Although this is predominantly a movie blog, as we’re coming to the end of the Awards Season, I wanted to take a moment to recognise some of my favourite stand-out moments from 2025’s ‘event’ TV. I don’t claim to have seen everything, but these are my personal (largely spoiler-free) Top Ten favourite TV moments from last year (for the most part, I’ve tried to be a bit more imaginative than simply choosing the season finales of everything!).

Honourable Mentions:

The always entertaining Only Murders in the Building never fails to put a smile on my face, and I was genuinely worried that the fifth season was wrapping things up – so I was relieved to hear it's been renewed for a sixth season. The third season of Reacher provided just the perfect amount of escapism needed right now, and was a reliable guilty pleasure. After six great seasons, the final episode of What We Do in the Shadows gave fans a suitably surreal ending – I will really miss those characters. And I'd assumed that Chad Powers would be a one-and-done miniseries, until the season 1 finale took things in some unexpected directions. Thankfully, it was renewed for a second season, as this dramedy is turning into a fascinating exploration of identity.

10 – Doctor Who: “The Well” (season two, episode 3)

It’s a shame that the real-life upheaval over Disney’s funding of this BBC show has taken focus away from just how good Ncuti Gatwa’s two seasons as the Doctor have been. Yes, I would have liked him to stay in the role for longer, and yes, the audacity of the second season’s cliffhanger ending has turned to frustration as a result of not knowing when we’re going to get to see its resolution – but none of that takes away from how good this second season was. For me, the highlight was The Well, a creepy, claustrophobic episode that revealed itself to be an unexpected sequel to a classic episode…

9 – IT: Welcome to Derry: “The Black Spot” (season one, episode 7)

I don't consider myself a horror fan per se, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good IT: Welcome to Derry was. It had truly unpredictable twists and turns, all leading to a very satisfying finale, and it also added a lot more depth to the lore from It and It: Chapter Two. Plus, the show's approach to non-linear time means that this prequel show also works as a sequel to the movies, which was a nice touch. The highlight of the season was The Black Spot, which contained a number of genuinely emotional and unexpected moments.

8 – The Last of Us: “Through the Valley” (season two, episode 2)

As much as I loved the first season of The Last of Us, the second season was a difficult watch at times, given the bleakness of the storyline and the traumatic events that unfolded. Never was that more true than in the unforgettable second episode, Through the Valley. The show became something that I admired on an intellectual level for its unflinching exploration of destructive cycles of violence, rather than a show I enjoyed on an emotional level. I'm still not sure how I feel about the season two finale, which just kind of ... ended? I don't know where the show’s going in its third (and final?) season, but I couldn’t help but wonder why they decided to break the story between seasons at that particular point? I guess we'll all find out in another couple of years!

7 – Daredevil: Born Again: “Excessive Force” (season one, episode 6)

As a big fan of the earlier Netflix/Marvel shows, this sequel series gave me everything I was hoping for. Admittedly, you can see some of the joins in the middle run of episodes (which were built around the previously filmed material from the show's original iteration), but the "brand new" episodes which topped and tailed the season really showed where the new showrunners want to take things in the second season. Great performances all round, and it was an absolute joy to see Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio back in these iconic roles ... even if the show was centred around a worryingly topical storyline which sees a convicted criminal elected into government, only to surround himself with sycophantic and under-qualified lackeys, while using his office to line his own pockets – so far-fetched! Aside from the beginning and ending episodes, Excessive Force was a standout episode, mainly for Charlie Cox’s delivery of the pivotal line “F**k it”!

6 – Peacemaker: “Ignorance is Chris” (season two, episode 6)

Whereas the first season of Peacemaker was built around a fairly traditional "team on a mission" narrative, season two was very plot-light in comparison, focusing instead on a deep dive into the characters. The result was an unexpectedly delightful – the show was still packed full of R-rated laugh-out-loud moments, but also provided a surprising amount of pathos and emotion. It's amazing to see how far this show has come from its original concept as a spin-off for The Suicide Squad's least sympathetic character, and between this and Superman, 2025 was a great year for the new DCU which seems in safe hands with James Gunn. The standout episode was probably Ignorance is Chris, largely because of that unexpected ending...

5 – Squid Game: “222” (season three, episode 4)

I was very late getting into Squid Game, but it's a show that definitely lived up to the hype. The brutality of the various games is what grabbed the headlines, but the show had so much more depth than just that. Examining themes like the manipulation of democracy to victimise minorities, and the exploitation of ordinary people by the 1%, as well as concepts like capitalism, sacrifice, greed, self-preservation and morality, it was at its core a show designed to make audiences question their own faith in human nature (the episode 222 was a particularly impactful example of this). Squid Game was very often extremely bleak precisely because it didn't offer easy answers, and while it didn't end the way I was expecting, I think (with hindsight) that writer/director Hwang Dong-hyuk found the perfect way to end his show. Alongside Andor, this was a great example of a poignant TV show that serve as both a warning to where society is heading, and a reminder that there may still be time to do something about it...

4 – Alien: Earth: “In Space, No One...” (season one, episode 5)

I had really low expectations for Alien: Earth when it was first announced (the Alien vs Predator films had left me with a bad taste in my mouth about setting an Alien story on Earth...) – but I did feel a bit better when I heard that the show would be set in the Weyland-Yutani-era future, rather than being contemporary. The ‘bottle episode’, In Space, No One..., was admittedly very derivative of the first Alien film, but it was nevertheless a lot of fun. By the end of the first season, I was really enjoying the show, which not only didn't overexpose the Xenomorph itself (keeping it as a genuine threat), but also introduced some new, nightmare-fuel, original creatures (who knew a sheep could ever look so sinister?). I also really enjoyed the evolution of the hybrids' storyline, and I’m very relieved that it’s been renewed for a second season (especially after that cliffhanger ending), as this is shaping up to be one of the best Alien projects so far.

3 – Adolescence: “Episode Three” (season one, episode 3)

It’s not often that a TV drama has such a timely and important cultural impact that it’s debated in parliament, but Adolescence was one such show. Well-written, well-acted and well-directed (the fact that each hour-long episode was filmed in a single continuous take still blows my mind), it also marked the phenomenal debut performance from young newcomer (and now award-winning) Owen Cooper. This was often a very uncomfortable watch (especially the claustrophobic third episode), but it was thought-provoking and topical British drama at its best.

2 – Stranger Things: “The Rightside Up” (season five, episode 8)

There will always be entitled viewers who think they “deserve” the ending to a show that they pictured in their mind (please don’t get me started on the unjustified hatred directed at the final season of Game of Thrones, that was itself so sharply parodied in the Inside No. 9 episode Simon Says), but as far as I’m concerned, The Rightside Up was one of the most satisfying series finales I've seen. Epic, heartfelt and emotionally satisfying, it was for me a perfect end for the 9-year journey that I’d taken with those characters, and it confirmed Stranger Things’ status as one of the best original TV shows of the last couple of decades – 10/10, no notes. As it’s the series finale, I feel this is one time it’s acceptable for me to select the final episode as my highlight ... but the mid-season finale The Sorcerer was also one hell of an episode.

1 – Andor: “Who Are You?” (season two, episode 8)

I feel it's safe to say that Andor has (surprisingly) been one of the best TV shows in years – hugely entertaining while also having something of substance to say about the real world, it's been a tour de force in terms of writing, acting and direction. By the end of its run, even "minor" characters like Kleya had been given an incredible amount of character depth (and Elizabeth Dulau was amazing in Make It Stop and the final story arc). Head writer Tony Gilroy is a student of history, and he took inspiration from many historic examples of societies that have slept-walked into fascism and authoritarianism. What’s so surprising is that these episodes for the second season were written three years prior to release, and yet the clear parallels to where the world is today are horrifying.

But the show is as much about hope as it is about the insidious nature of totalitarianism, and Nemik's manifesto and Mon Mothma's senate speech are scenes for the ages:

“The distance between what is said and what is known to be true has become an abyss. Of all the things at risk, the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest.”

— Mon Mothma

“There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy. Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward. And remember this: the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.”

— Nemik

After a (relatively) slow start to the second season in the first couple of episodes, Andor quickly established itself as something uncompromising and special with the third episode, Harvest, which took Bix and Mon Mothma to some emotionally extreme places. But episodes 7 to 9 of the second season are destined to be on future lists of Best Ever TV Episodes – every aspect of those episodes, from the writing and direction, to the production design and acting, are phenomenally well executed, and the tension in those episodes is unrelenting. Everyone gave amazing performances in these episodes (the highlight of which is the emotionally devastating Who Are You?), but special acknowledgements need to be given to Kyle Soller (Syril), Denise Gough (Dedra), Adria Arjona (Bix) and Genevieve O'Reilly (Mon Mothma) who brought so much complexity to their characters. The themes of these episodes are frighteningly topical, and make these episodes essential viewing, in this or any other year.