My Favorite Television Shows From This Year--2025 in Review

I will often watch shows that came out years ago. I often love them when I finally get around to checking them out, but to say they were among the best of 2025's television offerings would be factually incorrect. Hence, I am going to discuss some of my favorite TV shows that I watched this year, and which came out in 2025. In no specific order...

The Lowdown, Season 1--More Hopefully Coming?

A surreal neo-noir story with a large cast and an even bigger mystery, creator/director Sterlin Harjo gives us a wild ride. It is quite thrilling as truth-obsessed journalist Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke) continuously finds himself in situations that result in getting beaten up, told off, or both. Filmed on location in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the show doesn't shy away from examining heavy topics such as systemic racism, fiscal inequities, and so forth--but it also manages to be incredibly funny and clever too. A hoot of a show, the entire season aired on FX and can be streamed via Hulu.

Severance, Season 2

In my review of, "Severance," I discussed how I enjoyed the first season that came out a bit ago just fine, but loved the second batch of episodes that were released during this year, hence it ending up on this list. Found on AppleTV, this quirky program imagines a World where people can undergo the Sevrance procedure and start having a new identity that exists at a mysterious office with zero memories/knowledge of the outside World. It's a trippy piece of sci-fi, and the second season is full of payoff that makes watching the show feel quite rewarding.

Doctor Odyssey, Season 1/The Only Season We're Getting

Yeah, I already touched upon this show in my post about how much of a bummer it was that it got canceled, and a chunk of the season did air in 2024, but there was enough in 2025 that I'm gonna argue it can count, okay? This was such a fun and silly show about a sexy doctor on a cruise ship. I know the whole program was absurd, but I adored it.

Traitors, The--Season 3 of the U.S. Version

As I said back in March, the third season of, "The Traitors," was some good television. Part game show, part psychological warfare, and all Alan Cumming being delicious as the host, this is such a wild program. A bunch of competitiors at a Scottish castle scheme and study each other closely in the hopes of figuring out who is a, "Faithful," and who is among a group of, "Traitors," that wants to pick off the Faithful. Season 4 is due soon on Peacock, and I can't wait!

Comic-Book Fiasco of the Year: Diamond Comic Distributors' Bankruptcy--2025 in Review

It is hard to believe that Diamond only declared bankruptcy at the start of this year, back in January. It feels like we've been following this slow-motion trainwreck for a decade. At first, it was going to be restructuring and business as usual. Then Diamond was trying to sell itself, but who was going to buy it got confusing. Diamond was bought, but basically turned into a zombie of a company, trying to sell off warehouse stock it did not own in the name of paying debtors...some of whom they were selling the inventory of without permission. 

From the ashes of Diamond, we saw further growth of Lunar as well as Penguin Random House, further announcements of new distribution options, and as the year ends, things seem to have finally settled into a mostly stable groove...Free Comic Book Day/Comics Giveaway Day arguments aside. Still, it has been less than 365 days, and the landscape of comic distribution has changed to a remarkable degree, which I think few could have foreseen coming.

Musical Return to Form of the Year: Clipse--2025 in Review

No Malice and Pusha T are brothers and, at one point a good chunk of time ago, they were busy as collaborators for the musical duo known as Clipse. Then, there hadn't been a new album from Clipse since 2009. A featured track here or there with them both as Clipse, but not much. Then, we learned Clipse was returning in July with, "Let God Sort Em Out." After all these years, could Clipse still have great tracks thanks to their razor-sharp wits and partnerships with fantastic producers? The answer turned out to be a resounding, "Hell yeah!" It really is an astounding piece of work.

With Pharrell providing some superb instrumentation, beats, and other friends stopping by to drop fantastic verses (Kendrick Lamar, Nas, and so forth), the resulting LP is a fantastic album that rewards repeat listens as all the clever metaphors reveal themselves and the music keeps your head continuously bopping. It has been nearly two decades, but Clipse remains a stellar rap group.

T.V.-Related Bummer of the Year: "Doctor Odyssey," Getting Canceled--2025 in Review

I quite enjoyed the off-the-wall, zany nature of, "Doctor Odyssey," on ABC. Created by Ryan Murphy and friends, it was a show about a sexy boat doctor (played by Joshua Jackson) who cures mystery ailments of cruise-goers while juggling romance with his staff. The program was absurd, silly, and had Don Johsnon as the captain--he's a treat in any show! It had good ratings, people liked it, and even bad Ryan Murphy shows seem to get renewed these days. Yet, "Doctor Odyssey," only got one season and then seemed dead in the water--pun depressingly intended. We may never get more of the show, but at least what we did get was a hoot.

Some of My Favorite Comics This Year--2025 in Review

There were many great comics throughout 2025. When I thought really hard about what stood out in my mind, however, five series released during this year/books published this year stuck out in my mind. Well, it was actually six series, but one was featured last year (more on that in a second), so I disqualified it. Anyway, here are some of my favorite comics/graphic novels/etc. this year.

Ultimates

Full disclosure, this and, "Ultimate Spider-Man," were the two Ultimate titles I adored this year and couldn't wait to read every month from the first issues on back in 2024 to now. That said, I already put USM in this sort of list last year so I cut it this time and thought I would focus on, "Ultimates." For real, however, if you want the main/big book that is key to this latest Ultimate Universe, "Ultimates," is a fantastic read from start to (rapidly approaching) finish. Deniz Camp has consistently written a superb comic about heroes in a broken World who dream of a better tomorrow (with Juan Frigeri generally on art), and I'm here for it.

Orla!

A comic about a woman named Orla with a literal monster inside her that devours bad dates. Yeah, its a horror comedy, but it has some sweet romance elements too when Orla falls for a guy she doesn't want to ingest. An incredibly funny and clever mix of genres, "Orla!" has just concluded as of this month (I need to grab the last issue), and I would encourage everyone to purchase the upcoming trade paperback collection!

Santos Sisters Volume 1

This one is a bit technical, as the first volume of, "Santos Sisters," collects the initial five issues printed before 2025. That said, this book was released in this year, so I say it counts! In my review of the first TPB, I state how it is, "Joyful, undiluted fun." I continue to feel that way about Greg & Fake's superb mix of vintage Archie-esque style with modern and clever jokes. Definitely a book worth picking up.

Absolute Batman

The earlier issues of, "Absolute Batman," were solid, but as we entered 2025, the book started rolling full steam ahead. The mix of crime drama, body horror, and amazing artwork by Nick Dragotta, among others (with superb writing by Scott Snyder) has resulted in what is undoubtedly my favorite Absolute book of the line--although all of them are solid and have charms. It is wild to think that when the Absolute line was first announced how skeptical many of us were. Now, here we are with Absolute books, and, "Absolute Batman," in particular, getting rave reviews and selling lots of copies. The old adage remains true to not judge a book (or comic) by its cover.

Holy Lacrimony

Michael DeForge is a modern master when it comes to making comics. His original graphic novel, "Holy Lacrimony," is a superb read about alien abductions, support groups, and sadness. Quite trippy and a little raunchy at points while also being laugh-out-loud hilarious, I was super-into this book and consider it another masterful entry in DeForge's oeuvre. 2025 clearly had some quality comics, and I'm pleased to have enjoyed these among other stellar reads!

Merry Christmas 2025!

I want to wish a Merry Christmas to anyone who celebrates the holiday! Have a relaxing day, and hopefully you're getting an extended weekend without having to work Friday/tomorrow. One of our local doughnut shops was actually open today, so I bought a bunch for the family; I'm gonna go take a nap now because I ate far too many. Have a great day, ya'll!

15th Anniversary Giveaway Post 5--and Final: Another 3-month Free (Premium) CovrPrice Account

Update: Winner has been notified!

It's Christmas Eve, and I've got one final gift for all of you, my dear readers of the blog! The awesome people at CovrPrice gave me another three months of a free premium CovrPrice account to give away, and it can be yours if you'd like. Just comment here with your name and email address or send me an email at davidbitterbaum@gmail.com with your name. Around December 26th I will draw the final winner for this last giveaway, and I'll kick off my year-in-review posts then, as I generally do the day after Christmas. In the meantime, have a good Christmas Eve, everyone!

PSA's Parent Company (Collectors) Wants to Buy Beckett

PSA is the biggest name in trading card grading and has been trying to make inroads with comic-book grading. They have some competitors, in regard to cards, with Beckett and CGC being the bigger names that serve as other options. When it comes to comics, Beckett has CBCS for comic grading and it has always been the smaller company compared to CGC. Things are getting interesting, however, with PSA's parent company, "Collectors," wanting to buy Beckett (and Beckett only too happy to oblige).

If Collectors/PSA purchases Beckett, they claim that the Beckett card grading and CBS comic grading will continue to operate independently, but I doubt it that will be the case for long. Mergers are all about cutting extra stuff, and having two card grading companies and two comic grading companies is textbook redundancy. Something/s will probably be eliminated, and competition will continue to shrink, which isn't that great for the consumer. It is an era of mergers, however, with companies acquiring others every other week, lately (look at Netflix with Warner Bros. Discovery). The current Trump administration and the in-power GOP care little about monopolies or oligopolies as long as they get their cut through donations from wealthy backers or straight-up paid through questionable business deals. 

It'll basically be PSA versus CGC for cards and comics.

A Democratic Congressman named Pat Ryan has called for the sale of Beckett to be investigated by the FTC, and that's good! I doubt much will come of it, however, in this era of Trump and his cronies doing whatever they want, whenever they want, with little repercussions. As long as somebody at Collectors says something nice to stroke Trump's ego while also stuffing his wallet with a nice and fat check, this deal will probably happen. So it goes.

Music Mondays: It's Been Awhile Since We've Had a New Super-Popular Christmas Tune

You know how, usually every chunk of years there is a new Christmas tune that comes along and which absolutely dominates the radio? It's been some time since that has happened, wouldn't you agree? We've had some solid Christmas jams, but they haven't been totally nuclear-hot in terms of being a hit. "Santa Doesn't Know You Like I Do," by Sabrina Carpenter, is great, but more of a cult-hit from 2023. The last big tune that comes to mind might be, "Santa Tell Me," by Ariana Grande from 2014. 

Otherwise, you gotta look pretty far back for the huge bangers like, "All I Want For Christmas Is You," by Mariah Carey, back in 1994. I mean, if you're huge on the Jonas Brothers, they did release, "Like It's Christmas," in 2019, and Cher attempted to give us a hot new Christmas tune with, "DJ Play a Christmas Song," when it was 2023, but that pales in comparison to a lot of her discography. So yeah, maybe Grande in 2014 with the last really big song. That is over a decade ago!

I know you can't just magically create a Christmas hit, although there is a slight science to it as discussed in a recent, "Sunday Morning," segment on CBS. That bit even featured a new song crafted by David Pogue with some assistance from others--it honestly is pretty terrible, but points to him for trying. Watch it right above this paragraph. It isn't even a big deal if we don't get any new Christmas jams, as there are so many good ones. Hell, maybe we should focus on making more Hanukkah tunes, those are in especially short supply, and Adam Sandler can only do so much, after all! In the end, I suppose you can't force a hot Christmas (or Hanukkah) track. They just sort of magically appear and find themselves part of the regular holiday rotation. There could very well be something that came out this year to little notice that will slowly gain buzz and become a beloved classic in the next handful of years.

Bowen Yang's Last Episode as a Cast Member on, "Saturday Night Live," Happened Yesterday

Bowen Yang is quite the funny fellow. He's been on, "Saturday Night Live," for a chunk of years, but made the sudden-seeming announcement a few days ago he was leaving after the last episode before Christmas (which just aired yesterday). Wow, the last one before the mid-season break? Not too many people come to my mind as leaving in the middle of a season (Cecily Strong, Paul Brittain, and others, but I'd have to use Google and imagine there is a small list). That said, Yang has been getting more and more buzz as a talent and probably has some snazzy big opportunities awaiting him. 

It did not seem there were hard feelings with SNL, as Yang even got a star turn in a segment metaphorically about him leaving the show--although the theme was how he served eggnog at an airport and his last shift was almost over. The symbolism was clear, though, when he teared up discussing how much he valued his opportunity at the, "Airport," and loved everyone he worked with. I really enjoyed Yang on SNL, whether he was the main focus in a sketch, in more of a supporting role, or doing a zany character for the Weekend Update segment. When he's popped up on other shows or in various flicks, it has always been a hoot as well. I wish him the best and hope he succeeds in all his future ventures!