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The best returning TV shows of 2025: What to watch in the new year

The return of Stranger Things at long last highlights the year ahead

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The cast of Severance
Apple TV+

Remember when you were growing up and could expect your favorite TV series to start a new season every September? Yeah, that’s not happening often anymore. The schedule release is erratic and many shows take at least two years to come out with new episodes. With a new year comes the opportunity to run through the calendar and see which personal favorite is finally returning from hiatus.

The returning TV shows of 2025 include the second season of genre-specific series such as The Last of Us and Andor. Other popular shows that came out in 2024 and will return in 2025 are Hacks and The Bear. Perhaps the biggest returning program, though, is Netflix’s Stranger Things, which hasn’t seen new episodes since the summer of 2022. These are the best returning TV shows of 2025.

Recommended Videos

Severance (2022)

Severance
tv-ma
2 Seasons
Genre
Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Stars
Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry
Created by
Dan Erickson
Watch on Apple TV+
Apple TV+ has developed a reputation for crafting unique series that can’t be viewed on any other streaming service. Severance might take the top of the mantle for the company. This sci-fi show weaves an incredible narrative around a group of workers who have their memories separated between when they are at the job and when they return home. Mind control, corporate greed, and so many other contemporary themes highlight the show’s strengths as it examines modern society from an angle other shows struggle to emulate. Adam Scott is fantastic as the lead, and fanfare surrounding the series is high after a three-year hiatus. Severance will return on January 17, 2025.
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Hacks (2021)

Hacks
tv-ma
4 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins
Created by
Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs
Watch on max
Hacks ended its third season on a hilarious cliffhanger and as an Emmy winner for Outstanding Comedy Series as young Ava finally got to one-up her mentor right when Deborah was thought to be celebrating the biggest achievement of her career entering the late-night talk show sphere. The fourth season of Hacks is sure to guarantee even more laughs as the rivalry between the women grows stronger and the supporting characters get their shine, too. Hacks is one of the best comedies of the decade and it’s estimated to return to Max in May 2025.

The White Lotus (2021)

The White Lotus
tv-ma
3 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Stars
F. Murray Abraham, Jennifer Coolidge, Adam DiMarco
Created by
Mike White
Watch on max
The White Lotus possesses flair and style that basically forced HBO to turn the anthology into a full-fledged series after originally coming out as a one-off miniseries. Each season follows a new group of rich snobs who wallow in their troubles while on vacation in one of the world’s most beautiful locales. The third season will take place in Thailand, the series’ first venture into Asia. New actors joining the show include Walton Goggins and Carrie Coon. The White Lotus will return to HBO and Max in February 2025.

Star Wars: Andor (2022)

Star Wars: Andor
tv-14
2 Seasons
Genre
Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Drama
Stars
Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Kyle Soller
Created by
Tony Gilroy
Watch on Disney+
Star Wars hasn’t had a show hit critical acclaim in the same way as Andor. This Diego Luna vehicle is a much more thoughtful slow-burn story than others in the famous galaxy far, far away. It follows a rebel who will do pretty much anything to take down the Empire in the years before Star Wars: A New Hope. The second season will premiere on Disney+ on April 22, 2025.

Slow Horses (2022)

Slow Horses
tv-ma
4 Seasons
Genre
Crime, Drama, Comedy
Stars
Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas
Watch on Apple TV+
Slow Horses just finished its fourth season, but fans are already looking forward to the fifth season that should release sometime in 2025. There is no official release date yet for the spy drama, but fans can expect it in the new year based on the release schedule of the previous seasons. The show starring Gary Oldman as a disgruntled old investigative agent has turned into one of the true dark horse contenders for the best show on TV every season it’s on. It finally got some deserved recognition with a 2024 nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.

The Last of Us (2023)

The Last of Us
tv-ma
2 Seasons
Genre
Drama
Created by
Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann
Watch on max
The Last of Us has supplanted The Walking Dead as the most popular zombie apocalypse show on television. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey share authentic chemistry as a pseudo-father-daughter duo whose lives are transformed for the better and the worse alongside each other as a virus ravages humanity. The series’ second season will come out in Spring 2025, but there isn’t an official release date as of this writing.

The Bear (2022)

The Bear
tv-ma
3 Seasons
Genre
Drama, Comedy
Stars
Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri
Created by
Christopher Storer
Watch on Hulu
The Bear’s fourth season has a chance to either sink or swim the acclaimed series. The third season left on various cliffhangers after delivering very few answers throughout its 10 episodes. We are left to wonder whether Carmy and Sid will still be together running the restaurant after Sid receives an offer from a rival, and Carmy doesn’t even know if the eatery will remain open after a big review. The fourth season should be released on Hulu sometime in the middle to the end of June 2025, if we look at the release dates of the previous three seasons. Jeremy Allen White has already won two Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for The Bear.

Stranger Things (2016)

Stranger Things
tv-14
5 Seasons
Genre
Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery, Action & Adventure
Stars
Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo
Created by
Ross Duffer, Matt Duffer
Watch on Netflix
Stranger Things took almost an entire decade to release five seasons of television, but the epic conclusion will finally arrive in 2025. There is no announcement from Netflix on when the saga inside Hawkins will grace the silver screen, but many assume it will be either in the summer or Christmastime to capitalize on the two biggest seasons of the year. Three of the previous four seasons have come out in July.

Yellowjackets (2021)

Yellowjackets
tv-ma
3 Seasons
Genre
Drama, Mystery
Stars
Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Sophie Nélisse
Created by
Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson
Watch on Netflix
Yellowjackets is a charming, yet creepy ensemble drama about a group of disturbed soccer players who try to escape the wilderness in the 1990s while viewers get to see the aftereffects of their trauma in the present. This multi-timeline approach has helped the show garner a cult following. Hilary Swank will join the cast in season 3, which premieres on February 14, 2025. Both of the first two seasons have been nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the Emmy Awards.

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Shawn Laib
Shawn Laib
Contributor
Shawn Laib is a freelance writer with publications such as Den of Geek, Quote.com, Edge Media Network, diaTribe, SUPERJUMP…
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