15. “Hacks”
Another HBO show that was higher on this list in past years but still merited inclusion, the fourth season of HBO’s Emmy juggernaut remains one of the best comedies on TV. There was enough of a snarky thrill in watching Deborah and Ava go head-to-head as work enemies who also need each other to succeed as the queen finally got her late-night throne. And while we’re all basically in agreement that Jean Smart is giving a HOF performance on this program, the truth is that Hannah Einbinder has fully matched her co-star, doing her best work to date in this season. We can’t wait to see how this showbiz saga ends. – BT
14. “The Beast In Me”
There have been a lot of disposable thrillers on streaming services in the 2020s, but few have been as accomplished as Gabe Rotter’s original thriller about the maniac who moved in next door to the writer. The latter is played by Claire Danes as Aggie Wiggs, an author still trapped in the grip of grief when a famous NYC power player named Nile Jarvis (Matthew Rhys) takes up residence in the mansion next door. Everyone knows Nile’s name because his wife disappeared, and he was suspected of her murder. Is he really a sociopath? Or is there more going on here? With ace direction by Antonio Campos (“Christine”) on four episodes, it’s one of the best-looking shows of 2025, playing more like a feature film than your average streaming series with minimal visual language at all. – BT
13. “Death By Lightning”
At a time when the country seems as divided as ever, it’s instructive to witness another chapter in U.S. history that was marred by political violence. Mike Makowsky adapts the Candice Millard book Destiny of the Republic in his tense, accomplished 4-hour mini-series about the assassination of James A. Garfield (Michael Shannon) by the mentally unstable Charles J. Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen). Both of the leads are excellent, and ably supported by some of the best dramatic beards of the year on the faces of Shea Whigham, Nick Offerman, Bradley Whitford, and so many more. It’s sharply written and perfectly paced, unlike so many modern streaming projects that would have stretched this out to twice as long. – BT
12. “The Diplomat”
It’s rare when a television series makes as dramatic a jump over three seasons as “The Diplomat” has. In its third go around, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), finds both herself and her husband, Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), a former U.S. Ambassador, thrown into an unexpected campaign for Vice President following the death of the President (Michael McKeon). While V.P. Grace Hagen Penn (Allison Janney) undertakes a historic succession to the presidency, the trio finds themselves navigating the greatest threat to the “special relationship” between the U.S. and Britain in two centuries. Showrunner and creator Deborah Cahn and her writing team whip up a master class in narrative twists and turns that are often shocking, but also very easy to believe. The world has changed since this season was filmed, and in many ways, the show feels like an alternate timeline that will never come to fruition. However, it’s a thrill ride that makes for a perfect streaming binge. That’s somewhat rare in this post-Peak TV era. – GE
11. “Black Rabbit”
Netflix’s “Black Rabbit” is a grimy, nocturnal New York anxiety machine about brotherhood as a vicious snare—loyalty as rescue, loyalty as rot. Created by Zach Baylin and Kate Susman, it centers on the Black Rabbit lounge, a Lower East Side hotspot on the verge of a big New York Times review, run by the Friedken brothers: Jake (Jude Law), sleek and fraying beneath the polish, and Vince (Jason Bateman), the older sibling who crashes back into orbit broke, reckless, and radioactive, dragging a decade-old debt now swollen to $144,000. The club’s promise curdles fast as old predators circle, and every buried betrayal starts clawing back to the surface. The ensemble only sharpens the implosion—Cleopatra Coleman, Sope Dirisu, Amaka Okafor, Troy Kotsur, Dagmara Dominczyk, Odessa Young, Abbey Lee, and Hettienne Park—but the gravitational pull is the Law/Bateman two-hander: Law haunted and brittle, Bateman (career-best) disarmingly funny and disastrously human. Directed by Bateman, Laura Linney, and Ben Semanoff (with Justin Kurzel closing it out), and scored by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, it’s suffocating, bruising, and compulsively watchable. – RP
