We don’t know all that the next 12 months have in store for us, but on the television front, things are looking up. This year will find big show returns like more “Poker Face,” “Andor,” and “The White Lotus”; not to mention the fourth and final season of “The Bear” (though there’s no way that’s really all they are going to do with that hit, right?) and the long, long-awaited return of “Severance” on Apple TV+. But there’s plenty of new stuff to get excited about as well (five words: Michelle Williams Back on TV.)
Below, 10 new television shows we absolutely can’t wait to check out this year. Need even more? Be sure to look at our 2025 Netflix preview for even more goodies to text the group chats about.
1. “American Primeval” (Netflix, January 9)
The year begins in the Wild West with this limited series from Peter Berg, Mark L. Smith, and Eric Newman, described as a “violent collision of culture, religion, and community.” Berg and Newman previously worked together on Netflix’s “Painkiller,” which also starred Taylor Kitsch. This time around, Kitsch plays the mysterious Isaac, a loner in the lawless territory that Sara (Betty Gilpin) is trying to navigate with son Devin (Preston Mota) — but they’ll find it filled with more foes than friends on a perilous cross-country journey. The cast includes Kim Coates, Dane DeHaan, Jai Courtney, and more as a mix of historical and fictional figures populating the trek. —PK
2. “The Pitt” (Max, January 9)
Noah Wyle. E.R. Sound familiar? “The Pitt” isn’t officially an “E.R.” sequel or spinoff — although ongoing legal proceedings contend it may have started out that way — but it does bring the former Dr. Carter back to the emergency room in a series created by veteran “E.R.” producer R. Scott Gemmill and produced by original “E.R.” showrunner John Wells.
The twist, aside from its Pittsburgh, PA setting and new cast members, is that “The Pitt” plays out in real time: “15 episodes, 15 hours, one shift,” as it says in the trailer. Will counting the seconds be enough to distinguish “The Pitt” from the mega-hit network drama that preceded it? And will fans of the original be curious enough to see Wyle back in scrubs but playing a new doc? Clock in this January to find out. —BT
3. “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” (Disney+, January 29)
Here’s another alternative universe from our friends at Marvel: This animated series about Peter Parker’s formative years will ponder what would have happened had Parker been mentored by Norman Osborn instead of Tony Stark. Yikes!
The show is created by Jeff Trammell with Hudson Thames voicing Parker, reprising the role from the Marvel Studios animated series “What If…?” Colman Domingo, Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy, and Charlie Cox will also voice characters.
4. “The Residence” (Netflix, March 20)
Shondaland is going back to the White House with this “screwball whodunnit” from showrunner Paul William Davies, about a murder at the country’s most prestigious address. The eight-episode series was apparently inspired by the book “The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House” by Kate Andersen Brower, which dives into various presidencies as told by White House staffers who are deeply acquainted with the building’s 132 rooms but also, according to Davies, the classic film “Charade.” After a body turns up during a massive White House party, the staff brings in detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) and FBI agent Edwin Park (Randall Park) to solve the case. The cast includes Giancarlo Esposito, Susan Kelechi Watson, Jane Curtin, Jason Lee, Ken Marino, and many more. —PK
5. “The Studio” (Apple TV+, March 26)
Co-created by Seth Rogen, the comedy will follow Matt Remick (Rogen), “the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios,” per a press release. “As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. With their power suits masking their neverending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting, and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe. As someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes movies, it’s the job Matt’s been pursuing his whole life, and it may very well destroy him.”
“The Studio” will also star Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, and Chase Sui Wonders.