Our compilation focuses on shows that premiered exclusively on streaming services, balancing between comedies and dramas. These selections represent some of the finest entertainment offered over the past year. Ranging from an eccentric workplace drama to a surprising comedy from a renowned creator, and including a Canadian hit that quickly captured viewers’ hearts, here are the top streaming shows of 2025.

“Adults” is a hidden gem that deserves more attention. Created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, and produced by Nick Kroll and Stefani Robinson—known for her work on the acclaimed Hulu comedy “What We Do in the Shadows”—this series breathes new life into the familiar narrative of young adults navigating life in New York City. The story follows a close-knit group of friends: Billie Schaeffer (Lucy Freyer), Issa (Amita Rao), and Anton Evans (Owen Thiele), who share a home with their longtime friend Samir Rahman (Malik Elassal) in Queens. The dynamic shifts when Issa’s boyfriend, Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), joins the household, making the trio a quintet.

Showrunners: Ben Kronengold, Rebecca Shaw
Cast: Owen Thiele, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao, Malik Elassal
Where to watch: Hulu

You’ll love watching Billie, Issa, Anton, Samir, and Paul Baker make their way through the world, whether Billie is accidentally threatening her boss and getting fired, Issa is staging an impromptu protest while teaching a children’s dance class, or Owen and Issa are panicking over the death of their therapist. “Adults” is almost too relatable and wildly funny, and it deserves at least a few binge-watches.

Showrunners: Ben Kronengold, Rebecca Shaw
Cast: Owen Thiele, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao, Malik Elassal
Where to watch: Hulu

Alongside streaming giants like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max, smaller companies are entering the fray — and if you’re not familiar with Dropout, allow us to acquaint you. The reinvented version of CollegeHumor launched its streamer in 2018 with Sam Reich at the helm (and if that last name sounds familiar because perhaps you see it in your inbox sometimes, yes, his dad is former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich), and under Reich’s reign, some of the best comedians in Los Angeles are given free reign to play around in his improv and sketch comedy-based sandbox. There’s no better representation of Dropout’s whole deal, though, than one of its flagship shows “Game Changer,” which premiered in 2019 and employs a simple but unhinged premise: it’s a game show, but the rules of said game — and what the game even is in the first place — change with each episode.

In the seventh season of “Game Changer,” which ran during the summer of 2025, the budget seemed to balloon … and Reich and his trusty band of producers, including frequent guest on the show Paul Robalino, went wild in the best possible way. One episode asks three comedians to do everything as earnestly as possible, another gives three others “one shot” to perform weird tasks like “open a bag of chips without tearing it,” and the most heartfelt installment provides a beautiful surprise for cast member Jacob Wysocki. Don’t miss “Rulette,” 40-odd minutes of absolute chaos involving the funniest roulette wheel anyone’s ever seen.

Showrunner: Sam Reich
Cast: Sam Reich
Where to watch: Dropout.tv

Even in Season 4 of “Hacks,” this acerbic, laugh-out-loud comedy shows absolutely zero signs of slowing down; frankly, it’s aging just as well as its iconic leading lady Jean Smart. In the series created by “Broad City” veterans Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, and Paul W. Downs (the latter of whom also appears on the show in a major supporting role), Smart continues her lauded turn as comedienne Deborah Vance (seriously, Smart has an armload of Emmys to prove she’s the very best in the game), who begins Season 4 at odds with her protégé and newly anointed head writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) as they try to kick off Deborah’s new late-night show. The two kiss and make up, as they basically always do, but a new problem arises: can Deborah prevent her network from canning Ava after a public relations issue sends its executive Bob Lipka (guest star Tony Goldwyn) into a frenzy?

Between Deborah and Ava’s reliably cutting banter and Ava’s eminently watchable deterioration as she tries to be the best head writer in late night history — her crashout over her writers ordering takeout branzino “for the table” is one for the ages and likely won Einbinder her first Emmy in fall 2025 — as well as the launch of Jimmy LuSaque Jr. (Downs) and Kayla Schaefer’s (Meg Stalter) new agency, Season 4 of “Hacks” remains excellent. The show is set to conclude with Season 5, but based on its output so far, we’ll get a pretty great farewell.

Showrunners: Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky
Cast: Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Paul W. Downs, Meg Stalter
Where to watch: HBO Max

Before any of you get started, “Heated Rivalry,” based on Canadian writer Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” series of queer sports novels, is not technically an HBO Max production or exclusive; it truly belongs to the Canadian network Crave, and HBO Max was wise enough to ensure that they distributed it Stateside. Distribute it they did in late November 2025, and to say “Heated Rivalry” — which centers around Montreal hockey star Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and his rival, Russian-born Boston player Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie, notably not from Russia) — became a hit overnight is an understatement. Across six episodes, we follow Shane and Ilya through literal years of their lives as they act on their budding attraction despite fearing repercussions from the public if they came out as queer — to say nothing the of the potentially dire consequences Ilya would face in his home country of Russia.

One episode shifts away from Shane and Ilya’s love story — the third episode, “Hunter,” which centers on Shane’s friend and New York hockey captain Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and his secret boyfriend Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.) — but showrunner Jacob Tierney gives Ilya and Shane plenty of room to explore their sexualities and their love, and Williams and Storrie give poignant and beautiful performances along the way. Just watch “Heated Rivalry.” It’s so great.

Showrunner: Jacob Tierney
Cast: Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, François Arnaud
Where to watch: HBO Max

Seth Rogen has proven himself as one of the funniest guys alive time and time again, but we should all be grateful that he decided to embark on yet another project with his longtime creative partner Evan Goldberg for the Apple TV original comedy “The Studio.” The self-referential and wry but ultimately loving ode to Hollywood casts Rogen himself as Matt Remick, who achieves his dream of taking over the stalwart Continental Studios only to be told in no uncertain terms by its CEO, Griffin Mills (a bonkers, hilarious Bryan Cranston), that he needs to make projects that turn an actual profit. As Matt watches his dreams of championing arthouse and independent films vanish and tries to cast a Kool-Aid movie with Ice Cube in the lead, he’s flanked by his longtime best friend and studio executive Sal Saperstein (Ike Barinholtz), junior executive Quinn Hackett (Chase Sui Wonders), and the studio’s PR maven Maya Mason (an always welcome Kathryn Hahn, who’s rarely seen without her comically oversized Stanley water bottle).

Whether Matt is interrupting a “oner” in an episode that actually takes place across one take or getting mad as Sal gets attention at the Golden Globes, “The Studio” is an uproariously funny and incisive comedy, bolstered by Rogen’s ability to flip through his phone book and call up any number of his famous friends to appear as themselves. Truly, what other show has Martin Scorsese crying, Ron Howard angrily tossing his signature baseball cap at Matt in a moment of fury, or Zoë Kravitz uncontrollably high on mushrooms all in one season?!

Showrunners: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, Frida Perez
Cast: Seth Rogen, Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn
Where to watch: Apple TV

Even though Tony Gilroy’s astonishly great “Star Wars” series (and “Rogue One” prequel) “Andor” only ran for two seasons, many regard this as the best “Star Wars” property in quite some time, especially after the incredibly bold and politically charged second season that ran in 2025. Led by the reliably excellent Diego Luna as the titular Cassian Andor — a man whose home planet is destroyed and who, despite initial reluctance, becomes a resistance leader against the Galactic Empire — “Andor” spends its second season reckoning with the impact of totalitarianism and fascism in a world that doesn’t yet have a true opposition alliance to defend themselves; ultimately, what this series and its events create is the Rebel Alliance that plays a vital role in all “Star Wars” stories going forward.

Between Mon Mothma’s (Genevieve O’Reilly) barnburning speech in front of the Senate about the creeping dangers of the Galactic Empire and its leader Emperor Palpatine to the unbelievably gutting depiction of a massacre on the planet Ghorman, “Andor” Season 2 never pulls its punches, which is precisely what makes it so special — and so admirable. Even if you think you don’t “like” “Star Wars,” you absolutely must watch “Andor.”

Showrunner: Tony Gilroy
Cast: Diego Luna, Adria Arjona, Genevieve O’Reilly, Stellan Skårsgard
Where to watch: Disney+

Conceived by “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” playwright Jack Thorne and the show’s own star Stephen Graham, the Netflix miniseries “Adolescence” only needs four episodes to tell its story, and it also achieves a pretty spectacular filmmaking trick across those installments: every one of those four episodes takes place in one single shot, making the performances we see on-screen all the more astounding. “Adolescence” isn’t a true “whodunit,” but instead seeks to understand precisely why a young schoolboy, Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper, who won a well-deserved Emmy for his performance) stabbed one of his female classmates to death, an act that was fully captured on video — and as the show delves into Jamie’s troubled psyche, his father Eddie (Graham, a fellow Emmy winner for his turn) grapples with the fact that the epidemic of toxic masculinity may have corrupted Jamie beyond redemption.

Nobody would call “Adolescence” an easy or encouraging watch, but it’s an important and vital look at the way that young men in our times come to see the world if they’re exposed to openly hateful and misogynistic rhetoric … and it’ll leave you reeling even after the credits roll. “Adolescence” is tough, but incredibly necessary.

Showrunners: Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham
Cast: Owen Cooper, Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters
Where to watch: Netflix

Yes, it’s unbelievably annoying that we all had to wait three years for the second season of “Severance,” Dan Erickson’s wholly unique take on a “traditional” workplace drama — but thankfully, Season 2 was well worth the wait. After innies Mark S., Helly R., Irving B., and Dylan G. — our main quarter played by Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro, and Zach Cherry — stage a daring escape with their “overtime contingency,” meaning that they can bring their severed innies into the real world to see exactly what’s going on with their outies, they find themselves in hot water at the mysterious and sinister Lumon Industries. As their manager Mr. Milchick (a superb Tramell Tillman) tries to get them in line, the four of them try and grapple with what they learned about Lumon and the world beyond the severed floor, and those mysteries consume them as the season goes on … especially Helly R., who just so happens to be the innie of Helena Eagan, heir to the entirety of Lumon Industries.

Scott, known for his comedic work, is an absolute powerhouse in Season 2 of “Severance” — look no further than the season finale, where plays out an argument between his innie and outie that happens over a camcorder — and the rest of the cast is stellar to boot. Plus, this is the season where we finally learn what the heck is going on with Mark’s presumed dead wife Gemma, portrayed by Dichen Lachman … and the episode centered around her journey, “Chikhai Bardo,” might just be one of the best single television installments of the entire year.

Showrunner: Dan Erickson
Cast: Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Britt Lower
Where to watch: Apple TV

When TV fans saw that “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” creator Vince Gilligan was working on a new series with his star from that second series, Rhea Seehorn, they sat up and took notice — and they were richly rewarded with “Pluribus,” the darkly funny sci-fi epic with Seehorn at the helm as popular fantasy writer Carol Sturka. After a strange and mysterious virus spreads across the earth and affects nearly the entire planet’s population — including Carol’s manager and secret wife Helen L. Umstead (Miriam Shor) — Carol is horrified to discover that she’s immune to said virus, but she does have to live with the aftereffects. So what are they? Well, nearly the entire earth has become part of a cheerful, entirely too helpful hive mind, and every time Carol (a true misanthrope) gets annoyed or mad, it affects all of them so adversely that they fall to the ground and start shaking.

The title, “Pluribus,” refers to the Latin phrase e pluribus unum, which means “out of many, one,” representing Carol’s strange and lonely existence outside of a hive mind that allows complete strangers to share private memories between Carol and Helen (and that example is just the tip of the iceberg). “Pluribus” is strange, confusing, wryly funny, and anchored by yet another unbelievable turn from Seehorn (who, as anyone with sense knows, deserved an Emmy years ago for “Better Call Saul”). The story of “Pluribus” is just beginning but after its debut season, we’re all along for the ride with Carol.

Showrunner: Vince Gilligan
Cast: Rhea Seehorn, Karolina Wydra, Carlos-Manuel Vesga
Where to watch: Apple TV

Years after starring on “ER” as med student turned trauma attending Dr. John Carter, Noah Wyle dons scrubs and a stethoscope once again to play Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch on the HBO Max original “The Pitt,” and it’s a sight for sore eyes. Reuniting with two behind-the-scenes creatives from “ER” — R. Scott Gemmill, who serves as the showrunner, as well as executive producer and director John Wells — Wyle leads a new yet familiar medical drama that uses a “real time” conceit to show us what life is like for physicians and nurses working a 15-hour shift in a chaotic and overcrowded Pittsburgh emergency department. As fourth-year med students like farm boy Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell) and transferring residents like VA alum Dr. Mel King (Taylor Dearden) learn the ropes of this particular hospital and make their way through this shift, they’re hit with a number of crises, including a shocking series of accidental overdoses and angry patients who grow violent … all before the emergency room doctors are informed of a mass shooting at a nearby event called PittFest.

“The Pitt” is truly great television, harkening back to procedurals and network dramas while still feeling incredible fresh and new thanks to its cast of unknown actors turning in exceptional work as well as industry veterans like Wyle, Shawn Hatosy, and Katherine LaNasa. (All three of these performers, who have been toiling for decades, won Emmys in late 2025). “The Pitt” is here to stay, if its accolades and universal acclaim are any indication, and its big-hearted approach to storytelling and devotion to medical accuracy is a wonder to behold … to say nothing of its honest and loving depiction of healthcare workers.

Showrunner: R. Scott Gemill
Cast: Noah Wyle, Katherine LaNasa, Fiona Dourif
Where to watch: HBO Max