Love, sex and droids: Here are the best TV shows of 2025... So far
How many have you seen? And do you agree with our first-half of 2025 ranking?
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/07/11/love-sex-and-droids-here-are-the-best-tv-shows-of-2025-so-far
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00:00Hello and welcome to this edition of Culture Catch-Up. I'm Takumbo Sulaka and joining me is my colleague David Morrigan. David, how are you?
00:07I'm alright, thank you. How are you?
00:09I'm fantastic, thank you very much and thank you for asking. Today we are going to be talking about television, the small box. There's been some wonders that have been keeping me up all night.
00:19What about yourself, David? We're looking at our best of 2025 so far this year. Let's take us down with the top five because there aren't just five though.
00:28No, there aren't. We've whittled it down to ten. But like we have with music and film, but TV is harder because there's so much.
00:39On a weekly basis, we are bombarded with new shows and some great, some not so great.
00:45But it just means that keeping track of all these shows is particularly difficult.
00:50But we put our heads together and came up with the top ten and today we'll be talking about the top five.
00:55So, well, let's start with, well, as logic dictates, number five.
01:00Number five, indeed. So what is number five in our childhood?
01:04Well, number five is Love on the Spectrum, season three to be precise.
01:10Now, the thing is, is because there are so many high prestige, big budget dramas and productions,
01:15it's very easy to sometimes forget that there are quote-unquote lighter things out there and more comfort watches,
01:24which are necessary at the moment. And a lot of those are dating shows.
01:30So you have The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Love is Blind, The Worst Offender, Too Hot to Handle.
01:36But the thing is, is that while these shows are compulsively binge-worthy,
01:43sometimes you kind of feel like you've been plunged in the seventh circle of hell with some really kind of cookie-cutter clones.
01:52And what's great is that Love on the Spectrum is the opposite of that.
01:57It follows members of the autism community who plunge into the dating scene.
02:05And it's a lot more moving and a lot more insightful and certainly more open-hearted and compassionate
02:12than the previous dating shows I've mentioned.
02:16Now, it does have its issues.
02:18And some viewers with autism have written some very insightful pieces about how it can be a little bit problematic.
02:29But by and large, the positives really do outweigh the negatives.
02:34And that was echoed by the National Council on Severe Autism,
02:40who described Love on the Spectrum as a gift from Netflix to the autism community.
02:47OK, well, let's just take a quick look at that now.
02:51But I was kind of nervous to meet someone new
02:54And then I got used to knowing you
02:57You understand me, remind me to breathe
03:00Being with you is easy, you're just who I need
03:04I know sometimes I'm in my head
03:07But when I'm with you, I'm in the world instead
03:10No one treats me better, we're so good together
03:14Will you be my boyfriend forever
03:17David, let's talk about number four now.
03:20The Pit, the medical drama which sees a return, perhaps the form, of Noah Wiley, last seen for many in E.R.
03:26Yes, and he stars and executive producers of The Pit, which on the surface does look a lot like E.R.
03:36But what this does actually rather brilliantly is remove all the hospital kind of show tropes
03:44To better document a 15-hour shift of an emergency room in Pittsburgh
03:51And every episode is one hour in real time
03:56And there's ODs, accidents, shootings, you name it, they have it
04:03And it is a really exhilarating watch
04:07But also a very exhausting watch
04:09But one thing that The Pit does really well
04:13Is essentially show the compassion in the face of everyday horror
04:20And also the absolute vital work that first responders do
04:25Okay, well let's take a look at that now
04:27150,000 people die every day in the world
04:30Today you got one of them
04:34And we're going to get more of it before the shift is over
04:36Tier one trauma now
04:38More of morphine, I'm going to stop the bleeding
04:41You learn to accept it, find balance
04:43You found balance?
04:52David, it's getting closer to the top now
04:54Let's have a look at the top three
04:56What makes number three in our charts?
04:58Number three is severance
05:00Season two
05:01Now we had to wait three years for the second season
05:05To Dan Erickson's very bleak, very funny workplace mystery
05:11And by and large the wait was worth it
05:15Season two does have its issues
05:17Specifically to do with pacing
05:19But it is and remains this really enthralling
05:24Often frustrating mystery
05:26That sees the return of Adam Scott as Mark S
05:30Who is severed in the corporation or cult
05:35That essentially deals with innies and outies
05:39And these split personas in order to kind of achieve the ideal work-life balance
05:44And like I said, for all of its pitfalls
05:48There's enough kind of Lynchian surrealism there
05:51There's enough humour
05:53There's enough bleakness and dystopia
05:55To make this a really, really enthralling puzzle box
05:59One that leads to an absolutely brilliant final episode
06:04Which makes you really hope that they don't take another three years to give us season three
06:09Now you spoke about love on the spectrum earlier
06:11Now let's talk about sex
06:13Somebody said that before me
06:15Dying for sex is number two on our list
06:18Why?
06:19Well, yeah
06:20Dying for sex is
06:22It very nearly took the top spot
06:24It's a limited series
06:27Eight episodes on Disney Plus
06:29And it's based on the real-life experiences of Molly Cohan
06:36Who had a podcast called Dying for Sex
06:40And the podcast was released just after her death at age 45
06:46And the show, which is brilliantly written by Liz Merriweather and Kim Rosenstock
06:54Is a comedy about terminal cancer
06:58And essentially it follows Molly, who is diagnosed with terminal cancer
07:03And who leaves her husband, who is this pompous journalist
07:08We don't know any of those
07:10And essentially goes out in search of the one thing she hasn't had
07:16Which is an orgasm
07:17And it's a show about female sexuality
07:22About sexual liberation, about kink
07:25But also about illness and even sexual abuse
07:29And it is such a tricky balancing act to get right
07:34But it achieves it masterfully
07:37To the extent that I was crying with laughter at times
07:40And also crying with sadness
07:43Because it doesn't end well for Molly
07:45But the thing is, is that on the whole
07:47This incredible show, which features Michelle Williams as Molly
07:53And also Jenny Slate
07:54Is just perfectly acted
07:56But also this ode to living life to the fullest
08:01And embracing life's absurdities
08:04And it is remarkable
08:06My cancer's back
08:08I'm too young
08:09I haven't done anything with my life
08:11I know it's cheesy
08:11But everybody has a bucket list
08:14I've never even had an orgasm with another person
08:17Good, we have something for your list
08:19Orgasm with another person
08:22David, that takes us neatly to number one on our list
08:27Tell us, what is it?
08:29Well, it's the show that has taken the world by storm this year
08:34It's the four-part Netflix series called Adolescence
08:38Now, you and I have talked about this show before on Euronews Culture
08:43It really has been this phenomenon that has worked as a cultural, social and even political wake-up call
08:51And, well, for those who haven't seen it
08:54It follows a young 13-year-old, Jamie
08:57Who is arrested after the murder of one of his classmates
09:01And this show, which is created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham
09:07Who also stars as Jamie's father
09:09It serves as this devastating exploration of social media and the manosphere
09:16The manosphere, which are these websites and blogs and forums
09:20Which promote misogyny and are anti-feminist
09:25And on a technical level, this show is masterful
09:30Every episode is shot in one take
09:33So it is an editing marvel
09:35But the thing is, is that not only that
09:38Formally, not only aesthetically and the acting
09:41It really does serve as this timely reminder that social media is unavoidable
09:49But that there are spheres within social media that need to be explored
09:53That need to be tackled and talked about
09:54Especially with regards to the influence that they have on young minds
09:58And especially at a time where knife crime continues to be high
10:02In Europe in general
10:03And this show, which also has made political waves
10:08Because it is now being shown in schools in the UK and now in France
10:12Is not only incredibly powerful
10:16But I think it's fair to say a modern masterpiece
10:20It really is a remarkable show
10:22And also it's put a renewed focus on the work of Stephen Graham
10:26We've seen previously his shows such as Boiling Point
10:29Known as The Chef in some regions as well
10:31That technique of filming things in one take as well
10:35Has been really, really powerful
10:36Absolutely
10:37I mean, he's a national treasure
10:38And what him and Jack Thorne have done
10:41Is really something that shouldn't be missed
10:44Indeed, well, thank you for rounding up those recommendations, David
10:48You can read more about what we've been talking about
10:51The full list of our recommendations for 2025 this year
10:55David, thank you very much for joining me on that one
