From The Pitt to Forever & Heated Rivalry, These Were The Best TV Shows Of 2025

I watch a lot of TV. It’s my job. And in all my years of binge-watching shows for a living, I have never seen so many viral videos of people gathered together in bars simultaneously yelling in reaction to major TV moments than I have this year. In the age of streaming, appointment TV was back and watch parties were bigger than ever. Whether it was Nicolandria’s Soul Ties kiss (IYKYK), the king of yearning Conrad Fisher finally getting his happily ever after, or a grand gesture from a gay hockey player no one saw coming, TV lovers came together this year to obsess over their fave ‘ships and root for their beloved characters. And it was beautiful to witness. 

In a year that felt endlessly chaotic and packed with horrific headlines, TV stepped up as our most reliable emotional support system. 2025 gave us shows that made us scream-text the group chat, cancel plans for just one more episode, and rethink everything from love, to friendship, to what counts as a satisfying finale. Whether you were into prestige dramas, comfort watches, or genre shows that completely rewired the formula, this year’s best TV did not disappoint. Below are the series that defined our screens, our moods, and cured our collective cultural brain rot.

These picks come straight from the watchlists (and our unhinged yet professional Slack chats) of Refinery29 editors. The criteria isn’t “high-brow only,” it’s did this show fully consume us? From series that demanded our full attention to reality TV that went from chaotic to comforting to culturally essential, we’re honoring the full spectrum of what great TV looks like. If it sparked a debate, delivered a meme, or made us feel something unexpectedly real, it earned its spot. 

For some reason, I was never into Grey’s Anatomy, Scrubs, ER, or any of the popular hospital dramas even during their streaming resurgences. But after everyone from family to strangers recommended watching The Pitt (starring and executive-produced by ER’s very own Noah Wyle) and being bombarded with interviews of Wylie talking about how his nurse mom influenced the storyline for more accurate depictions of what it’s actually like to work in a hospital, I finally gave in. And wow, was I stunned. 

Each of the 15 episodes represent one hour of a consecutive 15-hour emergency room shift. It’s fast-paced and chaotic but has moments of levity, and manages to dive deep into each of the doctors, nurses, and residents’ eccentricities and back stories. I found myself instantly hooked and invested into the core doctors and incoming patients, no matter how likeable, unlikeable, long, or short their storylines were. The heavy, high-strung, high-stakes series is a must-watch. But to warn you, it is certainly not a show to wind down to after a hectic day! - Victoria Montalti, Senior Fashion Writer

When an Irish friend first introduced me to Love Island via the show’s original UK iteration in 2022, I was equally horrified and intrigued by the sheer logistics of it all. The idea of committing to a show that airs a new episode six nights a week for two and a half months straight — featuring a revolving door of 30-or-so contestants and their constantly recalibrating romances — was a lot to wrap my head around. But, as someone who deeply appreciates lowbrow reality TV both as a form of sociological fieldwork and, obviously, for pure eye candy, I was up for the task. 

This year, Love Island USA season 7 brought the country together in ways seldom seen before, becoming a full-blown cultural phenomenon that revived the glory days of participatory reality TV. My roommate and I grew closer as we watched and voted together each night (and shrieked in horror at the show’s absolutely unhinged challenges). My colleagues and I raced to our Slack channels each morning to share hot takes. Even in New York City, where people famously mind their business, I’d find myself talking about the show with a friend on the street or subway, only to have strangers jump in mid-conversation to share their opinions.

What ultimately made season 7 feel like a classic was (most of) the cast’s emotional vulnerability. It gave us a hero’s arc in Amaya Papaya (née Espinal), who brought a rare level of authenticity and sensitivity to reality TV, a friends-to-star-crossed-lovers romance in Olandria and Nic, healthy debates about what it really means to be “a girls girl,” and enough memes to last a lifetime (Mamacita, anyone?). - Lia Tabackman, Senior Social Media Manager 

I’m going to start with a quote from Heated Rilvarly’s creator, writer and showrunner, Jacob Tierney: “Putting queer sex on the screen in a celebratory and sexy way is not common at all… people were clearly craving that kind of thing,” Tierney told The Ankler. “They wanted to see sexually alive, queer people in a way that we kind of self-censor and don’t always do. I don’t think the show is popular despite the horniness; I think it’s popular because of the horniness.” Exactly. Recently, TV and film have been oddly sexless, seemingly scared to show erotism on screen and convinced audiences don’t want to see pretty people kissing. I beg to differ.

I’ve been pushing the horny TV agenda for years and finally, here comes a show to match my freak. But it’s not just about the beautifully tender, explicit, real, and hot sex scenes, Heated Rivalry contains some of the most heartfelt and romantic storytelling I’ve ever seen on TV. And that’s only after five episodes! I am already unhealthily obsessed with this show and I can’t wait for more. As someone who belongs to multiple romance book clubs, I’m so happy that a show based on a romance novel (written by Rachel Reid) is getting the love it deserves. Plus, a show about gay hockey players airing in 2025 — when male athletes would still face so much prejudice, homophobia, and an extremely hard time if they came out IRL — is not only bold and brave, it’s revolutionary.  - Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Senior Content Director, Entertainment 

I admittedly didn’t watch much TV this year, but there was one show that had me in a chokehold: Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty. To be honest, I didn’t particularly enjoy this season. As Team Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), a lot of it was insufferable, mostly because Conrad (Christopher Briney) remains an unbearable character to watch. He's going to talk down to Belly (Lola Tung) and make her feel crazy for years AND do his brother like that, and they still want me to believe he's not the villain in this show? (You ain't gaslighting me, Connie Baby!). I also couldn't stand the way the writers seemed determined to assassinate Jeremiah’s character. Still, to paraphrase a Taylor Swift lyric, Jenny Han really puts narcotics into all of her episodes, because no matter how much I wanted to look away, I just couldn’t. - Raquel Reichard, Director of Somos

When I first started The Hunting Wives, I wasn’t prepared for what I signed up for. I assumed I would be watching a show about wives getting back at their cheating husbands. I was right, but also so wrong. I spent most of the time being mad at the main character Sophie (Brittany Snow), literally rolling my eyes at the screen at her antics. That said, I will be back for Season 2. - Dawnie Jefferson Production & Editorial Coordinator

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was my favorite TV show of 2025 because it didn’t just understand the assignment, it overdelivered. TWO seasons in one year? Bravo could never. By breaking the fourth wall and letting the off-screen drama (hello, Fruity Pebbles) bleed into the show, it captured the same raw magic as early Vanderpump Rules seasons, back when the cast wanted fame at any cost and didn’t know, or care, to hold anything back.

Season 3 was filmed before Season 2 even premiered, giving us something almost unheard of in reality TV: reunions being taped, press tours unfolding, and cast dynamics shifting in real time as they reacted to public opinion. The timeline was messy, but for reality fans, that level of transparency was all we've ever wanted.

We watched marriages implode, secret affairs surface, and learned way too much about their sex lives. Not every storyline worked (the sexual assault allegations were uncomfortable and difficult to watch), but the drama was balanced by something real: raw, unprocessed trauma shared in a way that genuinely resonated.

Taylor Frankie Paul becoming the Bachelorette only cemented the show’s chokehold on pop culture, while Whitney Leavitt started the year as the ultimate villain and ended it as the main character of Dancing with the Stars and getting cast as Roxie Hart on Broadway. The range! And all of this unfolded in the hyper-specific, endlessly fascinating playground of Swig sodas, Utah curls, and Mormon culture—proof that you don’t need alcohol for reality TV gold. - Taylor Loren, Social Strategist 

Mara Brock Akil’s Forever feels like it was made specifically for me — for the 16 year old version of me who needed to see herself, who longed for stories that reflected Black girlhood and humanity and the complexity of being a Black kid in a white space — and that’s only partially why I loved it so much. For the teenager in me who was messily figuring out her sexuality, Keisha and Justin would have been my fictional best friends. For the thirty-redacted grownup who needed an escape and just loves romance, Forever delivered in-depth, nuanced explorations of how sex can be absolutely everything and sometimes nothing at all.

Listen, I’m too grown to believe that representation will save us, but it does matter. And what this show represents (Black kids falling in love and finding themselves) is portrayed in such a caring, thoughtful way that as you fall in love with Keisha and Justin, as a Black person, you can’t help but love yourself more. This show loves us. It finds beauty in Blackness, in the nuances and flaws of youth. It lets Keisha be complicated and messy and Justin be introspective and vulnerable; two things that Black girls and boys aren’t typically allowed to be on TV. This show is my wildest dreams come true. It’s the show I wish I had when I was a teenager and I’m so grateful that Black teens get this show now. - Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Senior Content Director, Entertainment 

Abbott Elementary is my comfort show when I want to just laugh and not have to think. I can usually jump into any episode in the season or binge several of the 22-minute episodes and still understand what's happening. In the same style as cult-favorite comedies like The Office and Parks & Rec, this workplace "mockumentary" follows the staff of a Philadelphia elementary school and captures all the drama and antics you'd expect to happen during everyday life—in and out of school. The show is currently in the middle of season five and we see teachers Janine and Gregory's relationship continue to develop. A few of the recent episodes have taken the setting out of the school, but my favorites are usually when the teachers and staff, especially Principal Ava Coleman and teacher Ms. Melissa Schementti, are just trying to get through the school day. For me, it's easy sitcom watching. - Lisa Dionisio, Newsletter Director

If I were putting together a dream team of prestige TV, I would immediately call up Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys for my starting five. Danes proved in Homeland, and throughout her storied career, that she can do a chin quiver like no other, and that there is no emotion she can’t convey through the careful crumpling of her face. And Rhys, along with his real-life wife Keri Russell, showed on The Americans that he can make even the most ethically-questionable character someone you can’t help but be intrigued by. In The Beast In Me, these two heavyweights come together for some of the best TV of the year. 

Both Danes and Rhys are so compelling in The Beast In Me, you won’t be able to look away for all eight episodes. Danes brings her signature emotional precision, playing every flicker of doubt and defiance like a controlled burn, while Rhys does what he does best: make moral ambiguity feel devastatingly human. Together, they create a push-pull dynamic that’s an unsettling dissertation on good versus evil and what happens when the lines between the two start to blue. Their chemistry isn’t flashy; it’s claustrophobic, simmering, and kind that makes silence feel louder than dialogue and turns every shared glance into a threat. It’s prestige acting without the self-importance, and it’s exactly why the show gets under your skin and stays there. - Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Senior Content Director, Entertainment 

This past summer, I was indulging in some YA love-triangle drama and watching TSITP and The Buccaneers Season 2 on Apple TV. If you're not familiar with The Buccaneers, it's a period drama set in 1870s England following five gorgeous American women trying to find titled husbands and independence. Season 2 tries to resolve a love triangle set up in Season 1 between Nan, Guy, and Theo. New affairs and betrayals between the couples develop, and it's guilty-pleasure watching, especially for period romance fans. Spoiler warning: season two ends in another cliffhanger but the show's already been greenlit for a season three. - Lisa Dionisio, Newsletter Director

I know Tubi gets a bad rep for its content, but do NOT sleep on them. I loved everything about the Z Suite! The characters were fun. The plots were full of shenanigans. It fueled the Gen Z vs. Millennial fire in a way that leaves you with the idea, “we are more alike than different”. It had a sense of true comedic whimsy, while many other shows are just too serious. I am unsure if it will be renewed for another season, but I sure hope so! -- Dawnie Jefferson Production & Editorial Coordinator

Paradise is a mystery series starring Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown about a secret service agent whose president is murdered and it’s so good, it got renewed for a second season halfway into its first. So I’m just going to quote myself from March writing about Paradise just after it was renewed: “We’re in an age where a show with a Black lead gets written off by online trolls as ‘too woke’ or full of ‘DEI hires’ and anything that makes us feel our feelings gets denigrated as ‘silly.’ But the absurdity and sincerity of Paradise is its strength. And its hero? A Black man, the descendent of a Tuskegee airman and Black pilot, who took a bullet for the president, may feel a bit too nationalistic for the current moment, but it also harkens back to a time when that guy was the hero everyone welcomed, and the one TV wanted. Right now, Sterling K. Brown as Xavier Collins is the hero we need.” - Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Senior Content Director, Entertainment 

This year marked Season 4 and 5 of Ghosts, and it is consistently one of my favorite comfort watches. I literally force anyone who comes to my house to watch it with me. Season 4 gave the characters so much more backstory. Season 5 adds to that. If you want a good, wholesome chuckle, you should definitely watch this show. - Dawnie Jefferson Production & Editorial Coordinator