Shows Ended / Were a Miniseries
#20 - Under the Bride (miniseries)
#18 - Letterkenny (RIP, but what a ride)
#13 - Interior Chinatown (I hope I'm right)
#10 - Baby Reindeer
#8 - The Sympathizer
#7 - The Penguin (though maybe it will come back?)
#4 - What We do in the Shadows (double RIP)
#2 - Ripley
Shows that didn't air in 2025 (but will be back)
#19 - A Good Girls Guide to Murder
#17 - Three Body Problem
#14 - House of the Dragon
#6 - The Gentlemen
#3 - Fargo (gonna assume until Noah Hawley officially says no mas)
#1 - Shogun (can't WAIT)
Shows that weren't as good / Didn't Watch
#16 - Only Murder's in the Building (still fun, but run its course)
#15 - Nobody Wants This (will watch, but don't think it would crack my 20)
#9 - A Man on the Inside (may regret not watching it yet)
20.) The Residence (NETFLIX)
A weird Knives Out style, Clue style mystery romp across random white house lackeys, servants, cooks, and mainds, all of it led brilliantly by Uzo Aduba at its center, The Residence was surprisingly low on the totem pole of what NETFLIX seemed to care about and market in 2025. Sad, because it was a little gem. Yes, the story was overly convoluted, and a lot of random things thrown in to stretch it out to eight episodes (this would've worked better as a Knives Out type movie / run-time), but still just great performances at its core, from Aduba, to Giancarlo Esposito, to Kan Marino and so many others - the cast list reading with length and impressiveness becoming of a Wes Anderson film. Again, that is probably why this isn't higher - this type of material is enhanced by brevity. At its best two hours, it deserves a spot higher up - just happens there were some more hours.
19.) The Beast in Me (NETFLIX)
Late, late entry to the till (and before we go further, I'm holding off Stranger Things until 2026 as I will mnot be watching that finale on Christmas Damn Eve), as The Beast in Me was a tight, psychotic thriller that was super well acted, lifting a fairly thin, ridiculous plot. It was so obvious from the beginning that the Matthew Rhys character did kill his old wife, that I stupidly kept trying to convince myself that they'll go for something smarter. But in the end, they did not. They did give us some great moments between Rhys and Claire Danes, a great return spot for Jonathan Banks, even he was playing effectively a Mike mashup with Gus. The show could've been better, but in the end, it was still quite a riveting few episodes with some magical scenes interspersed.
18.) The White Lotus (Season 3, HBO)
I don't think the show has lost the plot, I'll just say that they probably need a few more tweaks to the recipe in Season 4 to keep the magic going. Thailand was an interesting local, and while there were some of the most memorable stories on the "rich, spoiled white people" side of the spectrum (everything to do with the two brothers, primarily), they were counter-balanced by teh weakest set of Lotus Employees so far. Still, didn't stop from some amazing scenes with Carrie Coon and Michelle Monaghan, to of course Parker Posey saying "Piper" all the time. The highs were still super high - haven't even mentioned the amazing Sam Rockwell cameo speech, but we need a bit more magic, mystery and class warfare this time around. Go back to that drawing board, Mr. White. Basically, we need another Armond.
17.) The Diplomat (Season 3, NETFLIX)
If the season ends with Kate not shacking back up with Hal, this might end up higher. For most of its third season, which took the graet idea to narrow the focus to effectively the immediate aftermath of the President's Death and the fact only a few people knew about the false flag attack, it sharpened the story quite a bit. The dynamics between Kate and Allison Janney's president were exceptional. The London stuff itself felt way weaker this season (including a slightly offputting, pervy view from the Prime Minister), but was replaced by a lot better palace intrigue on the US side of things. The closer Kate got to the affairs of the President, teh better the show got - in a weird way the same thing happened with Veep. It was always a bit silly how in the know and in the mix the "ambassador" was to everything, but the "second lady who was spurned for VP who is also ambassador"? yeah, that's a position that makes a ton of sense to be in the know, and the show was better for it.
16.) The Last of Us (Season 2, HBO)
Having not played the game, I had no idea Joel was going to get killed. I commend them for staying true to the game and killing essentially the star character (and more shining a light taht the actress playing the kid character isn't all that great yet in their career), but I do wish they could've squeezed a couple more episodes out of him. The plot itself leading up to that death was riveting, as were the performaneces, the pain the relationship between Joel and Ellie was so haunting. Yes, killing Joel woke up something in Ellie, crystallized the revenge plot (that I understand does become a compelling story in the game) and sharpened what could be a sprawling show, but some of the best parts of the first season of the show was that sprawl. The trek to Seattle and goings on there were intriguing; the character of Dina became more and more compelling as we went; but it is a clear sign of what drove the show when the most memorable, best episode of its post-Joel timeline was the flashback one that brought him back. Super interested to see where this show goes from here, and mostly can they recapture the magic they threw away by staying true to the source material (which I believe for the artistry, was the right call).
