Most-anticipated TV shows of 2025, from a Jerry Springer documentary to The White Lotus

There is plenty to get excited about on television this year, whether it's the return of old favourites or the rolling out of fresh projects.

From a new murder mystery to a documentary on a famous American talk show host, and the much-anticipated returning seasons of favourite programmes, there's something for everyone.

So mark your calendars for these shows debuting or returning in 2025.

New shows

Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action (Netflix)

Release date: January 7

Jerry Springer sprung on to screens in 1991, reinventing the tabloid-style talk show, with sensationalist – and often exploitative – segments featuring everyday American people on The Jerry Springer Show.

In a new two-part documentary, the show, described as “a modern version of the Roman Colosseum”, is being revisited with first-hand testimony from some of the most memorable guests and former producers.

The series promises to investigate the destruction caused by the show, and “how far things should go in the name of entertainment”. I am hoping for an interesting sociological look into the production of entertainment, and its consumption, in the 1990s and 2000s.

Farah Andrews, head of features

The Residence (Netflix)

Release date: March 20

A new whodunnit with a broad ensemble cast is coming to Netflix in March. Starring Uzo Aduba, Randall Park and Ken Marino, among other familiar names, the show promises to take us into a fictionalised White House staff residence, where we have 132 rooms, 157 suspects and one dead body following a disastrous state dinner.

With an eclectic, and eccentric, staff offering up plenty of red herrings, the eight-part series looks like a game of Cluedo on steroids.

Farah Andrews, head of features

Alien: Earth (Disney+)

Release date: Summer 2025

After more than four decades and seven films, the Alien franchise is finally coming to television with Alien: Earth. Created by Noah Hawley, who previously worked on the popular Fargo series, the show's premise brings the Xenomorph aliens to Earth for the first time, leading a group of soldiers and a young woman to confront a significant threat.

The show is set to star Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Timothy Olyphant and Essie Davis. The prospect of a television series from the Alien franchise is quite an exciting one, especially with most of the events happening in space or on another planet, so to see how these aliens would fare on Earth is tantalising.

Faisal Al Zaabi, gaming and social media writer

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast (Netflix)

Release date: TBC

When it comes to TV, I’m always late to the party, saving my watch list for ultra-bingeing. I discovered Derry Girls only last year during a Covid-19 bout and loved it so much I immediately rewatched the first episode after finishing the last.

That’s why Lisa McGee’s new series is at the top of my 2025 watch list. It's her first follow-up series since Derry Girls ended in 2022, and it takes viewers around Northern Ireland, starting in the capital.

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast sees three childhood friends reuniting at the wake of an old classmate. Things take an unexpected turn, seeing the show's protagonists – Saoirse, Robyn and Dara, played by Roisin Gallagher, Sinead Keenan and Caoilfhionn Dunne, respectively – travel around the country in a bid to mystery solve. If it's anything like its predecessor, I'm expecting belly laughs and heartstring tugs by the barrel throughout the eight-part series.

Hayley Kadrou, deputy features editor

Returning shows

Castlevania: Nocturne, season two (Netflix)

Release date: January 16

The show is set in the same world as the hugely popular Castlevania series and the battle between powerful vampire aristocrats and humankind will return for another season.

The story follows Richter and his newly discovered magical powers along with his band of vampire hunters who are now joined by Alucard, the half-human, half-vampire legendary figure, with little time to spare to stop the end of the world.

The powerful goddess Erzsebet Bathory, the Vampire Messiah, is seeking to plunge the world into endless darkness. It’s up to Richter and his friends, who have all experienced great emotional and physical changes since season one, to stop her now while keeping each other sane and alive.

The first season of Castlevania: Nocturne was filled with epic, beautifully animated battle scenes, fleshed-out and dynamic characters and a clever, fast-paced plot and set a high bar for what fans can expect from the series moving forward.

Maan Jalal, arts & culture reporter

The White Lotus, season three (OSN+)

Release date: February 16

After previous seasons in Hawaii and Italy, The White Lotus returns with a new setting and cast in Thailand. The plot will follow a new group of guests staying at luxury hotels across the country, in popular tourist hot spots such as Bangkok, Phuket and Koh Samui.

While plot details are limited, the season will likely continue the show's winning formula of including a murder mystery, along with some biting social satire and a deep dive into the dark, messy lives of the ultra-wealthy.

Natasha Rothwell returns as Belinda Lindsey, the beloved spa manager from the first season, while the expansive ensemble cast includes Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey. Blackpink's Lisa, who is from Thailand, will also make her acting debut in the show.

Evelyn Lau, assistant features editor

The Last of Us, season two (OSN+)

Release date: Spring 2025

Adapted from the popular PlayStation game of the same name, The Last of Us is a story of survival in a zombie apocalypse caused by the outbreak of aggressive mushrooms that take over the human brain. The first season, which debuted in 2023 on HBO, starred Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey and Anna Torv.

Those who played the game and watched the show know that the first season’s events lined up with the events of the first game, while the second season will explore the events of the second game.

If the first season was brutal and relentless, the stakes and consequences only go up from here. Expect to see gruesome deaths and heartbreaking encounters. New cast members for the second season includes Kaitlyn Dever and Catherine O'Hara.

Faisal Al Zaabi, gaming and social media writer

The Handmaid’s Tale, season six

Release date: Spring 2025

The sixth and final season of The Handmaid’s Tale will bring the captivating, dystopian saga to a close. Adapted from Margaret Atwood's popular novel of the same name, the show has long pushed boundaries, blending sharp political commentary with standout performances, especially from Elisabeth Moss as the fierce June Osborne.

What makes the final season particularly exciting is the unexpected alliance between June and her former antagonist, Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski), as they join forces in a last-ditch attempt to bring down the oppressive Gilead regime.

While the series has always explored the fragility of freedom, I'm especially eager to see how the complex female characters evolve and how their stories will ultimately be resolved.

One Carlo Diaz, lifestyle reporter

Black Mirror, season seven (Netflix)

Release date: TBC

The acclaimed anthology series, about the perils of technology, is returning with six brand-new episodes. One of them will be a sequel to USS Callister, the episode from season four, making it the first Black Mirror story to get one.

Released in 2017, the Star-Trek-esque USS Callister centres on Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons), an executive at a gaming company who is not very well-liked by his colleagues, and who creates an alternate digital universe where he is the commander of a starship, where his colleagues are members of his subservient crew. But things take a dark turn when reality and fiction begin to meld into one another.

While little is known about the rest of the series, the stacked cast for season seven announced so far includes Awkwafina, Emma Corrin, Paul Giamatti, Rashida Jones, Issa Rae and Tracee Ellis Ross. Of the six episodes, two will be feature-length, creator Charlie Brooker said at at Netflix event in September.

David Tusing, assistant features editor

The Exchange, season two

Release date: TBC

Netflix series The Exchange follows the story of two women as they take on the Kuwaiti stock market in the 1980s, with all the glam and roar of the decade. The first season was critically acclaimed for strong performances from its stellar cast, which includes Rawan Mahdi and Mona Hussain, as well as for its directing and visual identity.

The series took plot cues from the true story of two women who proved themselves in the cut-throat business of the stock market in 1980s Kuwait. It showed the several challenges the women may have faced as they broke the glass ceiling of the male-dominated financial market.

The second season is now set to release sometime in 2025. According to a recent conversation that The National had with actress Hussain, The Exchange will build upon everything that made the debut season a favourite and will yet be returning as an entirely new show.

Razmig Bedirian, arts & culture reporter

Squid Game, season three

Release date: TBC

Although fans had to wait three years for the second season of the hit South Korean show, the wait for the third and final season will be shorter, thanks to being filmed back-to-back with the second season.

The story will continue to follow Seong Gi-hun as he returns to the Squid Games on his mission to stop them for good, as well as the Front Man, who remains determined to keep them going.

As it is the final season, I have high hopes it will also aim to wrap up other storylines, including Hwang Jun-ho’s fallout with his brother and the unresolved mysteries surrounding their past. I also know the emotional depths the show can reach, so I'm anticipating show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has saved the best for last.

Evelyn Lau, assistant features editor