Pop culture in 2025 delivered an overwhelming wave of standout moments, with a constant stream of new films, television series, books and music competing for attention. Sorting through everything to figure out what truly stood out wasn’t easy but that’s where we come in. After spending the year reviewing and discussing countless releases, the Media Made team has selected the titles that impressed us most. From what we watched and read to what we had on repeat, these are the highlights that defined our year in entertainment. Now we want to hear from you which releases made your list of favorites?
Albums of 2025 –Highs and Lows:
2025 proved to be an adventurous year in music, with several artists pushing their sound into bold new territories. Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS was widely celebrated for blending reggaetón energy with introspective songwriting, reinforcing his status as a global force in Latin music. Albums like Rosalía’s Lux and Sudan Archives’ The BPM stood out for their daring sonic experiments the former weaving flamenco-inspired artistry with pop sheen, the latter a bracing mix of electronic and world-inspired textures that critics praised for fresh ideas. Private Music by Deftones brought alt-metal nuance back into focus with refined intensity, while Miley Cyrus’ Something Beautiful offered personal storytelling bolstered by ambitious visuals and emotional depth. Other strong releases included Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving, a soulful journey of heartache and healing, and Alex G’s Headlights, a lo-fi favorite noted for its narrative subtlety.
Disappointments and Misfires:
The other side of the musical ledger featured some high-profile releases that struggled to connect. Will Smith’s Based on a True Story was criticized for uneven songwriting and a lack of clear identity, while Justin Bieber’s SWAG II and Maroon 5’s Love Is Like were seen by critics as stale or forgettable, failing to live up to expectations. Even established artists like Lil Wayne with Tha Carter VI faced lukewarm responses, with some longtime fans expressing disappointment in the album’s direction.
Movies of 2025 Best & Most Polarizing:
Standout Films:
One of 2025’s most talked-about movies was James Gunn’s Superman, the launchpad for DC Studios’ new cinematic universe. Critics and audiences generally responded well to its optimistic tone and vibrant visuals, praising the fresh take on a classic hero even as some noted an overstuffed plot and a crowded ensemble of characters. The film’s charm and heartfelt performances helped re-energize the character for many fans, even as others found its narrative messy.
Original horror found a new champion in Zach Cregger’s Weapons, which blended nightmare-fuel scares with a thematic core rooted in disappearance and mystery. Critics mostly lauded its inventive structure and strong ensemble performances Julia Garner and Josh Brolin in particular with many reviewers calling it one of the scariest and most compelling horror films of the year. Weapons also performed surprisingly well at the box office for a horror title, topping charts for multiple weeks according to EW.com
Beyond those, films like Sinners and Blood in them Hills bubbled up in critical discussions as among the year’s best, showcasing how 2025 balanced blockbuster spectacle with more grounded and inventive cinema. IMDb
Biggest Letdowns:
Despite the overall successes, 2025 also saw its share of films that failed to impress. Several high-budget sequels and reboots underperformed critically, and even Superman while well-liked drew criticism for its narrative clutter and CGI-heavy climax from some reviewers. These mixed receptions highlighted a continuing challenge for franchise movies trying to balance world-building with compelling, tightly focused storytelling.
TV Series of 2025 Hits, Controversies, and Surprises
Cultural Events and Major Favorites:
No discussion of 2025’s television landscape would be complete without the final season of Stranger Things. As one of Netflix’s biggest properties, Season 5 was an event — but not without controversy. Some episodes, particularly the penultimate installment, faced backlash and review-bombing from portions of the fanbase, marking this as one of the more polarizing chapters in the series’ run. Still, it remained a major talking point and awards contender, highlighting how deeply embedded the show is in pop culture.
On the superhero front, Peacemaker Season 2 emerged as a rare critical triumph in comic-book television. Critics responded enthusiastically, with some outlets declaring it among the best DC projects ever, thanks to its blend of visceral action, sharp humor, and surprisingly poignant character moments. That said, fan discussions were mixed: while many celebrated the season’s creativity and emotional stakes, others felt its pacing and narrative choices were uneven, particularly toward the finale.
Genre Expansions and New Voices:
Horror fans found plenty to chew on with It: Welcome to Derry, a prequel series that broadened Stephen King’s unsettling world. Critics noted the show’s commitment to atmosphere and gruesome thrills, even as opinions diverged on its storytelling cohesion and character choice Other series like Andor Season 2, Pluribus, Mo Season 2, and Alien: Earth season 1 also earned acclaim for their writing, performances, and inventive storytelling, illustrating TV’s continued renaissance across streaming platforms.
Landman, the Paramount+ drama created by Taylor Sheridan and inspired by the Boomtown podcast, returns in its second season with a continuation of its exploration of the cutthroat oil industry set deep in West Texas. Centered on Billy Bob Thornton’s character, Tommy Norris, a scrappy landman turned oil executive, Season 2 picks up after the explosive events of the Season 1 finale, with Tommy grappling with leadership pressures at M-Tex Oil, volatile cartel entanglements, and complex personal relationships. The new season, which premiered on November 16, 2025, unfolds over ten episodes that chart power plays, corporate warfare, and familial tensions against the backdrop of dusty rigs and billionaire boardrooms. Critics have generally responded favorably; Rotten Tomatoes aggregates a ~77–78% critics score, noting that while the show leans into familiar Taylor Sheridan tropes, Thornton’s “hangdog swagger” and the Texas setting offer plenty of compelling drama.
Yet, the reception among audiences has been deeply mixed, even turning hostile in some corners. Many viewers have expressed frustration with the narrative direction of Season 2, particularly the emphasis on subplots involving Tommy’s ex-wife Angela and their daughter Ainsley storylines some critics and fans describe as distracting, overly soap-like, and tonally disconnected from the core oil-industry drama. A number of reviews argue that these arcs have diluted the energy that made the first season engaging, with some viewers feeling that the season stalls under its own breadth of interpersonal melodrama.
Despite the divided audience reaction, Landman Season 2 continues to deliver strong performances and moments of tension from chaotic hotel antics with Tommy and Angela to heartfelt character beats like a fan-favorite engagement between Cooper and Ariana which keep many invested through the season’s weekly rollout. The show’s massive viewership (with its premiere breaking platform records for Paramount+) has also led to an official renewal for Season 3, underscoring its commercial appeal even amid storytelling debates according to Esquire magazine.
In summary, Landman Season 2 is a richly textured, yet uneven series that blends corporate politics and frontier mythology with personal drama and while it hasn’t won over all of its fanbase, it remains one of 2025’s most talked-about dramas due to its ambition and star power
Last but certainly not least is the spin off from the Power series, Power Book IV S3
Season 3 picks up with Tommy deep in the crosshairs: his love interest Mireya has been abducted, his connections are fraying, and every strategic decision carries deadly risk. The opening episodes set a tone of relentless tension and high stakes, with Tommy trying to protect allies like D-Mac while navigating betrayals and shifting loyalties. Key sequences weave together power plays including Tommy’s manipulative attempts to redirect blame and secure leverage underscoring how far he’s willing to go to protect his empire and his people.
The season’s opening episodes also signal a blend of large-scale crime drama with personal volatility: Tommy is no longer just surviving, he’s strategizing like a kingpin, even if that means sacrificing trust and bending morality. This tension between brutality and brains threads through much of the season, delivering a narrative arc that feels fitting for a series about survival, empire, and legacy.
Notable Disappointments:
Despite the overall creative upswing, not every series hit the mark. Some new shows failed to find an audience or were criticized for inconsistent pacing and underdeveloped plots, and even acclaimed franchises struggled with maintaining narrative momentum amid crowded casts and sprawling arcs.
