We've said it before, and we'll say it again: We live in the age of too much TV. Each week, dozens of TV shows are released across streaming and broadcast, fighting for the public's attention. In 2023, 481 scripted series were released in the U.S.; though that year experienced a significant dip from the years before, that's still so many shows to get through before reality shows and international TV like K-dramas are even counted. Take it from a culture writer—Even if watching TV is your literal job, many series can slip through the cracks.
The first months of 2025 may have been dominated by hits like Severance, Adolescence, The White Lotus, and The Pitt, but that's just a handful of the excellent shows that have debuted this year. Many hidden gems have been released that you may have yet to hear about, from hilarious comedies and searing satires to emotional dramas about life and all its complications. Below, read on for recommendations of the best underrated TV shows of 2025 so far.
New
'Clean Slate'
Best known as iconic sitcom writer/producer Norman Lear's last completed project before his death, this heartwarming comedy is the first gone-too-soon show of the year, unceremoniously cancelled just weeks after its premiere. Comedy legend George Wallace plays Harry Slate, a Mobile, Alabama, car-wash owner who's about to reunite with his estranged child after 23 years. When the father finds out that said child is now a trans woman called Desiree (Laverne Cox), Harry is more offended that she's a vegetarian. As father and daughter reconnect, and Desiree grapples with what's next after a career failure, Clean Slate is most progressive because it's a mundane, sweet story that doesn't focus on trauma. And in the year of our lord 2025, we need more sweetness in the world.
'Dying for Sex'
Michelle Williams leads this FX on Hulu miniseries as Molly Kochan, a fictionalized version of the real-life woman who had a sexual awakening after receiving a terminal breast-cancer diagnosis at age 42. The show follows Molly as she leaves her marriage and embarks on a journey of genuinely steamy hookups, with her best friend-turned-caregiver Nikki (Jenny Slate) cheering her on. Take a realistic portrayal of female friendship, sprinkle in some intro-level kink scenes, top off with intense emotions about life and death, and you have a truly can't-miss show.
'North of North'
Netflix's first-ever Canadian original series, released on the same day as Black Mirror's latest season, is the perfect antidote for TV's current tendency towards the bleak. North of North introduces us to the fictional community of Ice Cove, Nunavut, which is based on (and filmed in) the real-life Arctic town where many of the cast and crew grew up. The cultural specificity is half the draw in this delightful small-town comedy, as 26-year-old Inuk mother Siaja (Anna Lambe) challenges norms and builds a new life for herself after leaving her narcissistic, golden-boy husband. The other half is the ensemble comedy's charming subplots, including a reunion between Siaja's long-lost dad Alistar (Jay Ryan) and her mother Neevee (Maika Harper).
'Study Group'
If you're reading this, odds are you've watched Squid Game, All of Us Are Dead, or at least one Korean show on Netflix that crossed over from the K-drama world to mainstream fame in recent years. And if you consider yourself a fan of edge-of-your-seat thriller K-dramas, Study Group should be your next watch. The webtoon adaptation is like a comic book come to life, following kind-hearted student Yoon Ga-min (Hwang Min-hyun) as he battles a league of bullies to protect his new study group. Think Weak Hero Class 2, but funnier and co-ed.
'Toxic Town'
Sometimes the best fictional depictions of true crime are those that put a human face on an absolute travesty, so the institutional failures that led to it are never forgotten. The British miniseries Toxic Town accomplishes this thanks to its phenomenal cast, led by Jodie Whittaker and Aimee Lou Wood as the moms affected by the Corby toxic waste case. Nothing about this series is easy to watch, but the excellent performances and character writing make it impossible to look away.
'When Life Gives You Tangerines'
We already know what show will top the best K-dramas of 2025 lists at the end of the year. Netflix's multi-generational drama When Life Gives You Tangerines covers 70 years of a woman's life, as Oh Ae-sun (played by IU in her youth and Moon So-ri later in life) experiences every range of human emotion, alongside her lifelong husband, Yang Gwan-sik (played by Park Bo-gum and Park Hae-joon). This epic story, told in non-chronological order and unfurling like a novel, will make you laugh out loud, cry harder than you have in months, and truly appreciate every person who has helped you through the ordeal of living.
Returning
'Mo' season 2
A lot has happened since 2022, when comedians Mohammed Amer and Ramy Youssef co-created this grounded comedy about a Palestinian refugee living in Texas as his family's 20-year asylum case finally moves forward in court. In the long-awaited second season, only six months have passed, and Mo Najjar is still stuck in Mexico, trying to get back into the U.S. for his asylum hearing. Once Mo makes it back to Houston—which isn't a spoiler, since Mo without Houston would be like Sex and the City without N.Y.C.—the series balances a very dark story with sardonic humor and moments of joy, that wouldn't work if Mo and his family weren't given the space to be their full, proudly-Palestinian selves.
'Survival of the Thickest' season 2
If you missed Michelle Buteau's feel-good comedy the first time, it may be because the debut episodes dropped amid 2023's WGA strike (and the day before the SAG-AFTRA strike began). Now back for its second season, Survival of the Thickest is still an underrated gem in the subgenre of breezy sitcoms about a woman rebuilding her career and hitting the streets again after facing major heartbreak. Add in how gorgeous, Black, and queer the show is—and its much-needed discussions about size inclusivity in fashion—and we couldn't binge this uproarious, joyful story fast enough.
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