It’s January once again, which means it’s time for me to take a quick look back at my favorite things from the year before. A reminder that these posts include both truly new stuff and stuff that was “new to me” from last year. And, as always, I’m talking about personal favorites and don’t argue that any of these are the “best” of their kind. Still, I’d recommend everybody check them out.

With that said, let’s kick things off with the small(er) screen . . .

2025 was a hell of a year for television. Either that or I just did a better job of keeping on top of new series that it really seemed like a hell of a year. In fact, going back over my notes, just about everything that caught my attention in 2025 was actually new.

The Pitt, for example, was just as good as everybody said it was.

We came to it late – in fact, for months all I really knew about it was the legal wrangling over its status as an unauthorized ER sequel. I’m not the hugest fan of medical dramas, but it was hard to ignore all the buzz. We binged it over a weekend once all the eps were dropped and, needless to say, that was a pretty intense couple of days. The series is really good, though, as provided some moments of light and dark humor so it doesn’t feel like crushing dread all the time.

By the time we got to it The Pitt wasn’t a surprise, but Adolescence sure was.

I was sold on the format before I read any real reviews – the story of a teenaged girl’s murder and the hand of similarly-aged boy, told in four single-shot episodes – that I was in. That it touched on crime and the mechanics of the (British) criminal justice system was even better. Each episode was great, with the third episode – a suspect and interrogator (in this situation, a forensic psychologist) bottle episode that reminded me of the classic episode of Homicide – a true standout.

I’ve written previously about how the formats of The Pitt and Adolescence impacted their stories here.

Less formally inventive, but visually dazzling, was Common Side Effects.

Created by (among others) one of the minds behind the equally excellent Scavenger’s Reign, it’s the story of a schlub who discovers a mushroom in South American that has amazing healing properties – but also causes those to take to start seriously tripping balls. The show takes full advantage of the limitless possibilities of animation to demonstrate these freakouts and show a story of corporate corruption and deep paranoia. Can I say, as a public defender, how much I loved the lead pair of cops?

My pleasant surprise for 2025 was Chief of War, the Hawaiian historical drama from (yes) Jason Mamoa.

It was, honestly, a little bit of “what if Shogun, but Hawaii?,” but it looked amazing and it was very cool to have another story like this that centered the indigenous people and culture. It doesn’t quite live up to Shogun in terms of the script or acting, but it’s a solid historical adventure with some big bloody set pieces, not to mention lots of Mamoa running around without a shirt on (if you’re into that kind of thing – my wife is!).

Last of the new stuff that I really enjoyed was Pluribus.

This was another one I was down for the moment I heard that it was from Vince Gilligan, he crafted it for the criminally un-Emmied Rhea Seehorn, and he was returning to sci fi (he wrote for The X-Files, remember). I will admit that I admire Pluribus more than I loved it. Seehorn’s character is hard to take at times (hitting a little too close to home sometimes, too) and, having binged it, I can grasp why people think it’s slow. Still, I think folks who are looking to solve mysteries on the show are doing it wrong – it’s about Carol and her changes (or maybe lack of changes), of which I’ll write more later.

As for “older” stuff (for a certain definition of “older”), the one that really jumped out, from the unusual locale of being a Peacock original, was Hysteria!

From 2024, but set in the suburban 1980s, it’s the tale of a shitty heavy metal power trio trying to get off the ground just around the time of the Satanic Panic. They, naturally, rebrand themselves as Satanic and start to draw a following. I thought the show was really funny and well done (the music was spot on), but ultimately the show didn’t quite know whether it was about the panic or actually something demonic happening. Would have gladly watched more, but it was cancelled after one season.

Other than that, the notable departure for the year was Andor, which wrapped up its second and final season.

Was it a great series in its own right? Yes. Was it the best bit of Star Wars to come down the pike for a long long time? Also yes. Did it suffer from a need to tie into Rogue One and the rest of the established cannon? Unfortunately. Not enough to ruin it or drag it down too much, but it was particularly noticeable as the series came in for landing. Still, the build up was excellent. More like this, please.

That’s it for the small screen – next week, let’s talk tunes.