The Phoenix’s Top New Shows of 2025

Bright ideas and dark themes alike lit up television screens this year. The Phoenix’s staff created a list of their favorites.

“Adults” — Faith Hug

A New York City friend group comedy may not seem like a risky pitch, but in 2025, attempting to create anything fresh in the form that shot shows like “Friends” and “Girls” to TV infamy is a true gamble.

Luckily, like the simply titled series that came before it, FX’s “Adults” holds a winning hand.

Crashing together at one roommate’s childhood home in Queens, five friends lean on each other to make the grueling realities of grown-up responsibility a bit more enjoyable. 

A cast of unknown comics make a name for themselves with unreserved performances, making their deeply flawed characters easily lovable as they take their first steps into real adulthood. Through ethical dilemmas, green card marriages and medical emergencies, the quintet’s undeniable chemistry makes season one’s eight episodes, released May 28, a compulsive binge. 

The show’s black humor, shocking guest stars and sharp voice secured it a dedicated online fanbase and, as of Oct. 30, a second season set to hit screens in 2026.

“We Were Liars” — Sophia Reass

Summers at the Sinclair private island had always been the same for the Liars — or they were until “Summer Seventeen”. After a mysterious accident gives Cadence Sinclair (Emily Alyn Lind) severe amnesia, she returns to the island a year later in hopes of uncovering the truth of what happened to her as the incident becomes yet another secret in the American royalty Sinclair family.

In the moving adaptation of E. Lockhart’s 2014 eponymous novel, flashbacks to the life-changing summer are woven into the present as each character grapples with issues that arise when the past comes back to haunt them.

“We Were Liars” is a captivating and beautifully complex coming-of-age story with themes surrounding the inequities of class divide, racial prejudice and toxic power dynamics blended into one psychological thriller.

After reaching number one on Prime Video’s list of Top 10 TV Shows following its June 18 release, “We Were Liars” was renewed for a second season, promising to dive deeper into the mysteries surrounding the Sinclair family.

“The Residence” — Andrew Quinn

Comedy and politics come into play in the wonderfully witty Emmy-nominated series “The Residence.” Released March 20, the series offers eight lengthy episodes filled with clever jokes and comedic occurrences that’ll leave audiences howling with laughter.

When the White House’s chief usher is found dead in a secluded game room, Detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Uduba) begins to sleuth for answers. She begins to question all staff members in the residence — including the president — until the truth reveals itself.

Offering a variety of perspectives mixed with a fast-paced plot of investigative prowess, the series is a bingeable experience of cozy comedic mysteries and mayhem.

While the show remains confined to one season after Netflix cancelled it in July, “The Residence” is an excitingly thrilling, darkly comedic experience that should resonate with viewers everywhere.

“Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” — Ari Shanahan

What’s the connection between the guinea pigs, satire, the Spanish language, claymation and lesbian subplot? It’s “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads,” the bite-sized Adult Swim Mexican dramedy series takes claymation to another universe — one only Adult Swim could dream up. 

The eight 11-minute episodes of the adult series, which premiered Aug. 17, follows Marioneta Negocios — anglicized as Ms. “Puppet Business” — a shoulder-pad-sporting entrepreneur monopolizing on the animal rights appeal of giant Ecuadorian guinea pigs. The guinea pigs, called “cuyes,” are societally similar to cows and bulls, being bred for consumption and “cuy-fighting.” 

Marioneta is diametrically opposed to the nation’s leading butcher shop owner turned restaurateur, Doña Quispe, who wants to run Marioneta’s cuy-rights breeding business into the ground. 

This show is nicher than a film-bro’s Letterboxd Four Favorites, but it’s fun, quirky and masterfully crafted. Consider watching “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” for a break from the cold, corporate prestige television and immerse yourself in real strange artistry.