The year 2025 delivered an avalanche of television, but amidst the heavily promoted blockbusters, a host of extraordinary shows slipped onto screens with little fanfare. These are the hidden gems—critically adored, beautifully crafted series that may have passed you by but are utterly essential viewing.
Dramatic Masterpieces and Unconventional Thrillers
In a move that baffled critics, Netflix quietly released 'Asura', a rich family drama from revered Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. This sumptuously shot series, following four sisters in the 1970s who uncover their father's lifelong affair, has been hailed as potentially the most beautiful show the streamer has ever produced.
Meanwhile, Channel 4's animated conspiracy thriller 'Common Side Effects' proved a phenomenal surprise. Mike Judge's tale of a fungi expert whose miracle discovery threatens Big Pharma became a wild, darkly comic critique of American profiteering, boasting watchability that rivaled any live-action drama.
For crime drama aficionados tired of formulaic plots, 'Reunion' on BBC iPlayer offered a profound curio. Written by deaf scriptwriter William Mager and starring Matthew Gurney, it placed deafness and British Sign Language at its heart, using communication barriers to build a nuanced and eventually explosive drama about a father reconnecting with his daughter.
Comedy, Romance, and Documentary Excellence
The sitcom landscape was brightened by Ramy Youssef's '#1 Happy Family USA' on Prime Video, a retro-packed, darkly comic joy about life as a super-young Muslim in post-9/11 America. For pure, gleeful silliness, 'The Horne Section TV Show' on Channel 4 was a 1970s-style antidote to trauma-laden comedy, featuring Alex Horne and big-name guests clearly having the time of their lives.
Romance fans were treated to the gorgeous BBC drama 'Mix Tape', a gritty, Sheffield-set love story leaping between 1989 and the present, backed by a soundtrack of 'back-to-back bangers' that had viewers digging out their own nostalgic tapes.
In documentaries, 'Once Upon a Time in Space' (BBC iPlayer) achieved a remarkable dual feat, offering both a grand history of the space race and intimate, emotional stories from the astronauts who lived it. In a different vein, ITVX's 'Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt' provided a compelling, meticulous public service, scrutinising the flaws in one of the UK's most infamous criminal cases.
Genre-Defying Surprises and Must-Watch Adaptations
Genre lines were brilliantly blurred. Netflix's 'Wayward' saw comedian Mae Martin master a bleak, supernatural thriller about a sinister teen institution, aided by a spooky Toni Collette. 'The Assassin' on Prime Video delivered chaotic fun with its premise of a menopausal hitwoman on a blood-soaked rampage.
Adaptations shone brightly. 'Forever...' on Netflix updated Judy Blume's seminal teen novel with heart, while 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' (BBC iPlayer) translated Richard Flanagan's Booker-winning WWII epic into a spellbinding, harrowing, and sexy tale of love and trauma. The BBC's Austen celebrations were capped by 'Miss Austen', a lovely period drama exploring the novelist's relationship with her sister Cassandra.
Finally, Apple TV+'s 'Down Cemetery Road' proved a supremely badass entry in the detective genre, with Emma Thompson's unfailingly likable Zoe Boem deserving a much wider audience. These shows, each a knockout in its own right, form the secret, stellar viewing catalogue of 2025.
