For some, that four-day weekend over Easter is a chance to maximise your free time, get out into the world and see as many people as possible while we’re all off work.
But for others, it’s the chance to get some much-needed rest, relax at home and put your feet up.
If you fall into that latter camp, you might be thinking that the four-day bank hol is a prime opportunity to catch up on some of the best telly from this last year that you’d been too busy to check out at the time.
The only question is… where to start? Well, to help you decide, we’ve rounded up 11 of 2025’s best shows that would make perfect binge-viewing over the long weekend…
Adolescence
OK, so this one isn’t so much “perfect binge-viewing” as it is “just watch them all in one go because it’s so gut-wrenching you might as well get it over with in one go”. But if you’ve still not had the opportunity to check out Adolescence, we promise it really is worth the hype.
Co-written by and starring Stephen Graham, the show features a stellar cast (including newcomer Owen Cooper in, remarkably, his first ever acting role) and depressingly relevant themes around toxic masculinity and mental health – not to mention that the remarkable fact that each episode was shot in one long continuous take.
A Thousand Blows
Speaking of Stephen Graham, he has not one but two hit shows to his name in the last couple of months alone.
But while Adolescence takes place squarely in the present day, A Thousand Blows takes us back to the East End of London in the late 1800s, set against a backdrop of illegal boxing rings and a troupe of all-female thieves and conwomen.
Small Axe and Black Mirror star Malachi Kirby takes the lead as Hezekiah Moscow, an ambitious Jamaican migrant, while Erin Doherty – of The Crown and, indeed, Adolescence fame – also appears in a starring role.
Severance
While admittedly four days off work might not seem like an opportune moment to dive into a satirical mystery series that takes the perils of work-life balance, this cult series is worth checking out at the earliest available opportunity if you haven’t already.
Mixing the dystopian dread of Black Mirror with the intrigue of shows like Lost and Twin Peaks, Severance kept its loyal fanbase waiting two years for a follow-up series, but it was worth the wait thanks to its unpredictable plots, gripping cliffhangers and some of the most ambitious and cinematic shots in recent TV history.
The White Lotus
If you’ve managed to resist the allure of The White Lotus until now, we implore you to reconsider this weekend.
Part laugh-out-loud comedy, part social satire, part property porn, part gripping murder mystery, part “oooh where do I recognise them from?”, the current season of Mike White’s award-winning anthology series sums up everything we love about the show – jaw-dropping twists, sun-drenched locations and a star-studded cast that helps bring the story of horrible people doing horrible things to life.
For the full effect, go back to season one for a quick séjour in Hawaii before you head to Sicily and, eventually, Thailand for the latest batch of episodes.
Toxic Town
Right before Aimee Lou Wood became a global name in The White Lotus, she was breaking our hearts alongside Jodie Whittaker in Toxic Town, a true story about the Corby toxic waste scandal, which resulted in several women from the same town giving birth to children with birth defects and limb differences as the result of pollution.
This one won praise for its stellar performances across the board in its predominantly-British cast, including from the real woman affected by the scandal depicted in the miniseries, which was penned by Adolescence writer Jack Thorne.
The Traitors
Or, alternatively, if you’re not in the mood for something scripted, and you prefer your drama a little closer to home (and a little less hard-hitting…), then it might be time to finally dive into The Traitors.
The BBC reality show has only grown in scope across its first three seasons, and with the first ever celebrity version about to begin filming, now is the perfect opportunity to see what all the fuss is about.
When it first airs, new episodes premiere over consecutive nights, but it’s also perfect binge-viewing – just don’t blame us if you find yourself still hitting that “next episode” button on iPlayer long into the wee small hours.
Stream it on: BBC iPlayer
Mid-Century Modern
Honestly, this year has really delivered when it comes to socially-conscious drama, and that’s obviously great. But at the same time… well… times are hard. And sometimes you don’t always need a reminder of that (even The White Lotus, one of the year’s most prolific “comedies” is still a satire about wealth inequality with touches of serious issues peppered throughout).
With that in mind, we’d definitely recommend Mid-Century Modern, Disney+’s new sitcom about three long-time friends (and one iconic mother…), who decide to move in together in Palm Springs.
Much has been made of the show’s connections to the likes of Friends and Will & Grace, but the classic series it really has the most in common with is The Golden Girls, not just because of the way it delivers on laughs, but also the way it handles themes that might not always seem sitcom-friendly with care and humour.
Amandaland
While we’re on the subject of 2025’s best comedies, we couldn’t not include Amandaland in our round-up.
The Motherland spin-off won over fans of the original show when it premiered over the winter, reuniting us with some familiar faces, while also welcoming some excellent new additions into the fold as we dive deeper (sort of…) into Lucy Punch’s inimitable character.
Stream it on: BBC iPlayer
The Residence
The Residence is the latest fruit from the collaboration between Shondaland and Netflix – and it might be the Bridgerton showrunner’s biggest swing to date.
Led by Orange Is The New Black legend Uzo Aduba, the two-time Emmy winner plays a detective tasked with getting to the bottom of a murder during a dinner at the White House, where every single guest and member of staff is a possible suspect.
Big Boys
Hilarious as we’ve always found Big Boys, it’s our opinion that the show sings even more in its emotional moments than when it’s serving up pop culture references and cringe-tastic comedy.
And let’s just say… the third and final season more than delivered on the emotion, with a fourth-wall-breaking finale we still find ourselves tearing up at, even all these months later.
Don’t worry, though, it also still packs in the laughs and ridiculousness that helped it gain such a following in its first two years.
Gladiators
Alright, this one might seem like a bit of a curveball inclusion, but we appreciate that a lot of folks will be at home with young children or other family members over the long weekend, and there are only so many times you can watch Moana 2 on Disney+, right?”
We found ourselves surprisingly hooked on the low-stakes action that Gladiators offered last year, and the second season only upped the ante with even more impressive challenges and a few new members to the team thrown into the mix.
The competitive stunts themselves are enough to keep us gripped, but the fun-filled atmosphere and array of characters means it’s also not just family-friendly, but more or less guaranteed to keep younger viewers quiet for an hour or two, without feeling like they’re being pandered to, either.
Stream it on: BBC iPlayer
#Shows #Stream #Easter #Weekend
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