Howlingly funny comedy, jaw-dropping documentaries and astonishing drama … it’s been another fantastic year of TV. Our countdown of the very best kicks off here
More on the best culture of 2025
(Sky Atlantic/Now) TV’s best ever video game adaptation screamed back to life with the year’s most traumatic killing off of a beloved character. Losing one half of the show’s central duo was no easy thing to move past, but The Last of Us morphed into a touching meditation on grief, loss and the pain of love left unspoken – with added mushroom monsters.
What we said: “A gutsy and thoughtful rendering of humans on the edge.” Read more
(Sky Atlantic/Now) Is anyone as watchable as Sarah Snook? Her performance as Marissa, whose son Milo was kidnapped when she thought he was on a play date, was an absolute powerhouse as we’ve come to expect from the Succession star. It started with the most profound fear a parent can face, before it turned out to be even worse: orchestrated from within her own inner circle. But the plight of Dakota Fanning as her friend Jenny, trying to navigate the incessant hell and guilt of being a working mother, was relatable and affecting too. Together, they deepened this thriller into something far more intriguing.
