Fourteen years ago, Emily Nussbaum, one of my esteemed predecessors in the TV-critic chair, notoriously titled her Top Ten list “I Hate Top Ten Lists.” I’ve seldom felt the same. I’m not much of a holiday person, but, for most of the time that I’ve been a working critic, I’ve loved the end-of-year ritual of sorting the so-so from the superb and the overhyped from the justly praised, pruning my favorites down to a most-deserving few. I’ve always taken seriously—probably too seriously—the privilege of giving hidden gems another chance to shine.
New Yorker writers reflect on the year’s highs and lows.
But, in 2025, I can’t say that curating such a roundup was much fun. This year, as executives backed away from the kind of risky, ambitious programming that marked the last golden age of television, the industry’s decline was evident from its output. TV felt smaller. There were few epics like “The Last of Us” and “Alien: Earth,” which, while entertaining, were ultimately constrained by their source material. Several of the year’s most prominent prestige series—“Severance,” “Andor,” “Adolescence,” “The Bear,” “The White Lotus,” and “The Studio”—were, to my mind, ponderous, shallow, or both. I was especially disheartened by the dearth of straightforward sitcoms, as the comedy ecosystem continues to migrate online and becomes increasingly, sometimes incomprehensibly, niche.
In the past, keeping tabs on all the boundary-pushing shows could be a lonely affair; there were always series that I felt sure were only being watched by other TV critics. But, in such an uninspired year, I found my yardstick for what constitutes great television shifting. Though the traditional standards of excellence—innovation, ambition, execution, distinctiveness, and relevance—still apply, I was more inclined to highlight projects that I wanted to discuss (and debate) with other people. The water cooler may never be reinstalled, but these shows made me crave its return.
10. “Death by Lightning”
Netflix
In 1881, a man named Charles Guiteau assassinated President James Garfield in a bid to be remembered in the history books; instead, he consigned both himself and his victim to the footnotes. This lively excavation of the entwined fates of Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen) and Garfield (Michael Shannon) makes for a twisty, political period drama, as well as a haunting parable for our violent times. The killer’s obsession with achieving glory isn’t the only element that feels startlingly modern, with anachronistic touches lending the series an unusual brio. A focus on Garfield’s sense of duty and grand agenda underscores what was lost with his death—and invites the question of what he might have achieved had he lived.
9. “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City”
Bravo
The cast of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”Photograph courtesy Bravo
The “Real Housewives” franchise, which turned interpersonal conflict into an art form, is some two decades old, but the “S.L.C.” installment, now in its sixth season, feels as fresh as ever. This year’s episodes consistently deliver the best of the “Housewives” brand: moments of transcendent camp, viral one-liners, and the gaudiest fashion money can buy. But interwoven with the usual bickering and betrayals are the vulnerabilities that define this particular cast: struggles with addiction, religious (specifically Mormon) trauma, marriages involving profound disparities in age and wealth, and, of course, the perils of reality-TV fame.
8. “Caleb Hearon: Model Comedian”
