As promised last week, 2025 now has its first robust week of original programming from the major streamers. Max has debuted a new medical drama, The Pitt, while Netflix has dropped all of the episodes for its epic Western, American Primeval. For younger viewers, Disney+’s Goosebumps: The Vanishing has some scares that are tame enough not to leave any nightmares behind.
If you’re looking for Severance, you’ll have to wait another week for that Apple TV+ hit to return for season 2. In the meantime, you’ll find all of the best new shows to stream below. We update this list every Friday to give you the best options to stream for the weekend.
When you’re done here, check out the best new movies to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, the best new shows on Max, the best shows on Amazon Prime Video, and the best shows on Disney+.
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock, and Apple TV+ all have one thing in common: They’re more expensive than they used to be. We can live with higher rates as long as new shows keep coming, but it’s always a good idea to consider signing up for the ad-supported tiers, which are worth it if you can sit through a few commercials.
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The Pitt2025 -
American Primeval2025
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Squid Game2021
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Dexter: Original Sin2024
Max (formerly HBO and HBO Max)
The Pitt (2025)
74%
8.0/10Is The Pitt an ER ripoff? That’s for the courts to decide! However, ER veteran Noah Wyle is headlining The Pitt, so you may feel some déjà vu when seeing the actor back in scrubs.
The first season of this series takes a page from 24 by unfolding in real time across a single 15-hour shift at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital. Dr. Michael “Robby” Rabinavitch (Wyle) was already tested by his experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now he’ll be pushed to his limits yet again alongside a medical staff facing their own personal drama as well.
Superman & Lois (2021)
65%
7.8/10The fourth and final season of Superman & Lois closes the chapter for Clark Kent/Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) and his wife, Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch). The Man of Steel’s powers are tested when Doomsday gives Clark everything he can handle. Plus, Lex Luthor (Michael Cudlitz) attempts to get his revenge on both Kents, but especially on Lois.
Even Superman can die, which leaves Clark and Lois’ fate, as well as the destiny of their sons, Jonathan (Michael Bishop) and Jordan Kent (Alex Garfin), hanging in the balance as the series heads toward its conclusion.
Netflix
American Primeval (2025)
60%
8.1/10The American Old West was anything but tame. And if you’re coming to American Primeval looking for heroes, then you’ve come to the wrong place. Isaac Reed (Taylor Kitsch) is the closest thing to an old-fashioned hero that this show has. Isaac takes it upon himself to protect a desperate woman on the run, Sara Rowell (Betty Gilpin), and her son, Devin (Preston Mota), as well as a Native American girl, Two Moons (Shawnee Pourier).
While Isaac and his companions form a found family, Brigham Young (Kim Coates) makes plans to create a homeland for his followers in the Church of Latter-day Saints. To do that, Young has to displace the Native tribes who are already living there and escape the blame for the atrocity he’s willing to commit to see his goal through to the end.
Squid Game (2021)
61%
8.0/10Having lived through the games in Squid Game season 1, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) is coming back in season 2 to take it all down from the inside. For the first time, the show pulls back the curtain to reveal some of the faces who have been pulling the strings, including the guards. Gi-hun wants answers, and he’s got the fortune to make sure that he gets them.
Soon enough, Gi-hun will be back where he started, alongside a fresh crop of players. Gi-hun may feel like he knows what to expect, but the games have changed since he was the champion. And among a new group, even Gi-hun isn’t sure who he can trust or which players are willing to sell him out if it helps them win.
Virgin River (2019)
7.4/10Virgin River debuted on Netflix five years ago, and it started out as the story of Melinda “Mel” Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge), a nurse practitioner who badly needed a fresh start in a small town. What she found was a lot of drama and new love with a man named Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson).
A lot has happened in the last five seasons, but the newly premiered sixth season is finally letting Mel and Jack get married. This is one romance story that’s far from over, as there’s a seventh season on the way.
Disney+
Goosebumps: The Vanishing (2023)
60%
6.7/10Disney+ may be pretending that Goosebumps: The Vanishing is an all-new show, but it’s really the second season of the Goosebumps reboot that debuted in 2023. Friends veteran David Schwimmer is the biggest new addition to the cast, which resets the board with a fresh story and cast. When he was young, Anthony Brewer (Schwimmer) had to experience the disappearance of his younger brother.
In the present, Anthony is a divorced father of two sons, Cece (Jayden Bartels) and Devin Brewer (Sam McCarthy), both of whom are staying with him for the summer. As the Brewer brothers get settled into their home, they’re drawn into the mystery of what happened to their uncle three decades earlier. Parallel narratives slowly unveil what’s really happening and how their father is connected to it in both timeframes.
What If...? (2021)
69%Marvel’s What If…? is coming to an end after three seasons. The first episode back is a riff on Pacific Rim with giant mech Avengers facing an army of Hulk kaijus. So that seems to be the wildest episode of the year in a season that includes a wedding for Howard the Duck and the Marvel universe reenvisioned as Western characters in 1872.
Along the way, there’s a buddy comedy story between the Winter Soldier and Red Guardian, as well as the What If…? debut of Storm from the X-Men, as well as the Eternals, Moon Knight, and Shang-Chi. More importantly, The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) will once again come to the forefront as his story reaches its conclusion alongside a few familiar faces from the first two seasons.
Peacock
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth (2025)
65%
8.1/10Lockerbie: A Search For Truth is a miniseries that is based on the true story of Jim Swire (Colin Firth). Since December 1988, Swire has devoted his life to unraveling the mysteries of the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which claimed the life of his daughter, Flora (Rosanna Adams), as well as 258 other people on the plane and 11 more on the ground.
It’s not enough for Swire or his wife, Jane (Catherine McCormack), to hear that Libyan terrorists were responsible, especially since the U.K. doesn’t seem to be interested in setting up its own independent investigation. That’s where Swire steps in to pursue answers for himself and on behalf of the other victims’ families. However, getting those answers may prove to be far more complicated than Swire expected.
Apple TV+
The Secret Lives of Animals (2024)
Silo (2023)
80%
8.1/10Silo‘s second season could have been called Silos, because the narrative splits off now that Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) is out of her Silo and trapped in a new one. Juliette also learned the hard way that she may have made a serious mistake. Now, she needs to find her way back home to prevent others from following in her example.
In the meantime, Juliette’s actions in the first season have led to rumblings of revolution at her original silo. Bernard (Tim Robbins) is the new mayor, and it’s his job to keep the population under control. Even if Juliette can’t make it back, there may not be any way to hold back this revolution.
Paramount+
Dexter: Original Sin (2024)
Not even death can keep Dexter Morgan from killing again, but it’s easier to set up a prequel series than it is to bring him back to life. Dexter: Original Sin explores the early years of Dexter (Patrick Gibson), when he was driven to kill but more prone to making mistakes. Michael C. Hall, who portrayed Dexter on the two previous series, will lend his voice to Dexter’s inner monologue.
Most of the supporting characters from the first Dexter are present, albeit a lot younger than they were on the old show. The prequel will give Dexter’s adoptive father, Harry Morgan (Christian Slater), a bigger role as he tries to instill a code in his murderous son to keep him from killing innocent people or getting caught by the cops.
Amazon Prime Video
Secret Level (2024)
53%
8.1/10Almost every video game has a story behind it, even older titles that didn’t have the technological advantages that modern consoles provide. Prime Video’s Secret Level is a new anthology series that picks a different game to explore in each episode, including one of the earliest arcade hits: Pac-Man.
That’s for the old-school gamers. Modern players will have plenty of more recent game worlds to dive into, including Armored Core, The Outer Worlds 2, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, and Dungeons & Dragons. These episodes are relatively short, with runtimes of around 20 minutes or shorter, but they are fun ways to revisit the worlds inside their respective games from a fresh perspective.
Hulu
Paris Has Fallen (2024)
6.5/10Paris Has Fallen is technically a spinoff from the Has Fallen film series, but don’t expect to see Gerard Butler on this show. It has a thematic connection to the movies, rather than sharing characters in common. French security officer Vincent Taleb (Tewfik Jallab) is at the center of this series alongside MI6 agent Zara Taylor (Ritu Arya). As the title implies, the French government is the target of terrorists this time.
Jacob Pearce (Sean Harris) is the man behind the attacks, and he has a very personal ax to grind over some terrible things that happened to him. Regardless of Jacob’s justifications for his actions, more people will die if Vincent and Zara can’t bring him down in time.
