| Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who would rather reflect on the year in pop culture than look at their current bank statement. |
| Santa wasn't the only one making lists this year. As the final days of the year come to a close, we've gathered several of our key year-end TV and film lists for 2025 in one handy place for easy browsing while you wait in return lines, prepare to board flights or zone out on the couch. |
| We also threw in some other recent lists, unbound to 2025 but still useful this time of year when our brains need all the help they can get to winnow down viewing choices. |
| Enjoy! |
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| From left, Tessa Thompson in "Hedda"; Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman in "The Roses"; Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton in "Sinners." (Photo illustration by Josep Prat Sorolla / For The Times; photos from Amazon Prime, Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures ) |
| The 10 best movies of 2025 — and where to find them: The best movies of 2025 include "Sinners," "Hedda," "One Battle After Another," "Eddington" and "The Naked Gun," according to our critic Amy Nicholson. |
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| The 12 best needle drops of 2025: These songs made their scenes indelible, from classic rock and dance pop to old-timey blues and thrash. There's even a former Beatle on here. |
| 34 movies and shows to watch on a plane — or trapped at the airport — this holiday season: In addition to getting you where you want to go, those hours spent on a plane — or trapped at the airport — are a guilt-free opportunity to catch up on or revisit great movies and shows. |
| 10 on-screen political thrillers that stood out in a year of upheaval and partisanship: At a time of political unrest, the political thriller on television and film is both a reflection of, and an escape from, turbulent times. |
| Ho-ho-rror for the holidays: 15 scary watches for the dead of winter: Ghost stories have long been a holiday tradition, so gather 'round the electronic hearth and watch some (or all) of these. |
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| Best of 2025: Television — from left, Anna Lambe in "North of North," Ethan Hawke and Michael Hitchcock in "The Lowdown," "Women Wearing Shoulder Pads." (Photo illustration by Josep Prat Sorolla / For The Times; photos by Netflix, FX and Warner Bros.) |
| The best TV shows of 2025: The TV series on this list delivered real surprises with new directions and original formats, while others just had good old-fashioned storytelling, according to our critic Robert Lloyd. |
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| The 16 best documentaries of 2025: The documentary films and series that captured our attention this year feature famous people and ordinary people, as well as new ideas and perspectives. |
| The 12 unforgettable TV moments of 2025: Some of the year's most memorable TV moments and episodes |
| The best reality TV of 2025: Scandals, competitions and breakups are par for the course on reality shows, but this year also brought some tender moments that made for must-see TV. |
| The 33 best comedy specials of 2025: Specials by Frankie Quiñones, Andrew Schulz, Jordan Jensen, Sebastian Maniscalco, Bill Burr, Atsuko Okatsuka and Gabriel Iglesias make our list. |
| 15 must-watch British crime drama series: Whether with an old-fashioned one-case-per-episode or a more sprawling multistrand story, quaint or violent, historic or modern, the birthplace of Agatha Christie understands that we all need stories that make sense of seemingly senseless acts. |
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| The 7 best Netflix holiday movies to watch, from a secret Santa con to a crime caper: "My Secret Santa" starring Alexandra Breckenridge is the latest holiday film to be released on the streamer, which has several new offerings and recent classics worth revisiting. |
