The 2025 Shows With Zero Haters, Ranked — No. 1 Reigns Supreme

2025 has been ridiculous for TV in the best way. Big swings paid off, the comfort watches actually delivered, and a couple shows came out of nowhere and owned the conversation. Here are the ones that stuck the landing and kept people glued to the couch.

1. When Life Gives You Tangerines

   Netflix crowned this one early, and honestly, fair. Set on Jeju Island, it tracks Ae-sun (IU) — a headstrong poet-in-the-making — and Gwan-sik (Park Bo-gum), the quiet constant in her life, across decades. It is classic slow-burn romance meets slice-of-life, with rural Korean backdrops that do a lot of heavy lifting in the vibes department. It nabbed multiple Baeksang Awards and parked itself at the top of Netflix’s global charts because it’s as tender as it is gorgeous.

   IMDb rating: 9.1/10
   Where to stream: Netflix

2. Adolescence

   Premiered on Netflix in March and immediately became the show everyone was both watching and arguing about. It’s a crime drama, sure, but the real hook is how it dissects modern teenage life without sanding off the edges. Owen Cooper, who was 14 when they shot this, plays Jamie Miller and proceeded to make Emmy history as the youngest Supporting Actor winner. Stephan Graham and Erin Doherty also took home Emmys, which tells you the ensemble is stacked. Records were broken, group chats were messy — in other words, it hit.

   IMDb rating: 8.1/10
   Where to stream: Netflix

3. Pee-wee as Himself

   A two-part doc that dropped in May on HBO and Max and leans hard into the offbeat charm of Paul Reubens working through daily life via his alter ego, Pee-wee Herman. Produced by Matt Wold, it mixes pure nostalgia with oddball slices of day-to-day, plus a peek behind the curtain. The reaction has been warm because it’s funny, strange, and exactly the kind of time capsule fans wanted.

   IMDb rating: 8.4/10
   Where to stream: HBO and Max

4. The Pitt

   Created by R. Scott Gemmill, this one is built like a pressure cooker: a single 15-hour shift at a Pittsburgh trauma center. Despite some early descriptions tossing around the word 'medieval' (no idea how that snuck in), this is very much a contemporary hospital drama — and a sharp, propulsive one. Noah Wyle, Kathrine LaNasa, and Taylor Dearden headline, and the realism sells it. It cleaned up at the 2025 Primetime Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series and wins for its leads. Streaming note: it’s on Prime Video, even though some branding might have led you to expect HBO. Welcome to 2025.

   IMDb rating: 8.9/10
   Where to stream: Prime Video

5. Dept. Q

   Matthew Goode plays Carl Morck, a brilliant detective with baggage who’s put in charge of a new cold case unit in Edinburgh — Department Q. The show’s sweet spot is reopening dusty files, finding fresh leads, and bumping into corruption that never really went away. It’s tight, suspenseful, and turned into Netflix’s most-watched Scottish title of 2025. Also, a small but cool flex: a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.

   IMDb rating: 8.2/10
   Where to stream: Netflix

6. The Narrow Road to the Deep North

   Prime Video rolled this out in April. Justin Kurzel adapts Richard Flanagan’s novel into a sweeping, bruising look at war’s aftershocks. Jacob Elordi plays Dorrigo, an Australian surgeon trying to live with what he’s seen and done; Odessa Young is Amy Mulvaney, married to Dorrigo’s uncle, whose connection with him spirals into an affair. It’s about guilt, love, memory, and the damage time doesn’t fix.

   Masterfully crafted

   is the phrase you keep hearing, and for once the blurb isn’t overselling it.

   IMDb rating: 7.2/10
   Where to stream: Prime Video

That’s the short list that actually earned the hype. What did I miss? Tell me your favorite from 2025 — and what I should bump up the queue next.