The 16 most-anticipated TV shows of 2025

Sometimes great TV shows are like buses – you wait for ages for one then suddenly they all arrive at once.

Although we were treated to a lot of excellent series in 2024, including ‘The Penguin’, ‘True Detective: Night Country’ and ‘Baby Reindeer’, the dual Hollywood strikes of 2023 left many of the most-anticipated shows delayed until now.

From ‘Stranger Things’ to ‘The Last of Us’ to ‘Yellowjackets’, the sheer amount of upcoming small-screen servings is almost a little overwhelming – how are we going to do anything else with our lives this year?!

We’ve whittled it down to 16 of the ones we’re most excited about – with honourable mentions to ‘The Death of Bunny Munro’ (Sky Atlantic), ‘Poker Face’ (Peacock), ‘Wednesday’ (Netflix), ‘Euphoria’ (HBO and Max), ‘House of Guinness’ (Netflix) and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ (Prime and Apple TV+) – all of which are also due to premier in 2025, with dates to be decided.

Grab a blanket, snuggle down and prepare to beat the January gloom with some great telly.

Severance

Release date: 17 January 

Where to stream: Apple TV+ 

What if your work memories and personal memories were completely separated? In many ways, it’s the dream: An enforced ability to actually switch off after 5pm! In others, it’s a dystopian nightmare where the slicing of self confuses reality and allows for a corporation to withhold sinister secrets. 

This is the premise of ‘Severance’, Ben Stiller’s Eternal Sunshine meets ‘The Office’ drama about a group of employees working for a mysterious company called Lumon. Adam Scott plays Mark, a former history professor who agreed to the memory procedure in the depths of grief after losing his wife. In season 1, he joined forces with colleagues Helly (Britt Lower), Dylan (Zach Cherry) and Irving (John Turturro) as they began to unravel what the company was actually up to.

It’s been a long wait to get answers, but here’s hoping they arrive before EOP. 

The Night Agent

Release date: 23 January 

Where to stream: Netflix

As Netflix’s most-watched show in 2023, racking up more than 812 hours of total watch time, it’s no surprise we’re getting a second season of ‘The Night Agent’.

A twisty and compelling crime thriller, it follows FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) and his techy companion Rose (Luciane Buchanan) as they become embroiled in knotty government conspiracies. Having saved the President in season 1, this time Sutherland is tasked with hunting out a mole in the CIA. No rest for the Night Action crew. 

Yellowjackets

Release date: 14 February 

Where to stream: Paramount+ 

The Emmy-nominated thriller about a high school girls’ soccer team that survived a plane crash is back for a third series. Alternating between the past and present, it traces how trauma has shaped the lead characters, gradually revealing the sinister truths (and cannibalistic horrors) that lurk deep within the recesses of their memories.

Featuring a star-studded cast of nostalgic faces, including Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, and new addition Hilary Swank, this latest season is set to focus on the young girls’ reintegration into society after being rescued from the Canadian wilderness post-plane crash. 

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the show’s co-creator Ashley Lyle teased: “What we see is a continuation of some of the tensions and resentments that were building in season 2. And those really play a large part in how the girls continue to interact this season.”

The White Lotus

Release date: 16 February 

Where to stream: HBO and Max 

While it won’t be the same without eccentric heiress Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) – RIP queen – anticipation for the third season of Mike White’s astute satirical series about crazy rich people has been high. 

Always centred around a luxury White Lotus resort and its haze of self-absorbed, secret-clutching fictional guests, this time we’re arriving in Thailand. Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell), the manager of the hotel spa in season 1, will return, alongside a big cast of newcomers: Jason Isaacs, Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Carrie Coon, Dom Hetrakul, Aimee Lou Wood, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Lisa Manobal of the hugely successful K-pop band Blackpink. 

While it feels impossible to top the frenzied shenanigans of season 2’s finale, White told Entertainment Weekly that this new season is “going to be longer, bigger, crazier.”

Zero Day

Release date: 20 February

Where to stream: Netflix

A veteran of the big-screen, we’ve seen Robert De Niro star in everything fromTaxi Driver and The Godfather to Heat and Joker – but never a TV series. This is about to change, with his leading role in Netflix’s upcoming political thriller about a beloved and no-bullsh*t talking former US President tasked with leading an investigation into a devastating nationwide cyberattack.

The show’s co-creator, Noah Oppenheim, told Tudum that it “also looks at the cost of power for those who are asked to take on these enormous challenges — what it means for them personally, and what it means for their families.”

Daredevil: Born Again

Release date: 4 March

Where to stream: Disney+

The long-awaited sequel to Netflix’s popular ‘Daredevil’ series, ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ will air in two 9-episode parts on Disney+. 

We’re back in the world of Marvel comic book superhero Matt Murdock AKA Daredevil (Charlie Cox), who gained superhuman senses after being blinded by a chemical spill as a child.

Due to the series now streaming on Disney, which owns the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’re likely to see a much wider breadth of crossover characters appearing. It’s also set to be (again) pretty violent, with Brad Winderbaum, head of TV and Streaming at Marvel Studios, telling Collider: “Some of the most brutal action we’ve ever brought to the screen is coming in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’, which isn’t a horror show, but it really packs a lot of power and there’s a lot of visceral action.”

The Studio

Release date: 26 March

Where to stream: Apple TV+ 

In an era of streaming and superhero flops, the tensions between corporate greed and creativity freedom have never been so high for movie makers.  

Parodying this is a new satire from comedy writer, director and actor Seth Rogen, who stars as Matt Remick, a newly appointed head of the fictional ‘Continental Studios’. Tackling the chaotic and superficial ridiculousness at the heart of Hollywood, it’s both a parody and insider look at what goes on behind the scenes when attempting to (impossibly) please everyone at the detriment of artistic integrity.

Martin Scorsese features, along with other big names like Catherine O’Hara, Brya Cranston and Kathryn Hahn. Will make you glad for a simple 9-5. 

Stranger Things

Release date: TBC 

Where to stream: Netflix 

It’s hard to believe, but almost a decade has passed since ‘Stranger Things’ first premiered on Netflix in 2016.

Set in the 1980s in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, a group of kids discover a portal to ‘the upside down’ after their friend goes missing, a place where Demogorgons, Mind Flayers and governmental conspiracies come to (fairy) light.

Heavy on nostalgia and infused with that soft-lit Spielbergian ambience, the Duffer Brothers’ series helped define a new era of TV-watching alongside the childhoods – and music tastes – of a generation.

Not much is known about the fifth and final season, other than it’s set in 1987 following the events of season 4 and will feature Linda Hamilton of The Terminator films. On Stranger Things Day (6 November), Netflix also released all eight episode titles, with the finale named ‘The Rightside Up’ – here’s hoping that signals a happy ending and some much-deserved peace for the residents of Hawkins.  

The Last of Us

Release date: TBC 

Where to stream: HBO and Max 

It’s the show that bucked the video game adaptation curse, based on Naughty Dog’s seminal post-apocalyptic franchise. 

Set in a world ravaged by a mutated fungus called Cordyceps that turns people into rabid zombies, season 1 ended explosively, with smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal) rescuing teenager Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who has a rare immunity to the disease, after the rebel Fireflies militia turned on her.

Bolstered by intricate world building and emotionally complex, character-driven plots, it’s powerful TV that captured the zeitgeist of a world still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Season 2 picks up four years on from when we last saw Ellie, who’s now travelling across Seattle with her girlfriend Dina (Shannon Woodward) on a revenge mission against her attackers.

A Knight of Seven Kingdoms

Release date: TBC 

Where to stream: HBO and Max 

The ‘Game of Thrones’ finale might have disappointed the masses, but George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy universe still has plenty more material for the small-screen – this time in the form of a new spinoff called ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’. 

While ‘House of the Dragon’ is based on Martin’s historical-focused book ‘Fire & Blood’, this smaller six-part series uses material from his ‘Dunk & Egg’ novellas. It takes place almost a century before ‘Game of Thrones’ and focuses on Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). 

Sadly, no dragons feature – they’re all extinct at this point – but this, along with its smaller budget and compact runtime, does promise a more character-driven show that puts aside spectacle for deeper storytelling. 

IT: Welcome to Derry

Release date: TBC 

Where to stream: HBO and Max

The 1990s miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s killer clown novel ‘IT’ remains a terrifying memory for those that grew up with it. Now, in very bad news for those with coulrophobia, it’s floating back to the small-screen.

Set in the fictional US town of Derry in the 1960s, the four-part series is a prequel exploring the origins of Pennywise the Clown, a shapeshifting alien that feeds on fear. Andy Muschietti, who directed the 2017 and 2019 films in the franchise, will take the reins once again, with Bill Skarsgård also reprising his role as Pennywise. Other cast members include Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo and James Remar. 

While details remain thin on the ground, we’re likely to get more answers around the town’s clown curse and the dark secrets that led to it. Plus a whole lot of scares.

Squid Game

Release date: TBC 

Where to stream: Netflix 

If you’ve just finished binging ‘Squid Game 2’, you’re likely feeling a little frustrated. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk decided to split the season due to it being too long, leaving us on one almighty cliffhanger. 

Things didn’t end too well for Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) AKA player 456, as his attempts to take down those behind the blood-thirsty games failed at every turn. Will he manage to get out? Will former police detective Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun) manage to get in? And what, gulp, will the inevitable final games be?!

While there’s still no definite date for when we’ll get the third and final season, it is very likely to be this year (phew). 

Alien: Earth

Release date: TBC 

Where to stream: FX/Disney+

Since acquiring the rights to 20th Century Fox’s Alien franchise in 2019, Disney has been working on new iterations of the drooling xenomorphs – their most recent outing in Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus. Now they’re tackling the small-screen, with Noah Hawley – director of fellow film-inspired FX series ‘Fargo’ – set to steer the project. 

It will be a prequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien, in which Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is stuck aboard a doomed spaceship with an unwanted guest after investigating distress signals from a mysterious planet. As the title suggests, the series will be set on Earth after a space vessel lands containing something life-threatening – shield your faces. 

“If people wanted a television series based on the world of Alien, I think I’m gonna give them something special,” Hawley said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. We can’t wait.

The Bear

Release date: TBC 

Where to stream: FX/Disney+

Are you hungry for more blood, sweat, tears and fine dining?

Yes, chef!

Good, because FX’s Emmy-award winning ‘The Bear’ is back for a fourth serving.

The Chicago-set show about a talented chef named Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), who takes over his late brother’s sandwich shop and turns it into a gourmet restaurant, is a simmering pot of high-tension and heartfelt glimmers that highlights how passion can turn to self-destruction.

While season 3 received mixed reviews, it still remains one of the most boundary-pushing pieces of TV that consistently delivers stand-out episodes, like season 1’s ‘Review’ (which was shot in one continuous take) and ‘Napkins’, Ayo Edebiri’s impressive directorial debut from season 3.

As Carmy’s relationships with his ex-girlfriend Claire (Molly Gordon) and cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) hang in the air, and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) contemplates a different direction in life, there’s a lot left to plate up. We hope your appetite for high octane emotional damage is ravenous.

Black Mirror

Release date: TBC 

Where to stream: Netflix

It’s the show that fills us all with deep, dark dread – and becomes eerily more realistic each passing year.

Charlie Brooker’s razor-sharp satirical anthology series is returning for a seventh season that’s made up of six episodes, two of which are reportedly feature-length. It features a stacked cast as usual, including Awkwafina, Paul Giamatti, Emma Corrin, Peter Capaldi, Rashida Jones, Cristin Milioti and Chris O’Dowd – to name just a few!

Speaking about it at Netflix’s Tudum event, Brooker said: “It’s back to basics in many ways. They’re all sci-fi stories, but there’s definitely some horrifying things that occur, but maybe not in an overt horror-movie way. There’s definitely some disturbing content in it.”

We wouldn’t expect anything less.

And Just Like That

Release date: TBC 

Where to stream: HBO and Max 

And just like that, we have a third season of Michael Patrick King’s ‘Sex and the City’ spin-off.

Continuing to follow the New York lives of Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) as they navigate relationships, identity and grief as women in their 50s, it’s as superficial and silly as it is addictive and comforting (oh to have problems in a life where money is no object). 

The last season ended on an admittedly annoying note, with Aiden (John Corbett) asking ex-fiancé Carrie to wait five years for him so he could focus on caring for his teenage son, sigh. Meanwhile, controversial character Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez) will reportedly not be returning – a shame as we’d actually grown to like them once the completely chemistry-dead relationship with Miranda finally came to an end. 

Samantha (Kim Cattrall) won’t make a return cameo this time either. 

In an interview with Warner Bros. Discover Upfronts presentation last year, Sarah Jessica Parker said: “It’s time for [Carrie] to commit more to being the relevant person she wants to be. So, what does that mean, and where might that take a person? Aidan plays a somewhat significant part in the answer to that question.”

That’s all, folks! And if you don’t have square eyes by 2026, you’re clearly not watching enough great TV.

Which shows are you most looking forward to? Let us know – and in the meantime, stay tuned to Euronews Culture for our ongoing 2025 previews that look ahead to the films, books, music, fashion and art we’re most excited about.