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:........

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