assassination of US president James A. Garfield by Charles J. Guiteau. Stream it on: Netflix What It Feels Like For A Girl What It Feels Like For A Girl Adapted from Paris Lees’ gripping memoir of the same name, What It Feels Like For A Girl takes us back to the turn of the millennium, where troubled youth Byron’s life changes after meeting the “Fallen Angels” by chance, kicking off a journey of self-discovery with dizzying highs and some deeply unsettling lows. The show premiered to glowing reviews, with particular praise for its cast of queer, trans and gender non-conforming cast portraying nuanced and multi-layered characters from those communities that never felt sugar-coated or toothless, but you still couldn’t help but root for. Stream it on: BBC iPlayer Race Across The World The latest iteration of Race Across The World saw the teams of two trekking across Asia from China to India and while, as ever, it was great to see all the locations as the journey unfolds, the real MVP of Race Across The World remains whoever does the casting. Yet again, the casting team knocked it out of the park with this year’s teams, resulting in big laughs, heartwarming moments and plenty of tears along the way. Once you’re done bingeing, there’s also the celebrity series which once again made for compulsive viewing. Stream it on: BBC iPlayer House Of Guinness A historical drama about the family behind everyone’s favourite Irish stout might not sound like the stuff of gripping telly, but when you factor in Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and a cast that includes Anthony Boyle, Louis Partridge and James Norton – and you’ve got yourself a hit. House Of Guinness is one of the year’s most popular new Netflix shows largely down to its salacious action, leaning into some of the wild and scandalous stories connected to its central family as it deals with the fall-out from the death of its patriarch. Stream it on: Netflix Long Story Short Long Story Short OK, we’re just going to say it, Long Story Short is probably our favourite new show of 2025. Like Bojack Horseman – with whom it shares a creator in Raphael Bob-Waksberg – before it, Long Story Short handles tricky and difficult themes with irreverence and in ways no one else could have predicted. However, while Bojack Horseman often veered into quite bleak territory, the life-affirming Long Story Short will, for the most part, fill you with both hope and joy, even in some of its darker moments, as it explores the lives of different members of an American Jewish family at various points in time. Don’t just take our word for it – the show holds a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes – but please, please, please check it out if you haven’t already. Stream it on: Netflix Andor At this point, if we’re being totally honest, there’ve been so many Star Wars spin-off movies and TV shows that the thought of another one is a bit of a hard sell – but Andor remains one of the most popular with both fans and critics. The action-packed sci-fi series mixes elements of spy thrillers and political dramas with an intergalactic twist, with the second season earning near-unanimous praise and even awards love for leading man Diego Luna. Stream it on: Disney+ Stranger Things Alright, this one is potentially a bit of a cheat given there’s still one episode to go in the current season. But, after the latest drop of episodes in the early hours of Boxing Day, you’ve now got plenty of time to catch up on all the latest from the Hawkins gang before the long-awaited feature-length finale arrives on New Year’s Day. Stream it on: Netflix READ MORE: 10 Best New Year's Eve-Themed Movies To Watch As You Ring In 2026 20 Funniest Celebrity Christmas Moments We'll Never Not Find Hilarious Which Of 2024's New Christmas Songs Are Worth A Listen?