Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

5 most anticipated drama shows of 2025, ranked

Pedro Pascal tears up as he's about to talk in "The Last of Us" season 2.
HBO / HBO

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.

Recommended Videos

5. Stranger Things (TBD)

Stranger Things 5 | Title Tease | Netflix

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.

4. Yellowjackets (Feb. 14)

Yellowjackets Season 3 First Look ?

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+. 

3. The White Lotus (Feb. 16)

The White Lotus Season 3 | Official Teaser | Max

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 CoonMichelle 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.

2. Andor (Apr. 22)

Andor Season 2 - Teaser Trailer | Star Wars & Disney+ | Diego Luna & Ben Mendelsohn (2025)

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+. 

1. The Last of Us (April)

The Last Of Us Season 2 | April 2025 | Max

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.

Joe Allen
Joe Allen is a freelance writer at Digital Trends, where he covers Movies and TV. He frequently writes streaming…
7 most anticipated thriller movies of 2025, ranked
Tom Hardy stands next to a cop in Havoc.

One of the common themes in Hollywood last year was "Survive to 25." Due to the strikes and the economic hardships of COVID-19, many studios pushed high-profile projects to 2025. It's now 2025, and the year's slate is loaded. From Superman and The Fantastic Four to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and Jurassic World Rebirth, 2025 should surpass 2024's cumulative box office.

This year is stacked with thrillers in action, horror, and suspense. Steven Soderbergh, Gareth Evans, Ryan Coogler, and Paul Thomas Anderson all have thrillers coming out in 2025. Those four find themselves on our most anticipated list. Check out the rest of our rankings.
7. Black Bag (March 14, 2025)
BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14

Read more
7 most anticipated comedy movies of 2025, ranked
Paddington riding an alpaca in "Paddington in Peru."

People could always use a good laugh when they’re watching movies, especially when they’re trying to escape the pressures of the real world. For this reason, 2025 has plenty of comedies for audiences to enjoy in the new year, from high-concept pictures like Mickey 17 and A Minecraft Movie to more traditional comedies like Freakier Friday and The Naked Gun. Though several films will compete for audiences' attention in 2025, at this point, people are most looking forward to seeing these seven comedies this year.
7. Freakier Friday (August 8, 2025)

Freakier Friday will feature more fantastical hijinks for Tess and Anna Coleman when they both switch bodies again with the latter’s teenage daughter and her soon-to-be stepdaughter, bringing greater chaos to the union of two families. Freaky Friday remains one of the most iconic comedies of the 2000s, so a sequel film was all but inevitable.

Read more
5 most anticipated Amazon Prime Video movies of 2025, ranked
Jason Statham stares menancingly in A Working Man.

Now that 2025 is underway, it's the perfect time to take stock of everything coming down the pike on the movie calendar. There are plenty of big releases hitting theaters this year, but streaming has also become a pretty competitive part of the movie landscape.

Amazon is among the studios that still invest in new movies, and while many of these movies hit theaters before arriving on streaming, they're ultimately part of a broader streaming play. We've taken a look at the company's slate for 2025 and determined that these five movies are the ones worth looking forward to most in the year ahead.

Read more