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Adolescence tops Metacritic’s year-end ranking of new shows that debuted in 2025, with a 91 Metascore. The list measures professional critics’ reviews—not audience popularity or viewing figures—and includes qualifying first-year U.S. series, including limited series, that premiered between January 1 and December 31, 2025. Metacritic required at least seven reviews, excluded specials and made-for-TV movies, and calculated this ranking from unrounded scores available on December 19, 2025. See Metacritic’s ranking and eligibility rules.
The result is a varied top ten: psychological drama, historical adaptation, animation, science fiction, documentary biography and more. Two shows share second place, so their matching score is not a tiebreak.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
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| 2 |
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10 best new shows of 2025, ranked
Metascores below are Metacritic’s professional-critic aggregates in its December 19, 2025 snapshot. The ranking is a useful guide to critical reception under those eligibility rules, not a guarantee that any one show will suit your taste.
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Adolescence — 91
This four-part British psychological drama, created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, begins when a 13-year-old boy is arrested for the murder of a classmate. Its episodes are each presented as one continuous take, making the form part of the experience rather than simply a visual flourish. Choose it for a concentrated, formally ambitious drama. Metacritic score: 91.
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Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light — 89 (tied)
The continuation of Thomas Cromwell’s story adapts the final novel in Hilary Mantel’s trilogy. Its deliberate pace and political focus make it a strong choice for viewers drawn to historical drama. Metacritic score: 89, tied for second place.
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Long Story Short — 89 (tied)
Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s adult animated comedy follows a Jewish American family across different periods. Its shifting family-history structure makes it a very different proposition from the historical drama sharing its score. Metacritic score: 89, tied for second place.
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Pluribus — 87
Vince Gilligan’s darkly comic science-fiction thriller imagines a society made happy and conflict-free by joining people into a common mind. Its central tension is what happens to individuality and agency in a world that appears to have solved discord. Metacritic score: 87.
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The Lowdown — 85
This Tulsa-set neo-noir stars Ethan Hawke as an obsessive citizen journalist. Its grounded, place-specific investigative setup offers a change of pace from the speculative worlds elsewhere on the list. Metacritic score: 85.
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Alien: Earth — 85
Noah Hawley expands the Alien franchise for television with a story set before the original film and built around a crashed research vessel. It is the pick for science-fiction viewers who want franchise mythology alongside horror elements. Metacritic score: 85.
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Best Interests — 85
This four-part legal and family drama follows parents contesting medical advice about their daughter. The premise leads into morally difficult family questions, rather than the rhythms of a light procedural. Metacritic score: 85.
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Forever — 84
Mara Brock Akil reimagines Judy Blume’s 1975 novel as a Black teen romance set in 2018 Los Angeles. Metacritic score: 84.
Rank #2
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Mr. Scorsese — 84
Rebecca Miller’s five-part documentary portrait follows Martin Scorsese through interviews with the filmmaker and people from his professional and personal circles. It is the natural choice here for viewers interested in documentary biography and film history. Metacritic score: 84.
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The Narrow Road to the Deep North — 83
This five-part Australian World War II drama adapts Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize-winning novel, following its protagonist across different periods of his life. The story is described as harrowing in tone. Metacritic score: 83.
How to choose among the top ten
The scores cluster closely, so genre, format and subject are more practical ways to narrow the list than a one- or two-point difference. Use the table as a viewing-mood guide; the episode counts are included where established in the ranking.
| Show | Metacritic score | Format or viewing mood | Episode commitment stated in the ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adolescence | 91 | Psychological drama; continuous-take episodes | Four parts |
| Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light | 89 (tied) | Deliberate historical and political drama | Not stated |
| Long Story Short | 89 (tied) | Adult animation; family history across time | Not stated |
| Pluribus | 87 | Darkly comic science-fiction thriller | Not stated |
| The Lowdown | 85 | Tulsa-set neo-noir and citizen journalism | Not stated |
| Alien: Earth | 85 | Science-fiction franchise story with horror elements | Not stated |
| Best Interests | 85 | Morally difficult legal and family drama | Four parts |
| Forever | 84 | Teen romance | Not stated |
| Mr. Scorsese | 84 | Documentary portrait and film history | Five parts |
| The Narrow Road to the Deep North | 83 | Harrowing wartime adaptation | Five parts |
What this ranking includes—and leaves out
This is a ranking of qualifying new first-year U.S. series, not a list of every notable television release worldwide. It does not rank returning seasons alongside new shows. For example, Metacritic separately placed season two of Andor at 92 among returning shows with enough reviews; it is outside this new-series ranking. The scores also reflect critics’ grades, not audience consensus, ratings or hours watched.
Because the list depends on geography, debut year and review-count thresholds, a show absent from it is not necessarily poorly regarded. It may fall outside the stated eligibility rules, including because it is a returning series or lacks the required number of professional reviews.
Where to watch these shows
Metacritic lists services alongside individual entries, including Netflix, PBS, Apple TV, Hulu, Prime Video and Acorn TV. Those listings are a starting point, not a live availability guarantee: catalogs and licensing vary by country and can change. Check the title directly with services available in your territory before subscribing or planning a watch.
Books behind two of the adaptations
If you want to read the source material, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light adapts the final novel in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy, while The Narrow Road to the Deep North adapts Richard Flanagan’s novel. These are books related to the shows, not required purchases or show editions.
Quick Recap
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