The 10 best TV shows of 2025 (so far), and where to stream them

We're halfway through 2025, and we've already been blessed with some incredible TV.

Returning shows like Severance and Andor surpassed our highest expectations for them, which more than made up for the disappointing returns of some other high-profile series. (Looking at you, The White Lotus and The Last of Us.) Plus, where old favorites failed to wow us, new favorites rose in their place, like The Pitt and The Studio. But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what 2025 TV has to offer. Luckily for you, we've compiled a list of the very best shows that have come out this year. Some might have taken over your social media feeds for months at a time, while others may be more off the beaten path, but trust us: All are worth watching.

From devastating crime dramas and sci-fi epics to college comedies and sex quests, here are the 10 best TV shows of 2025 so far, and where to stream them.

10. Game Changer, Season 7

Few shows on TV are as varied or fun as Game Changer, the ever-changing game show from comedy streamer Dropout. Hosted by Dropout CEO Sam Reich, each installment presents its contestants with a new challenge with rules they discover in real time. That built-in versatility means there's truly something for everyone, with previous seasons including lie detector tests, escape rooms, and Survivor parodies.

With Season 7, Game Changer leaps to a whole new level. The season kicks off with a highly ambitious, year-long scavenger hunt involving squids, jet skis, mind control, and so much more. That premiere alone would be enough to earn Game Changer a spot on this list, but the series doesn't let up from there. An episode focused on stand-up comedians' crowd work quickly becomes a showcase of empathy and comedic connection, while a drunken play on The Traitors devolves into glorious chaos and trickery. There's no telling what you'll get when you tune into an episode of Game Changer, but Season 7 proves that you'll always be in for a treat.

Starring: Sam Reich, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Vic Michaelis, Lisa Gilroy, Lou Wilson, Jacob Wysocki, Oscar Montoya, and more

How to watch: Game Changer is now streaming on Dropout, with a new episode every other Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

9. North of North

The small-town comedy genre gets a lovely new entry in Netflix's North of North, which transports viewers to the Arctic town of Ice Cove. There, young Inuk woman Siaja (Anna Lambe) decides to leave her stale marriage to local legend Ting (Kelly William) and start over. That's easier said than done in an isolated town of 2,200 people, but Siaja is determined to succeed — although things get complicated when her estranged father (Jay Ryan) returns to town.

Don't let the frigid setting fool you: North of North is as heartwarming as TV shows come. Siaja's journey to independence is equal parts inspiring and amusing, as it takes several ridiculous mishaps for her to learn what she wants. Also touching is her troubled relationship with her mother Neevee (Maika Harper), whose rocky past has led her to put up a tough exterior. These two flawed, lovable women head up a charming ensemble, with Ice Cove and its townspeople coming to life through detailed character work and specific town traditions like elders' night and walrus dick baseball. You read that right: walrus dick baseball. To watch how that plays out, and to fall in love with Lambe's wonderful turn as Siaja, be sure to journey North of North.

Starring: Anna Lambe, Maika Harper, Braeden Clarke, Jay Ryan, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Zorga Qaunaq, Bailey Poching, and Kelly William

How to watch: North of North is now streaming on Netflix.

8. Dying for Sex

When Molly Kochan (Michelle Williams) is diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer, she embarks on a quest to orgasm with another person for the first time. That means leaving her husband Steve (Jay Duplass), joining hookup apps, experimenting with sex toys, and trying to find what, exactly, gets her off.

Based on a true story, Dying for Sex takes a frank, judgment-free approach to Molly's sexual encounters, be they awkward, pleasurable, or downright hilarious. (Often, they're all three.) But it also proves to be a tender love story between Molly and her best friend Nikki (Jenny Slate), who becomes Molly's primary caretaker. As the two face down Molly's declining health, Dying for Sex explores the lengths this pair will go to to make each other happy and fulfilled. It's life-affirming and heart-shattering in equal measure, anchored by phenomenal performances from Williams and Slate. As I wrote in my review, "As a duo, they oscillate between gallows humor and genuine heartbreak at a moment's notice, a dichotomy that feels so natural you can't believe you've only been watching their takes on Molly and Nikki for a few episodes. You also can't believe that their friendship will one day come to an end, but Dying for Sex faces that inevitability head on, as honest about death as it is about sex."

Starring: Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, Rob Delaney, Jay Duplass, Kelvin Yu, Sissy Spacek, David Rasche, and Esco Jouléy

How to watch: Dying for Sex is now streaming on Hulu.

7. Overcompensating

You may know Benito Skinner for his viral, pop culture-savvy sketches, but with Overcompensating, the comedian makes the jump from the internet to TV, delivering one of the best comedies of 2025 in the process. The semi-autobiographical series stars Skinner as Benny, a closeted college freshman who strikes up a fierce friendship with outsider Carmen (Wally Baram). Can the two reinvent themselves in college and discover who they really are? Or will they be pulled back into destructive patterns?

These core questions make for the poignant heart of Overcompensating, but make no mistake: The show is downright hilarious. From a barrage of pop culture jokes and cameos (Charli XCX among them) to pitch-perfect cringe comedy, Overcompensating is the college comedy of your dreams. As I wrote in my review, "Overcompensating may emphasize its characters' struggles with identity, but that's not a struggle the show itself shares. Raunchy yet thoughtful, this is an immediately assured coming-of-age story bursting with laughs and comedic stars on the rise."

Starring: Benito Skinner, Wally Baram, Mary Beth Barone, Adam DiMarco, and Rish Shah

How to watch: Overcompensating is now streaming on Prime Video.

6. Mo, Season 2

Not only is Mo one of the best TV shows of 2025 — it's also essential viewing. Co-created by Mo Amer and Ramy Youssef, this semi-autobiographical series centers on Palestinian refugee Mo (Amer) and his family's lives in Houston. Season 2 opens with Mo struggling to get back to the U.S. from Mexico. Detention centers and perilous border crossings await, all sobering reflections of the real-life journeys of immigrants trying to make it across the U.S.-Mexico border.

As UK Editor Shannon Connellan wrote in her review, "Mo's second season comes at a volatile time for Palestinians and undocumented immigrants alike, with those in power enforcing heartless, brutal decisions from disengaged, lofty offices that impact real people. Somehow, beyond all belief, amid a sense of transience and fear, of stacked odds and starting from scratch, Mo finds levity, surrealism, and personal solidarity in the dark, while being a genuinely funny and moving show." 

Starring: Mo Amer, Farah Bsieso, Teresa Ruiz, Tobe Nwigwe, and Omar Elba

How to watch: Mo Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

5. The Pitt

ER's Noah Wyle jumps back into a TV hospital in The Pitt, the real-time medical drama that took the world by storm in early 2025. Wyle plays Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, the chief attending physician in the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center's emergency department. He's about to embark on 15-hour shift, where he and his colleagues will train the next generation of doctors, weather personal troubles, and do everything in their power to treat the injuries and illnesses that come through their doors.

The Pitt's real-time structure and grounded cinematography turn the series into a veritable pressure cooker, immersing audiences in a world of exhausting, often overwhelming chaos. The series also thoughtfully tackles pressing medical issues, including understaffed hospitals, racial disparity in care, and hot-button topics like abortion. Leading us through it all is Wyle and The Pitt's exceptional ensemble cast, tasked with performing some of the most graphic, hyper-realistic TV surgeries in recent memory. Clock into The Pitt in order to see for yourself why I called it "TV's next great medical drama."

Starring: Noah Wyle, Tracy Ifeachor, Patrick Ball, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell, Shabana Azeez, and Katherine LaNasa

How to watch: The Pitt is now streaming on Max.

4. Adolescence

Likely to be the most harrowing viewing experience you'll have this year, Adolescence traps you in a nightmare over the course of its four episodes, each filmed in one take. Co-created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, and directed by Boiling Point's Philip Barantini, Netflix's much buzzed-about miniseries examines the aftermath of a chilling murder committed by 13-year-old Jamie (newcomer Owen Cooper). Each episode focuses on a different perspective around the case, from a detective (Ashley Walters) investigating Jamie's school to Jamie's family reckoning with his actions.

These vignettes, coupled with Barantini's one-take technique, create an unflinching portrait of a crime that feels all too rooted in reality. As UK Deputy Editor Sam Haysom wrote in his review, "Adolescence's story isn't a crime mystery so much as a psychological study — it's an exploration of the manosphere culture that's having a real world affect on teenagers, and the societal and familial triggers that might lead to a seemingly ordinary 13-year-old doing something unthinkable. On this level, and on almost all others, the show is chillingly effective."

Starring: Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty, Owen Cooper, Faye Marsay, Christine Tremarco, and Amelie Pease

How to watch: Adolescence is now streaming on Netflix.

3. The Studio

Seth Rogen absolutely torches Hollywood in Apple TV+'s The Studio, where he plays new studio head Matt Remick. A cinephile tasked with creating a movie based on the Kool-Aid brand, Matt finds himself faced with the eternal question of art versus commerce. Can he make high-grossing movies with artistic merit? Or is he — along with the rest of Hollywood — doomed to make slop?

The Studio approaches this question with razor-sharp satire and a healthy dose of cringe comedy, bludgeoning the egos of everyone from actors and directors to publicists and executives. But despite its Hollywood grievances, The Studio also serves as a love letter to film. On top of tributes to genres like film noir and zombie movies, the series often employs long takes in homage to Robert Altman's satire The Player. These create a high-energy wave of cinematic mayhem where everyone from Martin Scorsese to Zoë Kravitz could pop up at any given moment. The result is a show that's current, formally engaging, and, as I wrote in my full review, "full-on comedy gold."

Starring: Seth Rogen, Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, and Bryan Cranston

How to watch: The Studio is now streaming on Apple TV+.

2. Andor, Season 2

Star Wars' best TV show goes out with a brilliant bang in its second (and tragically final) season. Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) is now a full-fledged part of the Rebellion, joining Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) and Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) in their fight against the Empire. But the Empire has plans of its own, setting its sights on the planet Ghorman in the lead-up to one of the most devastating plot lines in all of Star Wars.

In showrunner Tony Gilroy's hands, Andor remains equal parts nail-biting spy thriller and astonishing rallying cry against fascism, pulling no punches when it comes to topics like Imperial propaganda or genocide. From its portrayal of revolutionary sacrifice to its chilling take on the machine of empire, Andor is so damn good it's a shame it's over. (And that we'll likely never get a Star Wars show this subversive again.) But on the bright side, as I wrote in my review, "Andor goes out on its own terms, leaving a brilliant, blistering look at fascism and those who fight it in its wake."

Starring: Diego Luna, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Stellan Skarsgård, Fiona Shaw, Genevieve O'Reilly, Denise Gough, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu, and Elizabeth Dulau

How to watch: Andor Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+.

1. Severance, Season 2

My expectations for Severance Season 2 were insurmountably high, especially after a three-year hiatus. But somehow, Dan Erickson's sci-fi workplace drama managed to surpass even my highest hopes, delivering a season that's deeper, stranger, and even more mysterious and important than Season 1.

Severance Season 2 furthers its examination of identity, with almost all of Lumon's Severed employees somehow at war with themselves. It also toys with the implications of what the severance procedure could mean for the rest of the world, resulting in the jaw-dropping reveals of the Gemma (Dichen Lachman)-focused "Chikhai Bardo" episode. That's just one of many standout installments Severance had to offer this season, including the Innies' bizarre odyssey through "Woe's Hollow" and a jaw-dropping finale that solved many questions, but left just enough mysteries for fans to puzzle over before Season 3.

But amid all its sci-fi twists and turns, Severance still manages to stay rooted in its characters' struggles for connection in a cold, corporate world. As I wrote in my review, "The show may throw everything from surreal workplace dance parties to precious baby goats at us, but at the end of the day, we're watching a man trying to reunite with his wife. We're watching Irving pining for Burt, and Dylan seeking crumbs of information about the family he may never know. We're watching workers fight to be recognized as humans instead of free labor. It's personal, it's universal, and it's absolutely astounding."

Starring: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette, and Sarah Bock

How to watch: Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+.