Ars Technica’s year-end selection, published December 24, 2025, brings together scripted dramas, mysteries, comedies, documentaries and even rodeo coverage. The picks are explicitly unranked, with one exception: The Residence is named the year’s best. This is a curated set of favorites, not a popularity chart or a comprehensive ranking.
Ars Technica author Jennifer Ouellette described the year as “a pretty good year for television, with established favorites sharing space with some intriguing new shows.” The article’s editor also warns that some descriptions contain plot details readers may consider spoilers.
The selection ranges from returning series such as Severance and Only Murders in the Building to new dramas, nature and military documentaries, and a live sports event. Ars Technica’s introduction counts seven Netflix selections and five Apple TV selections; those figures describe this list alone, not either service’s wider catalogue.
Nature and documentary picks
Underdogs
This five-part nature series, narrated by Ryan Reynolds, turns its attention to animals that are less conventionally appealing, using irreverent genre parodies to shape each installment. Ouellette calls it her favorite nature documentary.
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Top Guns: The Next Generation
This National Geographic series follows Navy and Marine students as they train in fighter-weapons programs. It offers a military-training subject among the list’s scripted dramas and comedies.
Returning dramas, mysteries and comedies
Daredevil: Born Again
Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk return in a series whose central performances and character focus earn praise, though the article notes that the show has uneven elements.
Only Murders in the Building, season 5
The Hulu comedy mystery brings its central trio back to investigate the death of the Arconia’s doorman.
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The Gilded Age, season 3
Julian Fellowes’s HBO period drama returns to New York’s 1880s, where old-money and new-money elites contend for influence.
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Ted Danson returns in this Netflix light mystery-comedy, going undercover at a college.
The Diplomat, season 3
This Netflix series combines political soap opera with international-crisis drama. The article praises its cast and cliffhangers.
Rank #3
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Slow Horses, season 5
The Apple TV spy thriller, adapted from Mick Herron’s novels, continues with a plot involving Roddy Ho.
Severance, season 2
Apple TV’s series continues to explore the division between “innie” and “outtie” consciousnesses. The review appreciates its premise but raises reservations about pacing and story development.
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Boots
This Netflix dramedy follows a closeted gay teenager experiencing Marine boot camp in the early 1990s. It is based on Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine. The article notes that Netflix canceled the series.
Rank #4
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Ludwig
In this BBC mystery, a puzzle-maker impersonates his missing identical twin, who is a police detective. The article reports that the BBC renewed the series for a second season.
Outrageous
This BritBox fictionalized period drama follows the Mitford family amid the rise of fascism in the 1930s.
Andor
Set in the Star Wars universe, the series stands out for its portrayal of systemic oppression, suspense and sacrifice.
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Alien: Earth
The FX/Hulu science-fiction series is praised by its contributor for its craftsmanship and for bringing together visual and tonal elements associated with earlier Alien films.
Squid Game, season 3
The final season’s violent games and moral stakes are central to the article’s discussion of the Netflix series.
The Sandman, season 2
The article describes this Netflix installment as the final season of the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels, praising its visuals and conclusion.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.One event-broadcast pick
National Finals Rodeo coverage
The Cowboy Channel’s entry highlights the 10-day championship competition and the unpredictability of its results. Its inclusion makes the list broader than a selection of scripted or documentary series alone.
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The year’s best: The Residence
Ars Technica singles out this Netflix mystery-comedy as its top pick. Loosely based on Kate Andersen Brower’s nonfiction book about White House residence staff, it brings a workplace setting into a mystery format.
What this list does—and does not—tell you
- It is a set of editorial favorites, not a measured ranking. The selections are unranked except for The Residence, which is named the year’s best. The source provides no independent audience survey, viewing figures or market measurements.
- The service labels reflect the article’s December 2025 context. They do not establish current availability in a particular country or current subscription prices.
- Several selections have named book connections. Boots is based on The Pink Marine; The Sandman adapts Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels; Slow Horses is based on Mick Herron’s novels; and The Residence is loosely based on Kate Andersen Brower’s nonfiction book.
- The article includes a contemporary note about Poker Face. It discusses the possibility that Peter Dinklage might become the lead if the series were picked up after Peacock declined to renew it. That is the article’s report at publication, not a statement of the show’s current status.
Read the complete selection and its individual commentary in Ars Technica’s “TV Technica: Our favorite shows of 2025”, published December 24, 2025.
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