5 most anticipated drama shows of 2025, ranked

By Joe Allen Published January 18, 2025

2025 has arrived, and it’s bringing a lot of interesting new and returning TV with it. Severance season 2 was the year’s first major return, but since it already debuted, it will not be on this list.

Looking toward the rest of the year, we’ve sussed out the dramas that we’re most looking forward to in 2025. All of these shows are returning in 2025 because so many were caught up in delays around the writers’ and actors’ strikes. That does mean there will be an abundance of riches to choose from in 2025. Without further ado, these are the drama shows we’re looking forward to most in the year ahead.

The roller coaster ride of Stranger Things has turned the show from an underground phenomenon into one of the biggest shows on TV. In that time, the show’s quality has also been a roller coaster ride, from the highs of season 1 to the lows of season 2. When season 4 ended on a cliffhanger in 2022, though, no one thought it would take us three years to get the final installment.

Now, though, Eleven and the boys know the threat they’re facing, and they’re ready to face it head-on. Season 5 looks epic and long, but given the show’s enormous popularity, it’ll also be eagerly anticipated.

You can watch Stranger Things on Netflix.

As one of the more surprising small-scale TV phenomenons in recent memory, Yellowjackets will return for its third season with a mixture of apprehension and anticipation. The series follows the aftermath of a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness and the survivors of that crash who are still haunted by it decades later.

Yellowjackets continued to unspool mysteries around what was happening in that wilderness and what the women who survived are hiding decades later. The show’s second season was not quite as universally beloved as the first, but there’s still plenty of room for optimism heading into season 3.

You can watch Yellowjackets on Paramout+. 

Every time The White Lotus debuts a new season, it always captivates its intended audience. The show, which focuses on a different luxury vacation in a different locale each year, is set to focus on a group of Americans vacationing in Thailand for its second season.

The ensemble cast that has been assembled for this new season includes Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan, Walton Goggins, and Jason Isaacs, among others. While we don’t know how this new season will unfold, most White Lotus seasons involve a dead body, and this one probably won’t be any different.

You can watch The White Lotus on Max.

Star Wars television has not, on the whole, been all that good. That’s why the first season of Andor was such a major surprise. The show, a prequel to Rogue One, tells the story of Cassian Andor as he transforms from a thief into a genuine diehard rebel.

Along the way, though, it becomes a meditation on what it’s like to live under fascism and how much easier it is to keep your head down than it would be to openly rebel. Andor‘s second season will be eagerly anticipated because the first season exceeded expectations. Hopefully, it doesn’t disappoint.

You can watch Andor on Disney+. 

When its first season debuted in 2023, many were amazed at how well The Last of Us avoided many of the crutches plaguing most video game adaptations. Set 20 years after a fungal virus has turned most of humanity into flesh-eating zombies, The Last of Us follows a man and a young girl as they travel across the country together after discovering that the girl is immune to the infection.

The second season will be adapted from the hugely acclaimed and somewhat controversial The Last of Us Part II, which features a time jump and several other surprises but is just as dark and thrilling as the first installment.

You can watch The Last of Us on Max.