2025 Will Soon Belong in a Museum
As 2025 winds down, it’s time to reflect on the past year. Namely, the television I have watched. Unlike previous years, this year I actually paced myself pretty well in keeping up with TV shows. As such, there were a number of contenders for my top 5 TV shows of 2025. But they can’t all make the cut. I want to give honorable mentions to Alice in Borderland, The Last of Us, Black Mirror, and Squid Games. I also want to shout out Stranger Things and Fallout, both of which have new seasons that haven’t wrapped up just yet.
But with all of those honorable mentions out of the way, I still have my top 5 favorite TV shows of the year to share. I hope you enjoy them and find some new favorites as well.
Poker Face
Back in 2023, Poker Face debuted as my second-favorite show of the year. Now, with the murder mystery series at number 5, you may suspect a dip in quality. The first season involved a variety of incentivized murders. Whereas the second season preoccupies itself with psychopathic killers and assassins, which can grow repetitive. It’s perhaps no mystery that Peacock pulled the plug, but it is a shame.
Poker Face still has a handful of fun Columbo-style “howdunits” up its sleeve. And Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale is just as delightfully eccentric as before. The supporting cast matches her oddball energy, occasionally even surpassing it. Cynthia Erivo pulls quintuple duty as five identical sisters, each with jarringly different personalities. John Mulaney and Richard Kind bounce off of each other over an unlikely bond. And Method Man commands an episode purveying “the good stuff,” which probably won’t be what you think.
The Chair Company
Ever felt like the universe was just out to get you? You probably shrugged and moved on. But what if you didn’t? And what if it was? The Chair Company is the latest off-kilter brainchild of Tim Robinson. In addition to writing, Robinson plays the role of Ron, a man whose chair falls apart during the most important business presentation of his career. He’s mortified. And he immediately suspects this sit-down was a setup. The HBO show walks a fine line between sincere and absurd, switching tones just as you’re about to get tired of one.
You may know Robinson from his sketch comedy show, I Think You Should Leave. Admittedly, I’ve only been able to handle its cringe comedy in small doses. But I binged The Chair Company in a matter of days. It’s just as squirm-inducing, but the fact that it’s all tied together into a wider plot makes it hard to look away. Episode 5 in particular is a masterpiece of comedy, as one poor decision leads to a cavalcade of chaos.
Last Samurai Standing
The Hunger Games, but in Japan? Isn’t that just Battle Royale? Yes. Yes, it is. But Last Samurai Standing is more than its conceit. Sure, the basic premise is of a group of Samurai fighting to the death. But the daimyo is in the details. The Netflix show works as a piece of historical fiction. At the height of the Meiji era, guns have supplanted steel, and by extension, the Samurai. There’s political drama, conspiracy, and social commentary. The show is as much about a nation grappling with rapid modernization as it is about warriors fighting their way from Kyoto to Tokyo.
But the fights are really cool. Junichi Okada takes the lead role as Shujiro Saga, a samurai who hasn’t drawn his sword since his traumatic last battle. The fight choreography is inventive as he ducks and dodges his combatants, but becomes inspired when he goes on the offensive. Come for the tense and creative fight scenes, stay for the political drama and backdoor dealings.
Dept. Q
I stumbled upon Dept. Q on a whim. But I’m grateful I did. Before a trip to Edinburgh, I chanced upon this Netflix crime thriller set in that favorite city of mine. The program kicks off with an obnoxious detective investigating a murder. Just as he chastises an officer for sloppy work, the killer steps out and shoots him. And that’s just the first minute of the show. The detective survives, his case still a mystery. A ragtag group investigates cold cases with him at the helm. And a workaholic prosecutor deals with a stalker.
Over the course of its nine episodes, Dept. Q weaves together these seemingly disparate storylines into a tapestry of intrigue. Along the way, it even clears the hurdle of making said detective, expertly played by Matthew Goode, grudgingly likable, in the vein of brilliant curmudgeon Dr. House. And the supporting cast does a lot, often with a little, from the detective’s sidekicks haunted by their own pasts to a group of unnervingly kooky kidnappers.
Severance
After hearing people tell me I needed to check out Severance, I finally bit into the apple (of Apple TV) ahead of season 2. While the first season is more consistent, the second season has a strong start and a grand finish. It sags a little in the middle, but the sum is a net gain overall. The second season returns to the concept of employees who separate, or “sever,” their work consciousness from that of everything else they do.
The second season immediately picks up after the cliffhanger of the first season. It offers many twists and turns from there, some of which are better than others. But what it really excels at is delivering character relationships and introspections, surreal dystopian weirdness, and its unique satire of corporate grandstanding. The last few episodes in particular offer a nonstop thrill ride of tense moments punctured by absolute spectacle. Severance is a worthy watch that occasionally bends your mind but ultimately rewards it.
