Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
A New Year is just around the corner, and we’ve already begun tracking what’s coming up on Netflix throughout 2025, but what new shows are we most excited about? These are the brand new debut shows (we’ve already talked about our most hyped returning shows here) that we think will be big in 2025.
Please note that not all these titles are confirmed for 2025 but rather expected to land throughout the year, given filming schedules, although some may undoubtedly be pushed into 2026. Without further ado and in no particular order, these are the series that need to be on your radar for 2025:
Pulse
The cast of Pulse for Netflix
For years, procedurals have performed exceptionally well regarding viewership (see how NCIS has topped the Nielsen charts for years and continued fantastic viewership for Grey’s Anatomy), so it’s all the more confusing why Netflix has avoided the type of program for all these years. Next year, that changes with the release of the new medical drama series Pulse, following the personal and professional lives of a vast collection of doctors and nurses working at the Miami Trauma Center.
Not only is the format exciting for Netflix, but the cast will almost certainly get people to tune in, too, with over 70 people tied to the cast of the first season so far, with headliners being Willa Fitzgerald, Jessie Usher, Justina Machado, Colin Woodell, and Jack Bannon.
We’ve high expectations for this, given that veteran screenwriter Carlton Cuse (Locke & Key, Jack Ryan, Bates Motel) is one of the showrunners of the new series. Filming took place in New Mexico between March and July 2024.
Ransom Canyon
Cast of Ransom Canyon
Shows like Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias are sneaky Netflix hits in that they don’t pull in the biggest viewership numbers, but given the audience they serve and their budgets, they are able to keep getting renewed. Sitting firmly in the same genre is Ransom Canyon, a new romance series mixed with some Western vibes based on the book series by Jodi Thomas.
The story revolves around three ranching families operating and competing in the heart of Texas. It’s a bit of a mix of the aforementioned shows plus a bit of Yellowstone, which we all know has been going great guns in recent years, and from some small set leaks, this could prove to be a big ticket show for 2025.
Among the cast for Ransom Canyon are Minka Kelly, Josh Duhamel, Eoin Macken, and Lizzy Greene. Filming took place at Netflix’s Albuquerque studio in New Mexico in the first half of 2024, with 10 episodes making up the first season.
House of Guinness
PIC BY MARK CAMPBELL/MCPIX
One of several projects originating from the United Kingdom on this list is House of Guinness. This ambitious new Succession-style period drama documents the life of the Guinness business empire, which is still alive and kicking today. It tells the story of the death of Benjamin Guinness, the founder of the brewery, and the battle for control by his four adult children following his death.
We’ve been tracking the limited series pretty in-depth, and it looks like no expense has been spared with lavish sets and a fantastic cast. That cast is headlined by Anthony Boyle, Louis Partridge, Emily Fairn, and Fionn O’Shea, who all play the surviving heirs.
If we haven’t sold you yet, know that the series is being written by Steven Knight, who has had a long history of creating well-reviewed hits wherever he goes. He’s best known for his work on all six seasons of Peaky Blinders (he’s also working on the new Netflix movie) for the BBC and Netflix and Taboo for FX and the BBC, but he is also known for his film work on titles like Locke, Serenity, Dirty Pretty Things, and Eastern Promises.
Department Q
Cast of Department Q
Sticking with Netflix’s UK output for 2025, we move onto Department Q, which is a killer team-up between Left Bank Pictures (known for Netflix’s The Crown) and Scott Frank, who has so far delivered two killer shows for Netflix in the form of The Queen’s Gambit and Godless. This next project is a new crime thriller based on the novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen.
Consisting of eight episodes, the series follows Carl, described as a former top-rated detective in Edinburgh assigned to a new cold case whilst wracked with guilt following an attack that left his partner paralyzed and another policeman dead. It’s a mix of a Nordic crime thriller alongside a Harlan Coben thriller and we’re here for it.
It was filmed in Scotland throughout the first half of 2024 and features some excellent talent, including Alexej Manvelov, Chloe Pirrie, Matthew Goode, Kelly Macdonald, and Leah Byrne.
Death by Lightning
From the moment I got wind of Death by Lightning, I knew Netflix was onto a massive winner. Headlined by Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Shannon, Betty Gilpin, Nick Offerman, and Michael Carter, this historical biopic rewinds the clock on American history, retelling the story of the 20th US President who was ultimately assassinated unexpectedly by an admirer.
Shot in Budapest in the latter half of 2024 with Mike Makowsky writing and David Benioff and D.B. Weiss producing, we’ve got high expectations for this new high-brow drama. It’s got the budget. It’s got the cast. Can it win over audiences? We should find out sometime in 2025!
Monster: Ed Gein
On set for Monster: Ed Gein – Pictures: Backgrid
We’ll cheat just a little bit here, given that this is technically Monster season 3, but given Ashely omitted it from his returning list, I had to include it here. Following DAHMER and The Menendez Brothers, the Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan-produced series has big boots to fill, but thanks to a killer new refreshed cast and an often untold story of the serial killer Ed Gein, we think Netflix could be onto another win late next year should the series have a tight turnaround again.
Charlie Hunnam leads the cast as Ed Gein with other confirmed stars next season, including Tom Hollander, Laurie Metcalf, Olivia Williams, and Vicky Krieps, with more cast members to be announced in due course.
The Four Seasons
Cast and crew of The Four Seasons on Netlfix
Netflix is still desperate for its big comedy series to rival the sort of sitcoms that do so well on the streamer from other distributors. They’ve already had one shot with Steve Carell in Space Force, but that didn’t quite blast off into the atmosphere as many would have hoped. Will the second time be the charm? That’s what they’re hoping for with The Four Seasons, in which Carell stars alongside Tina Fey, Colman Domingo, Marco Calvani, and Will Forte.
Filming in the last few months of 2024, with filming wrapping in November, the new comedy consisting of eight episodes has all the pieces it needs to be a hit, taking the 1981 film of the same name and turning it into a new series. It’ll follow three couples who take vacations together each season, and the changes in the group dynamic will occur when one of the couples splits up, and the man brings a much younger woman on subsequent trips.
Long Story Short
Picture: Netflix
A new animated show from the creator of Netflix’s Bojack Horseman. Sold? Good!
That’s right. Raphael Bob-Waksberg is back for another major project at Netflix, which is slated to be released sometime in 2025. The logline reads, “It is about a family over time. It’s about the shared history, the inside jokes, the old wounds. If you’ve ever had a mother, father, sibling, partner, or child, this is the show for you, and by the way, would it kill you to call them?”
The Abandons
The Abandons Cast and Crew
The Abandons has a lot going for it. It comes from the same creator of Sons of Anarchy and has a killer cast, including Lena Headey, Gillian Anderson, Aisling Francisco, and Ryan Hurst, among many others. The film is about a group of outlier families in Oregon in the 1950s, all pursuing their Manifest Destiny.
Unfortunetely, though, there is a bit of a blemish on this show heading in, given that there was reporting towards the tail end of production that creative differences ultimately saw Kurt Sutter leaving the project. However, seeing the end result makes it even more fascinating for me.
Zero Day
ZERO DAY. Robert De Niro as George Mullen in Episode 101 of Zero Day. Cr. Jojo Whilden/Netflix © 2024
Our final pick seems a bit like cheating, given that we’ve already got quite a lot to say about Zero Day already, given that it just recently got a full reveal by Netflix ahead of the Christmas break. Scheduled to release on February 20th, the new series has an absolutely stacked cast, and from the initial trailer, my expectations have risen quite a bit for this show. Robert De Niro is the President of the United States, managing a crisis after the country was attacked by a devastating cyber attack with another on the way.
Honorable Mentions
There’s a BUNCH of titles that should be on this list, but we’ve had to leave them out because we’re limited to just 10 titles. Our honorable mentions include:
- The Boroughs
- East of Eden
- The Undertow
- The Waterfront
- Leanne
- The Corps
- Amsterdam Empire
What new series will be checking out in 2025? Let us know in the comments.
