With the Geektown Awards still open for voting, and following on from my Top 10 Returning TV Shows, I wanted to round out the year with my personal Top 10 New TV Shows of 2025. This is not an awards list or a prediction of how the voting will land. It is simply my own ranking of the brand-new series that made the biggest impression on me this year.
Some of these shows will almost certainly feature in the Geektown Awards conversation. Others may not. That is absolutely fine. This list is about impact, ambition, and how these series landed as viewing experiences, not where they might end up on a ballot.
So, counting down from ten to one, here are my favourite new TV shows of 2025.
10. Dept. Q Season 1 (Netflix)
This is a confident, atmospheric adaptation that feels distinctly British despite its Danish literary roots. Matthew Goode stars as Carl Morck, a brilliant but damaged detective sidelined to run a cold-case unit in Edinburgh. The show leans into a grimy, rain-soaked aesthetic that suits both the city and the story perfectly.
The pacing can be deliberate, and it does ask for patience, but the payoff is worth it. Strong performances and complex character relationships anchor the narrative, elevating it above standard crime fare. It quietly builds momentum rather than chasing shock, which makes it one of the more satisfying slow burns of the year.
9. Paradise Season 1 (Disney+)
Paradise opens like a glossy political thriller before taking a sharp and unexpected turn into much stranger territory. Created by Dan Fogelman, it stars Sterling K. Brown, James Marsden, and Julianne Nicholson, and begins with the murder of a President in an idyllic, ultra-wealthy community.
The final moments of the first episode completely reframe what you think the show is doing, pivoting hard into dystopian sci-fi. It is a bold genre swerve that could have collapsed under its own weight, but instead becomes the engine that drives a compulsive and genuinely surprising season.
8. Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 (Disney+)
Concerns about a softened, sanitised take on Daredevil turned out to be unfounded. This continuation brings back Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio with confidence, charting Wilson Fisk’s rise to Mayor of New York and the systematic outlawing of vigilantism.
While the tone is slightly different to the Netflix era, the brutality, political edge, and moral tension remain firmly intact. The finale leaves no doubt that the show was willing to stay visceral and uncompromising. It feels like a genuine evolution rather than a reboot, and sets up an ambitious future.
7. Robin Hood Season 1 (MGM+)
This series flew under the radar, but it deserves attention. Set during the reign of Henry II, this is not a swashbuckling fantasy but a grounded, brutal survival story rooted in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest.
The familiar mythology is stripped back to something harsher and more historical, trading merry men for mud, blood, and desperation. It is a fascinating reinterpretation that feels weighty and purposeful, offering a version of Robin Hood that finally feels dangerous again. Read my full review, and interviews with the cast and creators.
6. Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 (Paramount+)
After Dexter: New Blood partially repaired the damage of the original finale, Resurrection goes one step further and genuinely sticks the landing. Picking up with Dexter alive and heading to New York in pursuit of his son, the season finds new energy without retreading old ground.
The antagonist casting is inspired. Peter Dinklage is chilling as billionaire villain Leon Prater, while Uma Thurman brings icy menace as his head of security. It feels like a true conclusion, yet its success has earned it another season, which speaks volumes about how well this revival landed.
5. Murderbot Season 1 (Apple TV)
A faithful and surprisingly heartfelt adaptation of Martha Wells’ novellas. Alexander Skarsgård is excellent as the socially anxious security android who hacks its own governor module not to kill humans, but to avoid interacting with them so it can watch soap operas.
The 30-minute episodes fly by, perhaps a little too quickly, and the weekly release arguably blunted the momentum. Still, it is funny, thoughtful, and unexpectedly touching. A rare sci-fi series that understands both action and introversion.
4. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Season 1 (Disney+)
This series proves, once again, that Star Wars does not need legacy characters to work. Set in the New Republic era, it follows four kids who get lost in the galaxy and must find their way home.
Jude Law’s mysterious Jod Na Nawood anchors the story, but the real strength is its tone. Bright, adventurous, and unapologetically fun, it feels like an 80s adventure filtered through Star Wars iconography. It is accessible, charming, and arguably the most purely enjoyable Star Wars series in years.
3. Black Doves Season 1 (Netflix)
A sharp, festive London spy thriller that wastes absolutely no time. Written by Joe Barton, this six-episode series stars Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw as a deadly, witty duo navigating espionage and murder during the Christmas season.
The action is slick, the humour is dry, and the chemistry between the leads is electric. It balances momentum and character effortlessly, making it one of the most bingeable and confident new shows of the year.
2. The Studio Season 1 (Apple TV)
Seth Rogen stars as a studio head desperately trying to keep a major film company relevant, and the result is a high-anxiety, fast-talking satire that feels painfully authentic.
The show’s use of long takes gives the office politics a frantic, kinetic energy, while the writing skewers Hollywood absurdities with surgical precision. Bryan Cranston is excellent in support, and the whole thing feels like a modern successor to The Larry Sanders Show, updated for an industry permanently on the brink.
1. Adolescence Limited Series (Netflix)
The most extraordinary piece of television this year, and one of the most accomplished dramas in recent memory. This four-part British series follows the fallout after a 13-year-old boy is accused of murder, with Stephen Graham delivering a devastating performance as his father.
What truly elevates Adolescence is its execution. Each episode is filmed in a single, continuous shot, with no hidden cuts. The result is an unbearable, immersive tension that never feels like a gimmick. It forces you to sit inside the story in real time, confronting its themes of online radicalisation, masculinity, and fear without escape. It is technically astonishing, emotionally brutal, and utterly flawless.
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