The holiday season is looming, which means the eternal 21st century query is too: “Have you watched any good shows lately?” You could reply with the obvious answers, such as Netflix’s The Beast in Me or Apple TV’s The Studio, but the surprise option is to go with one or more titles from my list of 2025’s hidden gems. These are the little-known or under-appreciated series that will impress a new acquaintance, as well as improving any summer streaming catch-up list.

The Asset

European crime dramas are a staple of Netflix’s catalogue, but this six-part Danish-language thriller stood out as a highlight this year. It follows Tea Lind (Clara Dessau), a defiant police cadet who is recruited for an undercover assignment. Asked to infiltrate a crime syndicate, Tea covertly befriends Ashley (Maria Cordsen), the girlfriend of gangland boss Miran (Afshin Firouzi). The circumstances are suitably gripping, with discovery lurking at every turn, but it’s particularly good at examining the psychological cost Tea pays. At a certain point, Ashley really is her friend. Netflix

Careme

Outlander fans looking for a new show should definitely consider this French historic drama. It’s inspired – with plenty of embellishment – by the life of Marie-Antoine Carême, a child of the Parisian slums who became the world’s first superstar chef. Set during the late 18th century, as the fallout from the revolution reshapes France, it positions a young Careme (Benjamin Voisin) as a kitchen savant, willing lover, and reluctant spy. From the halls of power to the vast kitchens below, the period detail is rich and immersive, with endless intrigue and dessert derring-do. Apple TV

DMV

Once you get used to Harriet Dyer, one half of the Colin from Accounts all-stars, working in an American accent, this workplace comedy ticks plenty of sitcom boxes. Dyer plays Colette, a driving test examiner at a chaotic Los Angeles Department of Motor Vehicles branch. These 20-minute episodes are a tidy mix of comic collisions, loud scrapes, and near-misses, both on the roads and in the office – Collette’s over-confidence gets her into multiple mishaps. Naturally, she has Tony Cavalero (The Righteous Gemstones) and Tim Meadows (Peacemaker) as enjoyably irresponsible work buddies. Binge

The Girlfriend

There are some sharp observations on the social forces that turn women into adversaries, and a heavyweight cast of Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke as, respectively, the wealthy mother and new girlfriend of a young British man, but this thriller takes the pair’s budding rivalry and goes full Single White Female. The insults soon give way to sabotage, sexual control, and revenge plots. It is, in a your-jaw-drops-so-far-it-hits-the-floor kind of way, absolutely bonkers, but it’s delivered with a venomously straight face. Amazon Prime Video

Mussolini: Son of the Century

The wonderful Italian actor Luca Marinelli (The Old Guard) gives a compelling, full-blooded performance in this European biographical drama, playing a young Benito Mussolini in his era of newspaper publisher and budding politician. Set in the 1920s, before Mussolini became Italy’s fascist dictator, the show depicts how grievance nationalism can be used to seduce a willing nation. The tone is vivid and theatrical, with British filmmaker Joe Wright (Darkest Hour) shooting every scene with an electric charge to match the chaotic era. Any comparisons to today’s world are purely deliberate. SBS On Demand

North of North

I’m not convinced that the Netflix algorithm gave this Canadian comedy enough northern exposure, which is a shame as it’s blithely enjoyable mix of a likeable heroine and small-town shenanigans given an Arctic Circle-adjacent spin. Siaja (Anna Lambe) is a wife and mother in the Inuit community of Ice Cove who tepidly blows up her life to start over, but returning to dating in a place where everyone knows everyone isn’t free of comic missteps. With indigenous creators and a majority cast, there are some knowing observations amidst this snowed-out Sex and the City. Netflix

Pee-wee as Himself

In this bittersweet, ultimately transcendent, documentary, the comic actor Paul Reubens talks about his cartoonish alter-ego, the film star and television host Pee-wee Herman. The dividing line between the two has long been murky, especially in terms of what Reubens gave up to find success as Pee-wee. Reubens is a complicated and sometimes combative subject, sparring on camera with director Matt Wolf, but the knowledge that Reubens was opening up publicly because he was terminally ill only serves to add a final, fascinating layer to this story. HBO Max

Reformed

There’s a great deal going on in this French comedy abut a young rabbi, Lea (Elsa Guedj), who has returned to her hometown of Strasbourg to lead a progressive synagogue. Her therapist father dismisses Lea’s very faith, she’s unprepared for the sometimes-difficult realities of advising her congregation, and her personal life has some hiccups to surmount. But this comedy intertwines them so deftly, with a sure feel for the humour and the philosophy, that it’s hard not to be won over. HBO Max

Towards Zero

Agatha Christie adaptations can feel like the seasons: you get four a year. Making them distinctive from one another is the hard part, but some welcome unorthodoxy makes this BBC version of the author’s 1944 whodunit stand out. The murder-mystery plot unfolds at a country house, but plot cards have been shuffled, while the cast is exceptional, starting with Anjelica Huston as a haughty bed-bound aristocrat and Matthew Rhys as a police detective whose investigation is shadowed by his personal struggles. BritBox

Watchmen

In comic book circles, Alan Moore and Dave Gibson’s 1987 volume about faded superheroes has a reputation akin to Citizen Kane in the cinema – groundbreaking innovation that became an enduring benchmark. Hollywood put out a flawed adaptation in 2009, but there’s a case to be made for this faithful, two-part animated version being the best take on Watchmen. The busy Matthew Rhys, Katee Sackhoff, and Titus Welliver lead the voice cast, bringing to bear the underlying regret, while the animation captures the panels’ grim imagery and otherworldly horrors. Paramount+

What are the TV hidden gems you found this year? Please tell us in the comments below.

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