Schmear's Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2025
The TV releases you need to know about for Q1 and Q2
2024 was kind of a brutal year for TV. The strikes pushed a lot of our favorite shows into 2025, leaving the cupboard sorta bare. While there were some highlights, like Industry (you can see my top 10 here and on The SchmearCast), here’s hoping that 2025 is a much more consistent, solid year for TV.
Below, I've compiled a list of shows slated for release in the first half of 2025, along with their release dates, what they're about, and my interest level in watching them. I've created self-defined categories to rank my interest, which are as follows:
Nice for someone, not for me.
Might take a gander.
I'm tapping in.
Ready for this yesterday.
Will cut off a nonessential digit to watch this show now.
Hopefully, you’ll find a bunch of these worth adding to your watchlist. Maybe a few will stand out enough for you to circle their release dates—whether that’s on a literal or proverbial calendar.
Here’s to 2025 being a great TV year. Let’s get into it!
January
American Primeval – Netflix – January 9
Still waiting, like me, on a Blood Meridian adaptation that will never come? Try this six-episode limited series on the bloody 19th-century “founding” of the American West. Strong bona fides—Pete Berg directing, an Explosions in the Sky score, and Taylor Kitsch and Betty Gilpin leading a deep cast.
Schmear Status: I'm tapping in.
The Pitt – Max – January 9
This is NOT an ER rip-off, thank you very much, though Michael Crichton’s estate thinks otherwise. It’s a 24-style hospital show where each episode is a chaotic, stressful hour of an emergency room shift. Noah Wyle stars. Early reactions are positive.
Schmear Status: I'm tapping in.
Severance S2 – Apple TV+ – January 17
It’s been nearly a three-year wait for Severance S2, but here’s hoping our patience will be rewarded as we return to Lumon to see if Adam Scott’s Mark successfully takes down the nefarious corporation. Ben Stiller returns to direct five of the season’s ten episodes.
Schmear Status: Will cut off a nonessential digit to watch this show now.
Prime Target – Apple TV+ – January 22
Math-based hacker thriller series starring White Lotus’ Leo Woodall. Huge opportunity missed not releasing this on Pi Day.
Schmear Status: Might take a gander.
Paradise – Hulu – January 28
Sterling K. Brown plays a president’s (James Marsden) security guard, entangled in a mystery. This comes from This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman. Julianne Nicholson also stars.
Schmear Status: Might take a gander.
February
Common Side Effects – Adult Swim – February 2
Adult animated series involving two buddies who discover a new drug that could upend the entire big pharma industry—and the government too. One of the creators is Joseph Bennett of the highly acclaimed and underseen Scavengers Reign, and Mike Judge is a producer here too.
Schmear Status: I'm tapping in.
Zero Day – Netflix – February 20
This political thriller has one of the most stacked casts of any 2025 show: Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan, Angela Bassett—the list goes on. The series follows the response to a world-shaking cyberattack. Lesli Linka Glatter (Homeland) directs all episodes.
Schmear Status: Ready for this yesterday.
There are so many exciting shows worth knowing about—almost 20 more entries!
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