Best of 2025 — TV
The Pitt
With so much in the world out of my control, there is something extremely satisfying about watching someone be very, very good at their job. Some call it “competence porn,” but I found this show about a single, day-long shift in a Pittsburgh ER genuinely inspiring, moving, and comforting. With a partner and friends working in healthcare, I’m well aware of how “care” has been removed from the equation in the real world. But The Pitt shows how empathy can flourish in even the most pressure-filled situations.
Task
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a broken-down cop with a drinking problem chases down a not-as-bad-as-he-initially-seems criminal. Task takes what could have been a ho-hum detective story and knocks it out of the park by imbuing all the characters with rich backstories, believable motivations, and just the right amount of philosophy. Task is at times incredibly bleak, but ultimately so full of grace I couldn’t help but be reduced to heaving sobs by the final episode.
Common Side Effects
What if there was a mushroom that could cure any disease and even bring people back from the dead? Common Side Effects drew me in with a promise of satirizing the pharmaceutical industry, but ended up being much more nuanced than its slightly goofy visual style would suggest. It was easily the most pleasant surprise I checked out this year.
Dying for Sex
I grew up in New England, went to Catholic school, and spent much of my pubescent off-time in and around a Baptist Church. It shouldn’t shock you then to learn that for many years I had a pretty guarded relationship with sex. Don’t feel it. And if you do feel it, don’t talk about it. Watching Michelle Williams explore the awkward, often hilarious ways we try to find pleasure and connection shows how much I (and everyone, to be frank) could all benefit from talking more about what we like, rather than hiding feelings away behind closed doors and dimmed lights. It’s so much more than just a fun, sex-positive comedy though. The main character is dying of cancer, which adds a ticking clock to her escapades. If I knew my time was running short, I pray I’d be able to approach it with such grace and humor.
The Studio
I love it when characters attempt increasingly elaborate ways to dig themselves out of messes of their own making, ultimately making the problem exponentially worse. It’s like watching someone miss their exit on the freeway only to stop and reverse along the shoulder instead of simply going around. You want to scream at them to stop, but you also want to see them accidentally tip their car into a ditch. The Studio takes the most myopic, self important people in showbiz and lets them loose on a Hollywood lot. The result is equal parts cringe, slapstick, and genuine love for the very messy “art” of making movies.
Pluribus
Hi there! We’re Ryan Coons, and you probably have some questions about Pluribus, the new show from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul’s creator Vince Gilligan (who we also are). We’re so happy to answer them for you. Is this simply Invasion of the Body Snatchers, updated for our times? Certainly not, unless it would make you happy if it were. Does it dredge up deep questions about individuality, collectivism, loneliness, and what makes us human? Only if you enjoy thinking about those sorts of things. We just want you to be happy, and we think Pluribus will delight you.