As we approach the festive season, one of the best years for streaming seems to just be getting better with each new month. 2025 has provided new seasons of Severance, The Last of Us, The Bear, Andor and The White Lotus, and premiered gripping new shows like Task, The Pitt, Adolescence, The Studio and Mobland. And that’s just what I’ve watched.
I’ve still got Black Rabbit, Squid Game, Slow Horses and a whole heap more waiting in the wings. So it’d be great if the best streaming services could, I dunno, cut back on new additions for a bit, as my watchlist is already at breaking point.
Unfortunately, that’s definitely not happening in November, as an almost overwhelming number of heavy-hitters will be available to watch from home, headed by Stranger Things 5: Vol. 1, All’s Fair – starring Kim Kardashian as a lawyer?! – and Guillermo del Toro’s new Frankenstein film starring Jacob Elordi.
That means I won’t be tuning in for IT: Welcome to Derry every Monday, nor will I probably watch Stranger Things immediately. From November’s packed field, however, I’ve identified five shows that are jumping straight to the top of my ‘must-watch’ list.
Pluribus
Without a doubt, my #1 most anticipated series this month is Pluribus on Apple TV (formerly Apple TV+). Somehow I had missed its existence until a few days ago, but it shot right to the top of my watchlist as soon as I glimpsed the trailer (and quickly stopped watching to avoid spoilers).
The premise is a perfect sci-fi hook: Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn stars as the most miserable person on earth, after the entire population is affected by a sickness of some kind that makes them happy all the time. For some reason, she’s unaffected – so it’s on her to save the world.
A great premise is one thing, but the talent involved is what makes this an unmissable event. It comes from Vince Gilligan – the acclaimed creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul (which I think might just be the best show ever). That was enough to get me to watch the trailer, but Rhea Seehorn is what’s got me all excited.
If you don’t recognise the name, she was Kim in Better Call Saul – a character that made me laugh and cry, while loving and simultaneously hating her. It’s truly one of my favorite roles ever, and I can’t wait to see what she does here.
I’m not the only one taking notice. My colleague Lucy predicted way back in July that Pluribus could steal Severance’s crown as the best show on Apple TV. Don’t worry if you’re confused by the title – in a recent chat, Vince admitted his new series was incredibly difficult to name, stating “we had a list of over 100 titles”. For some reason, though, I think it fits perfectly.
Pluribus premieres on Apple TV on November 7.
I Love LA
While Pluribus is my most-anticipated drama (and looks like it’ll earn a few laughs), on the complete other end of the spectrum is I Love LA.
There’s just something about series-creator Rachel Sennott, who also plays the lead role. I didn’t love Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (a black comedy where a party game goes very wrong) or the absurdist female-focused high school comedy that is Bottoms, but I had a good time with both almost despite myself. Shiva Baby, meanwhile, is a simply fantastic film that I’d recommend to anyone…if you want to feel like you’re at the most awkward family event you could imagine. Plus, it stars Molly Gordon (Claire; The Bear).
But whether I fell in love with her previous work or not, it really seems to connect with the modern generation of women in particular (both my younger sister and my girlfriend love her).
Writing, directing and starring in I Love LA, Sennott plays Maia, a PR manager who is hungry to achieve the LA dream, struggling with holding onto close-knit friend group as they all move into true adulthood. She’s hungry for a ‘bigger’ life, but her boyfriend love interest (situationship? It’s 2025, who knows…), played by Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games, The Bridge to Terabithia) is perfectly happy with his regular job as a middle school teacher.
When recounting her real-life experiences around that age to The Hollywood Reporter, Sennot said “you and your friend group are all together-together, and then people start going off on side quests”. We already know that Adulthood sucks, but she describes this series vibe as “Entourage for internet it girls” – and that’s got me interested, even if I’m not the targeted demographic.
If you’ve related to Sennott’s previous work or HBO’s Girls, her directorial debut should shoot to the top of your watchlist, but it’s also one worth checking out if you’re just after a few laughs.
The first episode drops on HBO Max on November 2.
Beast in Me
Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys. Need I say more?
Danes is one of the more well-known actresses in the world – at least by name – but if you’re unfamiliar, she’s stars opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo and Juliet. And, if you don’t know Rhys, he’s Phillip Jennings in The Americans – a series that follows a couple who are travel agents by day and Russian spies by night.
If you haven’t watched it, I beg you to subscribe to Disney Plus right now.
The Beast in Me is one of Netflix’s tentpole releases this month. It follows Aggie Wiggs (Danes), a famous author who has moved away from the spotlight after the death of her young son – and is no longer able to write.
However, when Nile Jarvis (Rhys) – a real estate mogul, who was at one time the prime suspect in the disappearance of his wife – moves in next door, Wiggs’ desire to hunt a good story reinvigorated. Suddenly, she finds herself in the middle of a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, hunting the truth of Jarvis’s past while running from her own tragedy.
For me, the premise of this series is almost irrelevant. I’d honestly be checking it out purely for the two stars – but damned if that synopsis doesn’t make it more attractive. It reminds me of a (seemingly) less dark version of Apple TV’s Disclaimer starring Cate Blanchett, which I binged in just a few days
The Beast in Me debuts in its entirety on Netflix on November 13.
All Her Fault
You might not know every actor who’s scheduled to appear in All Her Fault by name, but it’s rare you get such a star-studded cast – and if you’ve watched any of the top series from the last few years you’ll almost certainly recognise some of their faces.
Aussie Sara Snook plays the lead role as Marissa Irvine, you’d know her as Shiv Roy in Succession. Jake Lacy, the very hateable husband of Alexandra Daddario’s character in season 1 of The White Lotus, plays her partner Peter.
This star-studded series is based on a novel of the same name by Andrea Mara. It follows Marissa (Snook) as she arrives to pick up her young son, Milo, after his first playdate. But the door is answered by a stranger who has no idea where her son is – sparking every parent’s nightmare.
Dakota Fanning, most recently seen in her Emmy-nominated performance in Netflix’s Ripley, plays Jenny – the mother Milo should have been on a playdate with and Michael Peña (End of Watch, Ant-Man) is the detective in charge. Abby Elliott (Sugar; The Bear) and Sophia Lillis (IT, IT: Chapter Two) also star.
Things are set to get even more intriguing, though, as the Irvines are questioned as to whether they could actually benefit financially from the spotlight this crime provided.
I sometimes struggle with shows like this because, when the topic is as heavy as crimes involving a child, it can be hard to get hyped for a new episode after a long day at work. However, there are few things better than a really good whodunit that leaves you guessing right to the very last episode, and the high pedigree here has me hopeful.
There’s no guarantee that All Her Fault hits those heights, but the cast, trailer and premise show great promise. It releases in its eight-episode entirety on November 6 (on Peacock in the US, Sky/Now in the UK and Binge in Australia) and sounds like the perfect binge-watch.
Death by Lightning
What are the chances that Shiv’s husband in Succession (and one of my personal favorite characters ever) Tom Wambsgans would be starring in another show releasing on Netflix on the same day as All Her Fault?
Michael Shannon (General Zod; Man of Steel) plays James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States. Matthew Macfadyen – also known for his iconic fist clench in Pride and Prejudice stars alongside him as Garfield’s admirer and eventual assassin, Charles Guiteau. Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson; Parks and Recreation) also stars as Vice President Chester A. Arthur.
This series is based on the book Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard, subtitled “A tale of madness, medicine and the murder of a president”.
I’m a history buff, so it doesn’t take much to get me excited about a historical drama, even if (and sometimes especially when) it’s something I don’t know much about beforehand. Shogun fit the bill, and boy did it back it up. But, the real-life story doesn’t always have the legs for a show.
Calling itself a dramatization of an “epic and stranger-than-fiction true story”, this looks like a sure-fire bet to back up the promise of the premise. Far from a boring political drama, I can’t wait.
Death By Lightning debuts on Netflix on November 6.
So there it is. My watchlist is set, my priorities are in order and I’m ready to be ruthless. Unfortunately, the first job is to decide whether I’m going to watch Death By Lightning or All Her Fault on November 6. Maybe I’ll use our favorite strategy of service hopping and save the HBO content for later.
2025 has been a ridiculously good year for TV, and November is shaping up to be its grand finale. On the same page as me, or have something else sitting at the top of your watchlist? Leave a comment down below letting us know what series you’re most looking forward to as 2025 wraps up.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be avoiding my backlog and rewatching The Americans until the first of these drop.
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