The Cutprice Guignol

Well, here we are, at the end of one year and the beginning of another; but, before we throw ourselves completely into what lays ahead, let’s take a moment to look back on what lays behind. By which, I mean, the best TV episodes of 2025, at least according to me, your most beloved Guignol purveyor of choice.

Of course, there’s been plenty of brilliance outside of just these few episodes – Such Brave Girls, Squid Game, Video Nasty, Death Valley, Am I Being Unreasonable?, to name but a few – but I want to talk about the specific single episodes that really hit the spot for me this year and why. Which is entirely an encouragement to drop your own best-ofs in the comments below, so please feel free to share what blew you away this year! Let’s get into it.

5. Episode Six – Frauds

In terms of pure televisual fun, it’s hard to think of much this year that topped the brilliant heist thriller of Frauds – and what better episode to focus on that the heist that ties the whole season together? This episode is as meticulously plotted and executed as the heist at its centre, a supremely satisfying coming-together of the characters and moving parts that have driven the season to this point – a perfectly-balanced mixture of wit, tension, and problem-solving, and featuring a hefty dose of the brilliant Talisa Garcia as my character of the year, Miss Take. It’s daft, daring, and completely absorbing, pure propulsion – and no, I’m not just talking about that Great Mastubator.

4. Lux – Doctor Who

Look! I know I have spent the better part of the last year dunking on pretty much every piece of Doctor Who media that crosses my path, but when it’s right, it’s right – and Lux, for me, was so, so right. I still think this is an outstanding episode of the show, a brilliant, bold, and utterly fresh approach to what Doctor Who can be and the kind of stories it can tell. Gabriel Byrne is one of my favourite guest stars in recent Who memory, and Alan Cumming tapped into a maniacal and distinctly unsettling edge for his villainous turn here. I love meta-fiction in the world of horror and sci-fi, and Doctor Who, with as broad and sprawling a history as it has, is the perfect place to try something this daring. It was one of the few episodes of TV that had my jaw on the floor in 2025, and for that, it deserves its place here.

3. I Won. Zoom In. – The Chair Company

If you want the televisual equivalent of feeling like you’ve been chased around your living room with an inflatable baseball bat, can I recommend The Chair Company? Tim Robinson’s profoundly fucking weird comedy-drama-thriller is one of the most singular TV viewing experiences of the last decade, and this episode, for me, was where it all really came together. Blending Robinson’s surreal world and characters with a woozy, disorientating sense of threat, it sort of feels like being put through a tumble dryer on high speed, except Park Chan Wook is directing it and also it’s the funniest thing you’ve watched in months. Does that make sense? No? Then you’re primed to get into The Chair Company.

2. Episode Four – Adolescence

There’s a reason that Adolescence has been one of the biggest hits of the year, and that’s because it’s really, really damn good. This miniseries is one of the most singularly effective and discomforting pieces of TV I’ve ever seen; it might seem an impressive claim for a straightforward drama, but the way it was put together, the interlocking perspectives on the crime at the story’s centre, and the stunning production deliver this dreadfully effective atmosphere that never loses sight of the characters who underpin these events. You could make a case for any one of these episodes as the best, but for me, it was the closing episode, following Eddie (Stephen Graham) as he navigates a birthday after his son’s incarceration, was the one that stuck with me the most; it’s a deeply melancholy and achingly sad epilogue to the events of the first three episodes, underpinned by career-best performances from both Graham and Christine Tremarco as Eddie’s wife, Manda.

1. Episode Four – Reunion

Oh, my God, why aren’t more people talking about Reunion? What starts off as a seemingly-straightforward crime drama takes a swerve into a powerful, nuanced story of abuse, forgiveness, and the unique vulnerabilities of disabled people in the UK, led by the most-must-of-must-see performances from Matthew Gurney as Daniel Brennan. This final episode focuses on the relationship between Daniel, his daughter, Carly (Lara Peake), and the man at the heart of the abuse scandal that tore apart his personal relationships – tearing him between the harm of the past and the possibility of the future in a beautifully-scripted and brilliantly-performed climax that as painful as it is cathartic. If you’ve been looking for a drama that digs in to the nuance of abuse, survival, and revenge, this is the show for you – and this episode is a glorious coming-together of everything the show set out to achieve.

Over to you – what were your favourite episodes of 2025 (and what shows are you most looking forward to making a return in 2026)? Let me know in the comments! If you’d like to check out my movie best-ofs, check ’em out here. If you’d like to support my blog, please consider supporting me by buying my books or dropping me a tip via my Support page.

(header image via The Guardian)