We’re still a couple of weeks away from the start of the new year at this point, but already 2025 has a ton of highly anticipated, top-tier TV shows to look forward to — from the return of old favorites to the debut of major new releases. In this post, we’re taking a look at some of the biggest shows worth already getting excited about, series that include brand new Netflix originals like American Primeval and Zero, as well as new seasons of some of the biggest streaming TV titles of the past several years.
2025 is going to be a great year for TV. Let’s dive in.
Ready for a darker version of Yellowstone? Directed by Peter Berg, this six-episode limited series about the 19th-century American West is set in 1857 and stars Taylor Kitsch as a man struggling to overcome his demons. Netflix explains: “Up is down, pain is everywhere, and innocence and tranquility are losing the battle to hatred and fear. Peace is the shrinking minority, and very few possess grace — even fewer know compassion. There is no safe haven in these brutal lands, and only one goal matters: survival.
“American Primeval is a fictionalized dramatization and examination of the violent collision of culture, religion, and community as men and women fight and die to keep or control this land.”
Severance: Season 2 (Apple TV+, Jan. 17)
This dystopian workplace drama from Ben Stiller remains one of the best TV shows that Apple TV+ has ever released. In the show, Adam Scott stars as Mark Scout — the leader of a team of Lumon employees who’ve undergone a “severance” procedure, surgically dividing the memories of their work and personal lives. It’s a daring and dangerous experiment in work-life balance that gets called into question as Mark finds himself at the center of an unraveling mystery, and in Season 2, the stakes are raised even higher.
Apple has cryptically teased that Mark and his friends will learn the consequences of trifling with the severance barrier that separates their two selves.
The luxury hotel chain depicted in this popular HBO series from Mike White will expand its fictional footprint to Thailand for the third season of The White Lotus, following the hotel welcoming guests to Hawaii and Sicily in Seasons 1 and 2.
From HBO: “The White Lotus is a sharp social satire following the exploits of various employees and guests at an exclusive Thai resort over one highly transformative week. As darker dynamics emerge with each passing day, the series gradually reveals the complex truths of the seemingly picture-perfect travelers, cheerful hotel employees, and idyllic locale itself.”
Zero Day (Netflix, Feb. 20)
Among the high-profile Netflix TV shows that I’m already excited about for 2025 is this Netflix release, starring Robert De Niro in his first-ever TV role.
In Zero Day, from former NBC News president Noah Oppenheim and prolific Netflix creator Eric Newman, De Niro plays a former US President who heads up a group called the Zero Day Commission. As the leader of that group, he’s charged with getting to the bottom of a major cyberattack that’s led to thousands of deaths and widespread chaos. As power brokers on Wall Street and in government and technology circles collide, disinformation runs wild — making this a show about finding truth in a world torn apart by crisis.
Speaking of TV shows about US Presidents, this next Netflix release is set inside their famous home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Netflix’s newest Shondaland release involves a murder during a state dinner, with Uzo Aduba’s female Benoit Blanc, detective Cordelia Cupp, investigating the crime.
Shondaland releases tend to be some of the buzziest and borderline trashiest of all Netflix releases, which is to say this one should be quite a ride, indeed.
Andor (Disney+, April 22)
I’ve previously described Andor, the live-action Star Wars spinoff about a rebel spy’s origin story, as one of the best streaming TV shows of the decade.
Certainly, it’s the best of all of the many Star Wars TV shows, which have quite a sketchy record when it comes to living up to the storytelling promise of the galaxy far, far away. Season 2 of Andor will finish linking up this Rogue One prequel story with that 2016 movie from Gareth Edwards, completing the journey of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) from scoundrel to heroic spy.
Turning again to a returning favorite, it’s time to say goodbye to one of Netflix’s biggest shows of all time — the hit Duffer brothers series that launched Millie Bobby Brown and gave us a classic coming-of-age sci-fi drama for the ages.
The fifth and final season of the show will be one of the few domestic Netflix originals to rival the scale of Squid Game, Netflix’s biggest hit of all time. Filming has reportedly just wrapped on the new season, which will hopefully let the show’s core group of friends who are now entering adulthood finally get to the bottom of the Upside Down.
The Diplomat: Season 3 (Netflix, TBA)
Few Netflix TV shows, in my humble opinion, do jaw-dropping finales quite like The Diplomat, the political thriller starring Keri Russell as an ambassador who also kind of acts like a co-CIA station chief.
Season 2 offered viewers quite a head-spinning, twist-filled ride, building up to that reveal that the US Vice President (played by Allison Janney) is actually the one who engineered the attack we thought was the brainchild of the skeezy UK prime minister. And then, the US president gets some distressing news and dies on the spot, and the season ends as agents are racing to Janney’s Veep presumably to tell her the news and get her secure.
Will she make Russell’s Kate Wyler her new VP? I kind of hope not, but regardless it’s already clear that 2025 will be the year of political scandal and intrigue — both the fictional and real-life kinds.
Wednesday: Season 2 (Netflix, TBA)
Another of Netflix’s biggest TV shows of all time, Wednesday is a supernatural coming-of-age series that follows Wednesday Addams as she navigates life at Nevermore Academy, honing her psychic abilities and solving a chilling murder mystery tied to her family’s past. The hit series blends dark humor, mystery, and teen drama, while exploring themes of identity, friendship, and embracing one’s unique quirks.
Poker Face: Season 2 (Peacock, TBA)
One of the most acclaimed original TV shows that Peacock has released to date, creator Rian Johnson’s Emmy-nominated series starring Natasha Lyonne is a throwback to classic “case-of-the-week” mystery series.
The star-studded drama gives Lyonne’s Charlie Cale, a gifted private eye who has a knack for being able to tell when someone is lying, the opportunity to put her skill to the test in order to solve all sorts of capers. The show is one of the most well-written and entertaining Peacock originals, and Season 2 will include a slew of guests like John Mulaney, Kumail Nanjiani, Awkwafina, Katie Holmes, and Margo Martindale.
The Office spinoff (Peacock, TBA)
NBC’s nine-season mockumentary The Office, about the misadventures of office denizens who work for a paper supply company, is one of the greatest TV comedies of all time. Peacock is preparing to release a … spinoff, is that the word we’re using? It’s a little unclear, but the new series is nominally set in the Dunder Mifflin-verse, only this time the action will take place at a local newspaper office. So I guess there’s a world where the spinoff could still give us an update to the “people person’s paper people” jingle.
The Bear: Season 4 (summer 2025)
For fans of FX’s hit series starring Jeremy Allen White as the brilliant yet tortured chef Carmy Berzatto, the summer of 2025 can’t get here soon enough.
We’ve got questions needing answers, like: What the hell did that review Carmy has been waiting on really say? And is Sydney really going to go through with it, striking out on her own? Like Thomas Keller explained to Carmy in that beautiful scene from Season 1, The Bear has always been the product of a lot of small things done well. And I can’t wait to see what’s next for this crew of earnest strivers we’ve come to know and love over three seasons of some of the best TV in years.