I'll keep each entry short (mostly).
25: Alien: Earth
You can read my reviews on the show, but I had to include this on the list because it was a very well made show. Was it great? I'm honestly not sure, I probably have to watch it again knowing what I'm going to get from the beginning. However, it was very faithful to the aesthetic and themes of the Alien franchise, and it was compelling despite it being more about exploring humanity than it was about the titular Aliens.
I have spent entirely too much time playing this game. While it debuted last year, it has had multiple content drops this year which have totally reframed and expanded the hero roster and game meta. The most recent is the X-Men Rogue who is super complicated and a lot of fun. While I do recommend the game it can be frustrating at times with matchmaking feeling somewhat arbitrary and occasionally punitive.
23: Peacemaker: Season Two
This was a wildly different experience from season one and a much more emotional journey for the title character. Having done much of the heavy lifting breaking him down and resetting his personality in season one, season two spent most of the runtime letting him explore his trauma and grief. Solid writing and performances all around.
22: Lauren Lyle (Karen Pirie, Outlander)
While Karen Pirie is a decent show, I wouldn't necessarily put the show on this list. However, I think Lauren Lyle's performance deserves a spot because it was honestly the entire reason to watch. Also, on a related topic, they better bring back Marsali for the final season of Outlander!!!
21: Marvel Zombies
This was way better than it had any right to be, and might just be one of my favorite zombie properties which is saying a lot. If viewed as a single two hour movie (especially if you include the What If? episodes that started things off) this is a rather tight and somewhat bleak story of a zombie apocalypse with really great characters guiding us along.
This placement is primarily due to his performance in Peacemaker season two where I finally got him as an actor, and I have to say he has both range and some really decent acting chops. He gets both drama and comedy and isn't afraid to look absurd. I think he has a very promising career ahead of him.
19: Dune Awakening
This is the other game that has basically consumed my life this year. I won't say the number of hours I have dumped into Dune Awakening, but I'll share some of my experiences. Set in an alternate universe from the books where Paul Atreides was never born, you start off as an exile to Arakas and end up alone without anything. You gather, fight and build your way to claiming a life while avoiding heatstroke and death by sandworm. It's really just a solid action, survival, building, crafting game set in a surprisingly complex and interesting world.
It took me two full watches to realize how incredibly well written this season turned out. Perhaps it was because of the month long intermission between the first and second four episodes, but the first time through I was kind of disappointed. Or maybe, as is the case with well done mysteries, once you know what is going on you can see all the subtle details missed the first time around. Also, the sixth episode of the season is a showcase in acting talent, specifically Emma Myers' incredible performance which I will not spoil here.
17: Adria Arjona (Andor)
There is a lot to love about Andor, but one of the best parts of the season is Bix's journey, and specifically Adria Arjona's subtle and powerful performance. Her role became so important over the course of the series that she felt like the heart of the story, despite it being mainly about the beginnings of a rebellion.
16: Pluribus
From the creators of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, this new science fiction story about a romance writer dealing with the worst existential crisis imaginable is multi-layered and very compelling. The cast is all memorable, the situation unique and the entire series is an exercise in restraint in storytelling. If it hadn't ended on that cliffhanger this might've gone higher, but it doesn't feel like a complete story yet.
While I had to call out Emma Myers in the series blurb, Jenna deserves her own place of praise. In this season of Wednesday she not only kept up the incredible and iconic performance of Wednesday Addams, she displayed range with a wildly different turn in the sixth episode. It is incredibly difficult to serve as the foundational character, the anchor for all the action, delivering growth and range while managing to be engaging and many other leads have failed in this task.
14: Alexander Skarsgård (Murderbot)
This is kind of a double entry. As much as I enjoyed Murderbot as a silly, interesting science fiction experience, the main draw for me was the titular character. Played with perfect deadpan delivery by Alexander Skarsgård, the robot in question is as much of a mystery to the people around it as it is to itself. While both funny and dramatic at times, his performance was the main reason I'm looking forward to season two. Lets hope they change the format and do full length episodes!
This was the best MCU movie in years, and a really lovely exercise in exploring grief and loneliness. While it has the traditional action scenes and witty dialogue, the focus was on the characters and their collective trauma. While I liked every single character and this did play a bit like an ensemble, in truth the lead was Yelena and the story revolved around her emotional journey.
12: Florence Pugh (Thunderbolts)
So lets talk about her performance. Florence Pugh stood out to me in her previous two appearances in Black Widow and Hawkeye, stealing scenes and getting the best dialogue. Her chemistry with pretty much every single person she interacts with is palpable. In Thunderbolts she essentially steals the movie. It isn't just her comedic chops; she makes us feel her grief and causing me to cry is very unusual for an MCU movie.
There have been a lot of actors who have donned the red cape, and many have been exceptional in the role. So there isn't a lot of room left for interpretation; we know Superman, he's one of the best known characters in the world. Yet somehow David Corenswet managed to breathe new life into the character. He is humble, honest, true and feels like the son of a farmer from Kansas. Is he the best Superman? Probably not, but he is a nearly perfect choice for this era of the DCU.
10: Rachel Brosnahan (Superman 2025)
There have been a lot of actors who have taken on the role of Lois Lane, and many have been exceptional in the role. Lois Lane is one of my favorite characters, and is nearly as iconic as Superman himself. Lois is Superman's opposite, his quintessential romantic partner and his equal in many ways. Rachel Brosnahan feels like she was born to play the part, coming across as equal parts brilliant and courageous she picks a fight with heroes, dives into danger without hesitation and helps Superman without taking anything away from him.
Michael C. Hall has always delivered a great performance with Dexter, but in season ten, or Dexter: Resurrection, he was finally allowed to fully emote and it was wonderful to see. Given the opportunity to play with his range, he gave us the best version of Dexter in years. It was both unexpected and wonderful to see the character still shine after so long in the darkness.
08: Superman (2025)
This is one of those movies that doesn't feel like anything that has come before. A great mix of action, drama and character this version of Superman, while substantively the same, feels different in a number of ways. While it may not be the best Superman movie of all time, it is very strong introduction to both the DCU and this version of Superman, Lois, Lex Luthor and a number of other great characters.
As one of the best medical shows to come along in years, The Pitt earned its praise. But I want to talk about Noah Wylie. He serves as both the anchor and lead of the series. Giving us a gruff, tortured and incredibly competent doctor in charge of an emergency department on one of the worst days of the year. Noah completely embodies the character, giving us important snippets of his life and personality, while the character actively avoids dealing with his personal demons. It is a nuanced and captivating performance for which he has been nominated (and won several) awards.
06: Dexter: Resurrection
Very few shows reaching ten seasons have anything left to say or do that is original or honestly good. Dexter floundered its original ending, and it was a bit disappointing when it was revived. So no one really wanted another season. Yet somehow Dexter: Resurrection was the best season since season four and gave us new and exciting changes to both format and characters. We were introduced to a whole group of serial killers and an enigmatic billionaire played by the wonderful Peter Dinklage. But more importantly, this felt like the series had something to say, and I'm so happy to see the show as good again.
You may not know her name, but she is the award winning voice actress behind Maelle from the game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Besides the fact that she is a lovely person in real life, the range and talent she imparts to her voice performances is simply incredible. In particular her heart wrenching performance in Clair Obscur ranks her as one of the best performers of the year and very deserving of my top five.
04: The Pitt
Speaking of heart wrenching, The Pitt is the best medical show... period? This is styled as a hospital version of 24 with each hour occurring in real time over the course of a single day or shift. It is one of those rare shows that is perhaps a bit too real, and has even been praised by the medical community for its accuracy. It deals with a wide range of both medical and social issues, including mental health, abortion, addiction and real trauma. The cast is all excellent, the writing superb and the sheer tension of every episode feels impactful and very relevant to the real problems we face in the United States with our broken health care system.
As the unsung hero who helped build the foundation of the Rebellion and one half of the masterminds who orchestrated the eventual fall of the Empire you could be forgiven for overlooking Kleya, especially in season one. However, you cannot say the same about Elizabeth Dulau who became the MVP of season two and gave an incredibly layered and nuanced performance. Her strength, grief, pain and resolve relayed with little dialogue gives Kleya the range needed for such a complex character. Add to that this is Elizabeth Dulau's first major role, and while there may be slightly better performances in individual moments scattered throughout the season, for me she was a star.
02: Andor
I've said it before, Andor came out of nowhere. For a story about a character I actively didn't like, in a part of the Star Wars universe that no-one asked to explore, based on a movie that was really just an excuse to plug a plot hole in the first Star Wars movie, it had absolutely no business being this excellent. From the unbearable and riveting fall of an entire planet to the utterly gut wrenching wrap up leading into the Rogue One movie, I can't find a single thing I would really want to change. It's just a shame there will be nothing more from these characters and creative team, at least for now. I still think they could base a show based around Vel and Kleya, but we'll see.
I honestly didn't think my number one pick would be a video game, but this is the best game I've played in years. This has literally everything I could ask for in a property: incredible music, acting, story, dialogue, pacing, structure and world building. It is utterly unique with incredible visuals and insanely complex game play to top it off. As the first game from a new developer who spent six years designing the game they wanted to play, this is a love letter to the RPG genre and it shows. I am so happy I picked this game up and I enjoyed all sixty hours I spent with it.
So there you go, my very long list of 25 of my picks for the best in 2025. I'm not going to do 26 in 2026, I promise.
Samantha M. Quinn spends most of her time in front of a computer typing away at one thing or another; when she has free time, she enjoys pretty much anything science fiction or fantasy-related.
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