Best Things of 2025

For some Reaons that I’ll get into in my end-of-year reflection (assuming I’m even able to get around to that), I’m quickly approaching a point of no return, past which I’m unlikely to be able to find time to post my usual recommendations. Luckily I’m ALSO unlikely to have time to consume much more arts or entertainment that would have been a candidate for this list anyway, so no harm done.

So, I’ll be putting this up on Dec. 1, and let’s call it “the best things of January through November 2025!” Note, as always, that with the exception of the movies - which I’ll run down in an early edition of the EMOs if (say it with me now!) if I have time - these are things I consumed in 2025 but didn’t necessarily have to be released in 2025. I prefer that as a way of giving an accurate slice of the year rather than an attempt at a professional critic’s year-end wrapup; perhaps I should be applying it to the movies as well, and incorporating new-to-me watches as well as new releases. I’ll ponder being more thorough about that in the future (off the cuff, some standout first-time repertory watches from the year would include The Annihilation of Fish, Blood Simple, Dick Johnson Is Dead, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire).

Fiction

Non-Fiction

Movies

TV Series

Limited Series

Podcasts

Games