![\"Overcompensating,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/10-Best-TV-Episodes-List-MAIN-Split-Publicity-H-2025.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA pint-sized murder mystery, a searing Spike Lee-directed doc entry and a bittersweetly hilarious Thanksgiving rank among THR critics’ favorite small-screen chapters of the year.<\/p>\n
\tPublished on December 18, 2025\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tFrom left: ‘Overcompensating,’ ‘Abbott Elementary’ and ‘The Last of Us.’<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Prime; Gilles Mingasson\/Disney; Liane Hentscher\/HBO<\/p>\n
\n\tThere are times, watching a TV show, when it seems obvious which chapter is meant to be the season\u2019s big standout.<\/p>\n
\n\tThey\u2019re the splashy ones that spotlight a side character, or bring in a big A-list name, or drop a shocking twist that scrambles the chess board for good. Then there are the quieter installments that do none of those things, but simply represent the show at its best, with everyone in front of and behind the camera firing on all cylinders.<\/p>\n
\n\tOur annual list of favorite episodes of the year contains some of both, hailing from a similarly vast range of networks, genres and overall vibes. What it doesn\u2019t contain are titles we\u2019ve already included in either of our top 10 lists<\/a> or our \u201cfavorite performances\u201d list<\/a>. It\u2019s not that we weren\u2019t wowed by Andor<\/a>\u2019s harrowing Ghorman massacre or The Rehearsal\u2019s deranged deep dive into Sully Sullenberger\u2019s autobiography or Severance<\/a>\u2019s surreal ORTBO \u2014 just that with so much to celebrate, we\u2019d prefer to spread the wealth.<\/p>\n \n\tWith that said, here are 10 individual episodes that stayed with us all year. <\/p>\n \t\u201cBallgame,\u201d\u00a0Abbott Elementary\u00a0(ABC)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tOn Aug. 28, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies became just the 21st baseball player to ever hit four homers in a single game. Wholly coincidentally, the cast and crew of\u00a0Abbott Elementary\u00a0were shooting an episode at Citizens Bank Park that night and became a piece of history, even getting a cameo from the game\u2019s star, who has likable chemistry with the entire ensemble, especially Sheryl Lee Ralph. The episode features Janine\u2019s growing excitement for baseball, Ava\u2019s desperation to appear on the Kiss-Cam and an unfolding mystery regarding whether or not Mr. Johnson is actually the Phillie Phanatic. Hopefully Schwarber, freshly re-signed with the Phillies for five additional seasons, will get to make a return appearance on what has become the best show on broadcast TV.\u00a0\u2014 DANIEL FIENBERG<\/p>\n \t\u201cNeverland,\u201d Alien: Earth (FX)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tThe closest Noah Hawley\u2019s sci-fi spinoff<\/a> gets to feeling like its 1979 foremother is inarguably \u201cThe Fly,\u201d a thrilling mid-season flashback that\u2019s basically just Alien on another ship. But for my money, the most interesting additions to this franchise have always been the ones trying to do something different. \u201cNeverland,\u201d the dazzling series premiere, delivered on old-school xenomorph violence while also introducing several fresh elements to play with \u2014 from new types of synthetic beings (including \u201cWendy,\u201d played by a magnetic Sydney Chandler) to new creatures (including the gross-adorable-terrifying \u201ceye midge\u201d) to a new iteration of the universe\u2019s ongoing exploration of the bottomless greed of corporations, here represented by (among others) Samuel Blenkin\u2019s wunderkind CEO. It was a hell of a way to set the tone, and a reminder that this Alien, like all the best Aliens, is most interested in doing its own thing. \u2014 A.H.<\/p>\n \t\u201cWorms,\u201d\u00a0The Bear\u00a0(FX\/Hulu)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tSensitively written by series co-stars Ayo Edebiri and Lionel Boyce, attentively directed by Janicza Bravo, this Syd-centric episode was the highlight of the uneven (but I would say still generally strong) fourth season of\u00a0The Bear<\/a>. Edebiri also shines in front of the camera as Syd visits a cousin (Danielle Deadwyler, excellent) to get her hair done and ends up babysitting her daughter (Arion King, terrific as well), using the afternoon as a safe space for a cooking lesson and an opportunity to work through her professional options. It\u2019s a side of Syd that the show has never been able to present before, and leads to an episode of beautiful details and funny, touching moments free of the bombast that typically emerges from family gatherings on\u00a0The Bear. (Don\u2019t take that to mean that I didn\u2019t love \u201cBears,\u201d with its parade of guest stars and a magical expanding table.)\u00a0\u2014 D.F.<\/p>\n \t\u201cThe Gang Gets Ready for Prime Time,\u201d\u00a0It\u2019s Always Sunny in Philadelphia\u00a0(FX)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tIt was a stealthily great 17th season for FX\u2019s venerable comedy, with at least three or four episodes worthy of consideration for this list. Edging out the wildly manic \u201cMax and Dennis Become EMTs\u201d and the faux-somber, twisty \u201cFrank Is in a Coma\u201d is this semi-bottle episode, in which the gang goes through a variety of practice dinners ahead of what they hope will be a life-changing home visit tied to Frank\u2019s run on\u00a0The Golden Bachelor. An absurd takeoff on\u00a0The Rehearsal, the series of preparatory meals, scored by a test audience, offer viewers the hilarity of Mac\u2019s attempt at a very heterosexual flip, Charlie\u2019s accidental baldness, and Dee\u2019s stabs at first edgy then clean comedy. Best of all, though, is Dennis\u2019 closing speech to the focus group, exposing all of his insecurities in creepy and deranged ways. Glenn Howerton, Rob Mac, Kaitlin Olson and Charlie Day are at their best here, reminding us of the injustice that no member of the ensemble has ever been nominated for a\u00a0Sunny\u00a0Emmy.\u00a0\u2014 D.F.<\/p>\n \t\u201cGod Takes Care of Fools and Babies,\u201d\u00a0Katrina: Come Hell and High Water\u00a0(Netflix)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tTelevision did well by the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this fall \u2014 especially NatGeo\u2019s Race Against Time<\/a>\u00a0and Netflix\u2019s three-parter\u00a0Katrina: Come Hell and High Water. The first two episodes, directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Samantha Knowles, respectively, are very good, but it\u2019s the Spike Lee-directed third installment that\u2019s the showstopper. With\u00a0When the Levees Broke\u00a0and\u00a0If God Is Willing and da Creek Don\u2019t Rise, both made for HBO, Lee was already our foremost chronicler of the man-made tragedy that was Hurricane Katrina; in these 88 minutes, he turns primarily to the struggles to rebuild New Orleans post-Katrina. Beautifully made and filled with rage, the chapter examines all the ways bureaucracy in NOLA failed to learn from the catastrophe, the complicated institutional impediments to the city\u2019s recovery, and why a healthy New Orleans is essential to the country.\u00a0\u2014 D.F.<\/p>\n \t\u201cBobby Gets Grilled,\u201d King of the Hill (Hulu)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tReturning on Hulu for its 14th season, 15 years after it last aired on Fox, King of the Hill<\/a> faced the challenge of updating itself for the present day without losing sight of the series it once was. But under new showrunner Saladin K. Patterson, the animated comedy passed the test with flying colors. The hilarious and heartwarming \u201cBobby Gets Grilled\u201d is perhaps the best example of that new balance, weaving very 2025 conversations about cultural appropriation and conspiracy theories with classic elements like Hank\u2019s undying devotion to propane, Dale\u2019s unhinged understanding of U.S. history (\u201cHe\u2019s for entertainment purposes only,\u201d Hank scolds intrigued listeners) and, ultimately, Hank\u2019s love for a son who\u2019s grown from a boy who \u201cain\u2019t right\u201d to a man he\u2019s willing to admit has a point. \u201cThis really shouldn\u2019t work, but it does,\u201d marvels Bobby\u2019s sous-chef at his signature Japanese-German fusion dish. The same could be said of season 14 itself, a winning blend of tradition and modernity. \u2014 A.H.<\/p>\n \t\u201cThrough the Valley,\u201d\u00a0The Last of Us\u00a0(HBO)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tIt was a frequently frustrating second season for HBO\u2019s mushroom zombie opus<\/a>, which struggled to reproduce the shifting perspective of the games for television, resulting in seven disjointed and ultimately truncated episodes. But man, when this show hits its mark, it\u2019s hard to beat. The second episode, written by Craig Mazin and directed by Mark Mylod, is better know as The Episode Where the Thing Fans of the Game Knew Was Coming Finally Happened \u2014 and because of That Thing, boosted by heartbreaking work from Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, it\u2019s an effective hour-long gut-punch. Somehow, though, in addition to delivering one of the show\u2019s toughest emotional blows, \u201cThrough the Valley\u201d also features its biggest zombie moment to date, with the arrival of a mind-boggling horde of the undead from beneath the snow, swarming on the peaceful town of Jackson. Epic and intimate, it\u2019s the rare chapter capable of matching a daunting avalanche of pre-episode hype and post-episode discourse.\u00a0\u2014 D.F.<\/p>\n \t\u201cWelcome to the Black Parade,\u201d Overcompensating (Amazon Prime Video)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tThe chronology of Benito Skinner\u2019s Amazon Prime comedy<\/a> may not always add up \u2014 would a college junior in 2025 describe herself as \u201can Ashlee Simpson girl\u201d? \u2014 but it hardly matters when its best chapters tap into something timeless. The Thanksgiving episode sees siblings Benny and Grace (with his buddy Carmen in tow) headed home to Idaho, where they\u2019re forced to confront hometown gossips, a thwarted romance and parents, played by guest stars Kyle MacLachlan and Connie Britton, who\u2019ve opted to fill their now-empty nest with garish accent walls and puppies named after Maroon 5 songs. Culminating in a thrillingly unhinged karaoke performance from Grace \u2014 who\u2019s decided she\u2019s done giving a crap what others think \u2014 and a sweet makeout sesh for Benny with the high-school crush (Lukas Gage) he wasn\u2019t brave enough to act on earlier, the funny yet oddly touching chapter absolutely nails the strangeness of that first trip back from school, when you\u2019re struck simultaneously by how much has changed and how much seems like it never will. \u2014 A.H.<\/p>\n \t\u201cJeopardy,\u201d Platonic (Apple TV)<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tThroughout the first season of Apple TV\u2019s Platonic<\/a>, Luke Macfarlane\u2019s Charlie was the steady one, the responsible lawyer holding down the fort as his wife (Rose Byrne\u2019s Sylvia) and her bestie (Seth Rogen\u2019s Will) spun out. In season two, however, it\u2019s finally Charlie\u2019s turn at a midlife crisis, and Macfarlane takes the ball and runs with it. \u201cJeopardy\u201d opens with his comically disastrous appearance on his favorite game show and ends with him limping home after breaking and entering into the home of an exec he hopes can get his episode pulled. Not only is this installment a fantastic one for the rare pairing of Will and Charlie \u2014 the latter of whom is spiraling so bad after a few stolen seltzers that Will emerges as the voice of reason \u2014 it\u2019s a fun showcase for Macfarlane\u2019s physical comedy, from his slack-jawed panic at the TV taping to his flailing attempts to climb over a wall after \u201cmaxing out\u201d on the bench press a bit too hard earlier. \u2014 A.H.<\/p>\n \t\u201cSloppy Joseph,\u201d Poker Face (Peacock)<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"Abbott](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Gilles Mingasson\/Disney\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Patrick Brown\/FX\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: FX\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Patrick McElhenney\/FX\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy of Netflix\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Mike Judge\/Disney\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Liane Hentscher\/HBO\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy of Prime\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Apple TV+\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Sarah Shatz\/PEACOCK\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n