I had a damn good time watching TV this year. Not everything wowed me–Reacher was a slog, I don’t understand the now old buzz about The Blacklist, Wisting was too gloomy, and The Bear, a yawn. But these are quibbles in a very good year. And for the purposes of this column, I’m sticking to shows released this year–otherwise I’d rave about Rectify again.
Here, in no particular order, are shows, released this year, I enjoyed the hell out of.
The House of Guinness: I’m a big fan of Peaky Blinders and this historically inspired show by showrunner Knight has much of what made Peaky Blinders so great–stellar acting, sharp dialogue, immersive world-building–but is more light-hearted. The show takes many liberties with the lives of the real Guinesses who inherited the famed brewery from their father in 1868, but the context is on the money. If you like historical-ish dramas, I recommend this one highly.
The Diplomat: Kerry Russell is three for three for me. I was a Felicity watcher, The Americans is one of my top TV shows of all time, and, whoa, does she–and her castmates–rule in The Diplomat. Though the third season isn’t quite as fab as the first two, it is still eminently watchable. As many have pointed out The Diplomat is, like the Americans, very centered around an intimate relationship. I could watch Rufus Sewell scheme to keep the world on track while pining for his prickly wife all day long. And, sign me up for President Grace brilliantly played by Allison Janney.
Blue Lights: We Yanks get Blue Lights half a year after it airs in Europe. So, I’m eagerly awaiting Season Three which will drop here in 2026. Season Two was fascinating–the long tail of the Troubles underwrote the crimes and violence the squad in Belfast is bombarded by. Season Three can’t come fast enough.
Slow Horses: Apple’s hit adaptation of Mick Herron’s books is my jam–it’s smart, hilarious, and hard to predict. Gary Oldham, Jack Lowden, and the rest of Slough House (with Kristin Scott Thomas as a bonus) are the very definition of entertaining. Season Five is a little hard to follow at times but I don’t care. The show has brains and a deeply hidden heart and I love it.
Unforgotten: Unforgotten is, along with Broadchurch and Prime Suspect, British crime at its best. I’ve loved every season–although Season Four gutted me–and Season Six was superb. It is a bit more upbeat than most of the other seasons but, hey, we need all the joy we–and Sunny–can get these days.
Dark Winds: Everything about Dark Winds works. The cast, led by the astonishing Zahn Mcclarnon, is perfect. The setting–the Navajo reservation in the 1970’s–is so vividly accurate, I found myself reaching for a Tab. And while the mysteries Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito work to solve are compelling, this is really a show about the Navajo–indeed all Native Americans–and the complicated and deadly relationship they have with the US Government in all its many forms. It is often devastating and yet it never leaves me depressed.
Black Snow: I so hope this show set in North Queensland and helmed by the absurdly gorgeous AND talented Travis Fimmel will get a third season. We watched the first two seasons back to back this summer and were wowed. Fimmel’s Cormack is one messed up detective and yet you root for him at every turn. Season Two’s storyline was riveting as was the emotional minefield of Cormack’s past. Fingers crossed there will be more Black Snow.
Silo: I wasn’t sure if the second season of Silo would blow me away in the way the first did and, honestly, it’s fractionally less strong. But it was still phenomenal–Rebecca Ferguson’s Juliette Nichols is my kind of hero: A woman determined, at great cost, to challenge the idea that those in power should control what the rest of us can know. Silo is a show about big ideas and it’s up to the task. (And Tim Robbins is first rate!) I’ve not read the books the show is based on so, yay!, I have no idea what season three will bring. Whatever it is, I’ll be watching.
Did you watch any of these? Loved them? Hated them? Found them meh? What were the 2025 shows that you loved? And why?
