The best movies and TV of 2025, picked for you by NPR critics

NPR | By Bob Mondello,

Linda Holmes, Aisha Harris, Glen Weldon, Eric Deggans

Published December 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM EST

Whether you plan to head out to the theater or binge from the couch, our critics have gathered together their favorite films and TV shows of 2025. You can search by genre and where you can see it. Have at it!

Corrected: December 17, 2025 at 4:34 PM EST

An earlier version of this list incorrectly described Jacob Elordi’s character in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein as a "modern Prometheus." The Modern Prometheus, the subtitle of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, refers to Victor Frankenstein, played in the new movie by Oscar Isaac.

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Bob Mondello

Bob Mondello, who jokes that he was a jinx at the beginning of his critical career — hired to write for every small paper that ever folded in Washington, just as it was about to collapse — saw that jinx broken in 1984 when he came to NPR.

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Linda Holmes

Linda Holmes is a pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour. She began her professional life as an attorney. In time, however, her affection for writing, popular culture, and the online universe eclipsed her legal ambitions. She shoved her law degree in the back of the closet, gave its living room space to DVD sets of The Wire, and never looked back.

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Aisha Harris

Aisha Harris is a host of Pop Culture Happy Hour.

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Glen Weldon

Glen Weldon is a host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. He reviews books, movies, comics and more for the NPR Arts Desk.

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Eric Deggans

Eric Deggans is NPR's first full-time TV critic.

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