TV in 2025: 25 of the best new and returning shows to watch out for in the 12 months ahead
The Traitors
New Year’s Day, January 1st, BBC One
Intrigue, conspiracy, deceit, betrayal: The Traitors has it all, including a prize pot of £120,000, and it’s no surprise that a third series is going ahead, with Claudia Winkleman presenting once again. A new batch of Faithfuls will arrive at Andross Castle, in the Scottish Highlands, but among them are hidden Traitors out to sabotage the Faithfuls and nab the prize for themselves. Siobhán McSweeney will host The Traitors Ireland, which is due to arrive on RTÉ in 2025.
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth
Thursday, January 2nd, Sky Atlantic/Now, 9pm
Colin Firth stars as Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter died after Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988, killing 259 passengers and 11 of the town’s residents. The drama follows Swire’s dogged efforts to learn the truth about what happened and to seek justice for victims and their families.
Ireland’s Fittest Family
Saturday, January 4th, RTÉ One, 6.35pm
The 12th series of the family fitness challenge was due to air last October, but it was pulled from the schedules after the sudden death of one of the participants, 15-year-old Cillian Flaherty, after filming was completed. The Flaherty family have now given their blessing for the series to be broadcast; it will include a tribute to Cillian. Coaches Davy Fitzgerald, Anna Geary, Donncha O’Callaghan and Sonia O’Sullivan will mentor 16 families in this year’s contest, with new challenges including the Drop Zone and Raft Rage.
Dancing with the Stars
Sunday, January 5th, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
We’ve warmed up with Strictly Come Dancing on the BBC. Now we move to Montrose for the main attraction. This season’s celebrity contestants are the model Aishah Akorede, the Mrs Brown’s Boys star Danny O’Carroll, the comedian Gearóid O’Farrelly, the taekwondo Olympian Jack Woolley, the singer Mickey Joe Harte, the TikTok personality Kayleigh Trappe, the Kin actor Yasmin Seky, the chef Kevin Dundon, the broadcaster Elaine Crowley, the Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan and the meteorologist Joanna Donnelly.
Playing Nice
Sunday, January 5th, ITV
Niamh Algar and James Norton star in a high-concept thriller about two couples who are shocked to find out that their babies were swapped at birth. As they begin to process this new reality, and try to decide if they should swap back or leave things be, the couples become suspicious of each other’s motives.
Michael Lynn: The Fugitive
Monday, January 6th, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
In 2007 the solicitor Michael Lynn fled to Brazil after duping Irish banks to the tune of millions of euro. But he didn’t escape justice, spending five years in a Brazilian jail before being brought back to Ireland. This documentary tells the story of how the investigative journalist Michael O’Farrell tracked Lynn down.
First Dates Ireland
Thursday, January 9th, RTÉ2, 9.30pm
Can Paddy, an IT manager, hit the right note with Dervla, a singer-songwriter? Will Luis, a Brazilian waiter, and Doyle, a Nigerian playwright, make it past opening night? And will the Paul Mescal lookalike Hugh get the thumbs-up from Aisling, who’s a trainee solicitor? We’ll find out in the 10th series of the dating show, as the First Dates restaurant gets a bright new look.
The White Lotus
February 17th, Sky Max/Now
It’s holiday time again as the fictional White Lotus resort chain welcomes a new batch of vacationers in search of sun, sea and whatever you’re having yourself. This third series of the Emmy-winning black comedy brings the fun, frolics and infidelity to Thailand. New cast members Jason Isaacs, Scott Glenn, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Walton Goggins and Patrick Schwarzenegger will be checking in.
Reacher
From February 20th, Prime Video
Jack Reacher is back for third helpings in the hit series based on the bestselling books by Lee Child. Alan Ritchson plays the titular ex-military man living off the grid but still driven by an unstoppable sense of justice. Based on Persuader, the seventh Reacher book, series three finds our large hero taking on an adversary twice his size. Get the giant TV screen in the January sales in preparation.
Zero Day
From February 20th, Netflix
Robert De Niro stars in his first TV series, and it reads like a Democrat’s fever dream. He plays retired US president George Mullen, who is called back to the Oval Office after a global zero-day cyberattack that has left thousands dead. Angela Bassett plays the current US president, Evelyn Mitchell, who puts Mullen in charge of the investigation into the attack. This heavy-hitting series also stars Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan, Connie Britton, Joan Allen and Matthew Modine.
Miss Austen
February, BBC
We all know Jane Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Persuasion; this drama series focuses on her lesser-known older sister Cassandra, played by Keeley Hawes. Following Jane’s death, Cassandra sets out to find and destroy some of her sister’s letters, convinced that if they fall into the wrong hands, Jane’s reputation – and legacy – will be irrevocably harmed.
The Residence
From March 20th, Netflix
Having set her hit series Scandal in the White House, Shonda Rhimes returns to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, for her latest series, a screwball murder mystery starring Uzo Aduba as eccentric detective Cordelia Cupp. The story revolves around a disastrous state dinner, a dead body and a list of suspects as long as the Declaration of Independence. Aduba heads a cast that includes Randall Park, Giancarlo Esposito, Jane Curtin and Jason Lee.
Your Friends & Neighbors
From April 11th, Apple TV+
Disgraced hedge-fund manager Andrew Cooper has been canned from his high-powered job, and now no one will touch him with a 10-foot cattle prod. Recently divorced, Coop finds himself home alone in his affluent suburb, but rather than twiddle his thumbs he decides to stay busy by burgling his neighbours’ homes. He soon finds something more valuable – and more dangerous – than luxury goods: the dark secrets and hidden affairs of the wealthy homeowners. Jon Hamm heads a cast that includes Amanda Peet, Olivia Munn and Hoon Lee.
The Last of Us
Spring, Sky Max/Now
It could have been another pointless video-game adaptation, but the postapocalyptic horror The Last of Us proved a huge hit, and far from coming across as NPCs, the characters of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) felt human and relatable. In season two, Joel and Ellie are settling into a new community, but the zombies are still out there, and readying to attack. Catherine O’Hara and Kaitlyn Dever join the cast for this second season.
Small Town, Big Story
Early 2025, Sky Atlantic/Now
Christina Hendricks and Paddy Considine star in this six-part series created, written and directed by Chris O’Dowd and set in the fictional Irish town of Drumbán, whose tranquillity has been upturned by the arrival of a big Hollywood production. Hendricks plays successful TV producer Wendy, who grew up in Drumbán, with Considine as the local doctor.
Boyzone: No Matter What
Early 2025, Sky Documentaries/Now
The Boyzone story is one of sudden fame and equally sudden tragedy, and in this documentary Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham talk about handling pop stardom at a young age and dealing with the death of their bandmate Stephen Gately in 2009.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Early 2025, Netflix
Wellness culture is under the microscope in this series about the Australian influencer Belle Gibson, who claimed to have been cured of brain cancer using her own branded health products. But her claims of having the disease proved to be fabricated, and soon her social-media empire began to crumble.
The Walsh Sisters
Autumn 2025, RTÉ
Fans of Marian Keyes know the Walsh sisters – Anna, Rachel, Maggie, Claire and Helen – well. RTÉ and the BBC have collaborated to bring the characters from Keyes’ bestselling Walsh-family novels to life on screen in this new six-part series. Production will begin early in 2025; the writing team includes Stefanie Preissner. “This is so exciting!” Keyes says. “I’m beside myself. I love the scripts – they’ve really kept the spirit of the books.”
The Death of Bunny Munro
Date to be announced, Sky Atlantic/Now
Matt Smith stars as a sex-addicted travelling beauty-product salesman who is forced to confront some ugly truths after the death of his wife by suicide in this adaptation of the novel by Nick Cave (yes, that one). Unwilling to give up his dissolute lifestyle, Munro takes his nine-year-old son, Bunny jnr, on a mad road trip across the south of England, but it’s not long before his devil-may-care facade begins to crumble.
The Night Manager
Date to be announced, BBC
The Night Manager was a huge success back in 2016, and now the series – which was based on the novel by John le Carré and starred Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman and Hugh Laurie – is back for a second bite of the spy cherry. Hiddleston reprises his role as the titular nocturnal administrator, Jonathan Pine, with Colman returning as Pine’s MI5 runner Angela Burr. We. Can’t. Wait.
Stranger Things
Date to be announced, Netflix
The Duffer brothers are making one last foray into the upside-down with the fifth and final series of the best retro sci-fi horror series ever. It’s 1987, the gang are growing up, but Vecna’s power is also growing, and with the lives of everyone in Hawkins at stake, the scene is set for the ultimate supernatural showdown. Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Caleb McLoughlin and Sadie Sink are all present and correct, with Linda Hamilton, the Terminator star, joining the cast.
Unforgotten
Date to be announced, ITV
Sinéad Keenan returns for a second outing as DCI Jessica James, head of the cold-case investigation team, with Sanjeev Bhaskar as DI Sunil Khan. This sixth season of the hit crime series opens with a grisly discovery of dismembered remains on Whitney Marsh.
Ludwig
Date to be announced, BBC One
David Mitchell returns as the reclusive puzzle setter John “Ludwig” Taylor in the second season of the hit comedy crime series. When his twin brother, James, a brash detective in the Cambridge police, goes missing, John has to step out of his comfort zone and pass himself off as James in order to learn what happened to him. In series two, John is now a consultant with the force, but James’s whereabouts is still proving a fierce conundrum.
The Bear
Date to be announced, Disney+
Book your table now: Disney has confirmed that Carmy Berzatto and the staff of the Bear will be back for a fourth season, so prepare for more kitchen chaos and dining drama as Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) continues on his quest to bring fine dining to the good folk of Chicago. Will the Chicago Tribune review be one star or five? And will Sydney jump ship and take up her new job offer? We’re waiting with upturned knives and forks.
Black Mirror
Date to be announced, Netflix
Charlie Brooker’s brain-frying anthology series returns for a seventh season – and this one will be “a little bit OG Black Mirror”, he says, going back to its dystopian sci-fi roots, but with some disturbing stuff in the mix. The star-studded cast of these six episodes (two of them feature-length, and one a sequel to the hugely popular season-four story USS Callister) includes Awkwafina, Peter Capaldi, Emma Corrin, Paul Giamatti, Rashida Jones, Chris O’Dowd and Issa Rae.
