Is nature healing on television? The age of the #TooMuch Content streaming glut is mostly over, or at least normalized (normalizing?). The overcorrection made by most companies during the pandemic has thankfully retracted, and while TV is still fairly busy, the recession of volume is good for audience, critics, and especially creators who sometimes put their hearts and souls into a series that totally is overlooked because it was released in too crowded of a season (which often happens).
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2025
Also, TV feels thankfully less crowded by franchises who threatened to encroach on this adult-drama haven and, in some cases, were rejected by audiences to the point they proved to be cost-prohibitive and most of the biggies scaled back. That said, Marvel does have a crowded year, with three live-action shows and three animated series premiering.
Still, DC Studios is down to one show (“Peacemaker”), Lucasfilm also only has one major live-action series (“Andor”) and Apple TV+’s “Monarch” series likely won’t return until 2026. But of course, there are still mega-franchises returning in 2025, the difference is they aren’t spin-offs and didn’t originate through movies first. Chief among them are two huge Netflix shows, “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things,” and a major Peacock show in a spinoff from “The Office.” And I.P-driven content isn’t entirely gone; see FX’s “Alien: Earth” series, HBO’s “The Last Of Us,” the “Game Of Thrones” prequels and “It: Welcome To Derry.” It’s just regressed slightly.
Still, the bread and butter of TV is the adult drama led by top-shelf creators, writers, directors and talent and there are a ton of new shows to get excited about. So, let’s get to it; here are the 75 Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2025.
Follow along for all our Best Of The Year and Most Anticipated coverage here.
75. ”All’s Fair”/“Mid-Century Modern”
It wouldn’t be a year without several Ryan Murphy shows on air. “All’s Fair” is a Hulu legal drama starring Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash, Teyana Taylor and Naomi Watts, Glenn Close, and Kim Kardashian. “Mid-Century Modern” is a gay roommate sitcom starring Matt Bomer and Nathan Lane with Linda Lavin.
Premiere Date: TBD for both on Hulu.
74. “Anansi Boys”
Neil Gaiman delivers yet another fantasy series for Amazon, a mini-series that follows the two sons of the spider-god Anansi. The series stars Malachi Kirby alongside Delroy Lindo, CCH Pounder, Fiona Shaw, Whoopi Goldberg, Amarah-Jae St., and more. Gaiman is one of the show’s actual writers, not just an exec, and the series completed production in the summer of 2022, so it’s way overdue. However, given the sexual assault allegations against him, is this one getting shelved? “Good Omens” season three was already cut short.
Airdate: TBD via Prime Video. Maybe in the spring or summer?
73. “Chief of War”
Jason Momoa finished his big Apple TV run on the apocalyptic series “See” but ran straight back into a similar fray for the same streamer. He executive produces and stars in the series alongside filmmakers like Justin Chon (“Blue Bayou”). The series is the unprecedented telling of the unification of the Hawaiian Islands from an indigenous perspective, and Momoa stars as the war chief. Temuera Morrison and Luciane Buchanan co-star. One caveat, it shot in late 2022, so what is up with it?
Airdate: TBD via Apple TV+.
72. “Zero Day”
From Noah Oppenheim (NBC’s “Today Show”) and Eric Newman (“Narcos: Mexico”), this six-part series—about what extent conspiracy theories are our own inventions or products of our imagination—was delayed by the 2023 strikes, but is now is all ready to go. Directed by journeywoman Lesli Linka Glatter (“Homeland”), who may have directed more TV in her lifetime than you’ve ever watched, the drama stars Robert De Niro and Lizzy Caplan. There’s quite a huge and starry supporting cast too, including Jesse Plemons, Joan Allen, Connie Britton, Dan Stevens, Angela Bassett, Matthew Modine, and more.
Premiere Date: February 20, via Netflix.
71. “The Boroughs”
“Stranger Things” creators, the Duffer Brothers, have obviously earned themselves years of goodwill at Netflix, so their latest, which they exec-produce, is a sci-fi-ish series set in the New Mexico desert. Starring Alfred Molina and Geena Davis, it centers around a supernatural threat in a retirement community and the unlikely heroes that have to fend it off. Alfre Woodard, Jena Malone, Clarke Peters, Bill Pullman, Carlos Miranda, Seth Numrich, and many more co-star in this series created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (“The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”).
Premiere Date: TBD via Netflix.
