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- Television beats and unforgettable small moments (must-watch shows)
- Standout films and the actors who made them sing
- Horror, dark comedy and the films that made me squirm and laugh
- Documentaries and personal films worth seeking out
- Books and fiction that stuck with me
- Performances, costumes and design that defined a year
- Streaming surprises, awards and industry moments
- Games, podcasts and viral clips that entertained me
- Live events, fandom moments and odd delights
- Sporting highlights and small human victories
- Finalists in niche genres: romance, queer drama, and ensemble TV
- Where to start if you only have a few hours
- Notable creative risks that paid off
- More discoveries to add to your watch, read, and play list
Fifteen years after my first roundup of “wonderful things,” I return with a fresh collection of memorable moments from 2025. This edition roams TV, movies, books, games and a few viral curiosities. Expect scenes that surprised me, performances that lingered, and a handful of discoveries you might want to add to your watchlist.
Television beats and unforgettable small moments (must-watch shows)
- Mountainhead (HBO): Jesse Armstrong introduces a tech titan with a tiny, cruel joke in an SUV. The gag lands hard and tells you everything you need to know.
- The Pitt (HBO Max): A chaotic ED series full of raw life. Katherine LaNasa as charge nurse Dana delivers a line about cities that made me laugh out loud.
- Pluribus (Apple TV): A hive mind speaks through a soap-star face. Casting Peter Bergman as the comforting broadcast voice is a sly, witty move.
- All Her Fault (Peacock): Sarah Snook as a desperate, stylish mom chooses a crime that is satisfyingly committed and unforgettable.
- The Hunting Wives (Netflix after Starz): A daring pickup for a streaming giant. Malin Akerman’s Margo announces herself in the most audacious way.
- The Studio (HBO): Seth Rogen plays a timid exec. Ron Howard’s cameo meltdown is a highlight of awards-season chatter.
- The Bear (Season 4): A chaotic wedding episode yields a small, perfect family moment when a character reminds another she is “a Bear forever.”
- Shrinking: Michael Urie repeats a monologue two and a half times and somehow keeps it hilarious and essential.
- Black Mirror – “Common People”: Rashida Jones faces corporate custody of a consciousness. The episode turns satire into a chillingly believable future.
- Too Much (Netflix): Meg Stalter shines in a rom-com on TV. A late-scene lull with music is exactly the quiet beat it needs.
New music Friday: 5 must-hear songs this week
Street Fighter review: video game adaptation knocks itself unconscious
Standout films and the actors who made them sing
- Jay Kelly: George Clooney and Adam Sandler play an aging star and his manager with tender, elegiac moments at the end.
- Blue Moon (Richard Linklater): Ethan Hawke becomes Lorenz Hart. Andrew Scott’s portrayal of Richard Rodgers complicates the musical-era myth.
- Good Fortune: Keanu Reeves as a guardian angel swaps lives. The film’s blunt line about wealth resolving most problems lands with bittersweet irony.
- The Lost Bus (Paul Greengrass): Apple TV showcases fire sequences best seen theatrically. Matthew McConaughey gives a strong, human center.
- Song Sung Blue: Kate Hudson anchors a film about a tribute act with warmth and surprising authenticity.
- If I Had Legs I’d Kick You: Rose Byrne carries the drama with tight, claustrophobic direction from Mary Bronstein. Her performance defines the film.
- The Life of Chuck: Mike Flanagan adapts Stephen King into a meditation on mortality. Tom Hiddleston’s street dance scene is one of the year’s memorable images.
- Jay Kelly, Blue Moon and The Lowdown: Ethan Hawke had a remarkable year across projects that showed his range.
- The Studio and its cameos: A film-world satire that rewards film fans with gleeful in-jokes and strong ensemble work.
Horror, dark comedy and the films that made me squirm and laugh
- Weapons: Zach Cregger balances terrifying spectacle and absurd humor. A neighborhood chase combines slapstick, dread and social satire.
- Together: Alison Brie and Dave Franco star in a body-fusion horror that doubles as a blunt metaphor about identity.
- Companion: A weekend trip turns dark. Jack Quaid nails a smarmy, self-satisfied boyfriend you grow to hate.
- Final Destination Bloodlines: The franchise stays goofy and finds a moving goodbye for veteran Tony Todd.
- Drop: An utterly ludicrous thriller premise is kept thrilling by Meghann Fahy’s committed, electric performance.
- Fight or Flight: Not high art, but the film delivers pulp pleasures. A bottle labeled “TOAD VENOM” promises committed weirdness.
- Sinners: Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan pull off a daring dual-role conceit with a quiet, uncanny cigarette-passing shot.
Documentaries and personal films worth seeking out
- My Mom Jayne: Mariska Hargitay examines Jayne Mansfield with rigor and compassion. The film is generous to many points of view.
- Pee-wee as Himself: Matt Wolf digs into Paul Reubens’ archive. The director wrestles with Reubens’ ambivalence and a final recorded message.
- Live Aid 40th anniversary doc (CNN): Bob Geldof admits to bold persuasion tactics. The backstage anecdotes are revelatory and, oddly, charming.
- You Had To Be There: A TIFF favorite about the Toronto Godspell cast. It shines a light on early careers and deserves wide distribution.
- Documentary craft: Several films this year used archival material to reframe public figures with more nuance than expected.
Books and fiction that stuck with me
- The Payback (Kashana Cauley): A sharp near-future novel about student loans and menacing debt enforcers. Funny and biting.
- Best Offer Wins: A thriller about obsessive house hunting that grows darker as the protagonist dives deeper.
- Fiction trends: Near-future satires and domestic thrillers dominated my must-read list in 2025.
Performances, costumes and design that defined a year
- Uzo Aduba in The Residence: Her detective Cordelia Cupp combines sharp deduction with a divine, brown-toned wardrobe.
- Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein: Victor’s mother appears in saturated del Toro color—a red dress and flowing veil that feel cinematic.
- North of North: A Canadian comedy with stunning winter outerwear. If you love coats, this show is a runway.
- Costume as character: Several shows used clothing to amplify personality and era, from tweed suits to modern leather touches.
Streaming surprises, awards and industry moments
- Netflix pickups paid off: A major streamer inherited content and saw responses it could not have predicted, with cultural ripples.
- Emmys and moments: Jeff Hiller’s stunned acceptance and Stephen Colbert’s late-career win reminded viewers why awards still matter.
- The Studio’s awards haul reflected industry appetite for self-aware satire about movie business oddities.
- Stranger Things: The final season showed uneven plotting but delivered heartfelt closure in places, and a spinoff is coming.
Games, podcasts and viral clips that entertained me
- Tiny Bookshop (Nintendo Switch 2): An EC (Extremely Cozy) game about running a tiny mobile bookstore and pairing books to readers.
- Conan’s podcast: Will Arnett’s episode about text messages after a death is both darkly funny and unusually intimate.
- Tiny Desk: David Byrne’s concert remains a must-watch for music fans who want a compact, joyous performance.
- Viral sports clips: Jacob Young’s center-field catch and John Kruk’s Franklin Institute anecdote were pure online gold.
Live events, fandom moments and odd delights
- Slow Horses panel: A fan in penguin cosplay asked a question that turned into a genuinely great convention moment.
- Live event surprises: Panels and festivals still produce singular, spontaneous highlights that stay with you.
- Dog internet culture: Countless canine stars charmed the year. Tuffy, who refused to drop his stick, was a personal favorite.
Sporting highlights and small human victories
- Baseball joy: A Nationals catch by Jacob Young provided one of the season’s funniest and most fun highlights.
- Commentary gold: John Kruk’s story about ear-ripping at a museum during a game became the year’s best sports-as-comedy moment.
Finalists in niche genres: romance, queer drama, and ensemble TV
- Heated Rivalry (Canada): A hockey romance that treated sex and emotion with honesty. Its later episodes delivered raw connection.
- The Hunting Wives: A show that mixed queerness, explicit scenes and a feverish tone, and found a larger audience on a new platform.
- Too Much: Romantic TV keeps doing the heavy lifting for modern romance, with actors leaning into slow-build chemistry.
Honorable mentions across formats
- Colman Domingo in The Running Man as a showman with dangerous charm.
- Tony Todd‘s farewell scene in Final Destination Bloodlines.
- Peter Bergman lending soap-opera familiarity to sci-fi weirdness in Pluribus.
- Meg Stalter‘s rom-com warmth and Will Sharpe’s understated company scene.
- Michael B. Jordan masterfully playing twins in Sinners.
- Mia Sara teaching a young character to dance in The Life of Chuck.
- Peter Dinklage turning a single-day reunion into a full, lived relationship on FX’s The Lowdown.
Where to start if you only have a few hours
- Watch a single, striking episode: try The Pitt or The Bear for compact, intense storytelling.
- Stream a film with a powerful central performance: Rose Byrne’s work is a fine starting point.
- Play something cozy: Tiny Bookshop offers calm, creative gameplay in short sessions.
- Catch a documentary: My Mom Jayne or the Toronto Godspell film both reward viewers with human stories.
Notable creative risks that paid off
- Casting choices that subvert expectations, like soap icons used for eerie comfort, made several pieces sing.
- Blending tones—horror with comedy, satire with real emotion—created some of the year’s most memorable moments.
- Smaller moments—a gesture, a wardrobe detail, a short monologue—frequently outshone spectacle.
More discoveries to add to your watch, read, and play list
- Books: The Payback and other sharp near-future satires.
- Shows: The Lowdown, Pluribus, and The Residence for acting and design.
- Films: Together, Weapons, and Sinners for genre-bending storytelling.
- Games: Tiny Bookshop for low-pressure joy.
