Have you read the news lately? I wouldn’t recommend it. You’re better off looking out of a window at any available sunshine, trees, and – if you’re lucky – the occasional dog.That said, the window solution is broadly limited to daylight hours. Come nightfall, you’ll need to turn elsewhere for diversion. That’s where the following 2025 British scripted dramas and comedies come in. As well as exhausting the best of this year’s US TV – Hacks, Andor, The Rehearsal etc – then pick any of the below and you shouldn’t go far wrong.cnx.cmd.push(function() {cnx({playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530",}).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796");});Adolescence (Netflix)Chances are that you’re one of the gazillion people who made four-parter Adolescence the second most-watched English language drama on Netflix. If not, then you can’t fail to have heard the buzz surrounding the show, which follows a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a classmate. It made such an impact that it invited comment from UK prime minister Keir Starmer, and prompted Netflix to make it available for free as a teaching resource to secondary schools.From the makers of restaurant film and TV sequel Boiling Point, which were also filmed in one continuous shot per episode, Adolescence tells its harrowing story in real time. It’s a technical feat, yes, but what most impressed audiences are its extraordinary performances, not least from Owen Cooper, the young actor who plays the accused. Emotional, vital drama with a social conscience.Amandaland (BBC Two)Aside from the sight of Diane Morgan’s Liz defrosting eggs for her kids’ tea, the character of Amanda was Motherland’s greatest comedy invention. Played by Lucy Punch, Amanda was the show’s insufferable, shallow Queen Bee. In this spinoff, which has already been renewed for a second series, Amanda is divorced from her rich husband and forced to downsize with her kids to a flat in a less desirable area of London. Desperately trying to keep up appearances and maintain her supremacy among a bunch of people who couldn’t care less, Amanda makes mistake after mistake before actually learning some real lessons about herself and what makes a friend.Philippa Dunne as doormat sidekick Clare is there too (hooray!), along with Joanna Lumley as Amanda’s mother (double hooray!), and they’re joined by new characters played by Siobhan Sweeney, Peter Serafinowicz and more. It’s funny, satirical, warm-hearted and definitely belongs on the Frasier rather than the Joey side of the ‘single character spinoff’ divide.A Thousand Blows (Disney+)Not your grandmother’s period drama! (Unless your grandmother happens to be a big fan of illegal bareknuckle boxing and thieving Victorian girl gangs, in which case, get her involved.) Written by Peaky Blinders creators Steven Knight, this six-part drama offers a meaty, sweaty, illicit slice of historical London life. It tells the inspired-by-real-life story of Jamaican boxer and would-be lion tamer Hezekiah Moscow, who came to the East End in search of his fortune and instead met a world of trouble. That came in the form of boxing brothers Sugar and Treacle Goodson, played by Stephen Graham and James Nelson-Joyce, and infamous thief and gang leader Mary Carr, played by Erin Doherty. A second series has already been filmed.Big Boys Series 3 (Channel 4)Jack Rooke’s coming-of-age sitcom started strong and got better from there. Series three built on the poignant surprise of the season two finale to go somewhere truly meaningful as it said goodbye to university students Jack (Dylan Llewelyn) and Danny (Jon Pointing), without forgetting to make us laugh at the same time. That said, if you can get through the searing, brilliant series finale without crying every gram of salt out of your body, you may need to readjust your emotional settings.Series three follows Jack and Danny’s final year at Brent Uni. Danny’s grandmother is fading, his father (Marc Warren) is still toxic, and his girlfriend Corinne (Izuka Hoyle) has ambitions that might take her far away. Jack is still negotiating love and sex as a recently out gay man, while his mother Peggy (Camille Coduri) and cousin Shannon (Harriet Webb) are dealing with their own grief and romantic issues. It’s Katy Wix’s Jules though, who’ll surprise you by revealing herself to be much more than a comedy caricature.Death Valley (BBC One)Here’s a rule you can’t go far wrong with: when Timothy Spall stars in a TV show, watch it. As long as you’re not allergic to cosy crime, then this six-part Welsh murder mystery series will do very nicely, and fans of the recent Ludwig should definitely apply. In Death Valley, Spall plays John Chapel, an old thesp who was once the titular star of popular detective series ‘Caesar’. Now living a hermit-ish life in a bucolic Welsh village, Chapel’s professional instincts for character and motivation make him a dab hand at solving local crimes, which he does alongside young DS Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth). It’s light and mildly satirical but also has pathos, combining a bit of Only Murders in the Building with a bit of Beyond Paradise, with the inestimable screen presence of Spall, whose performance and double act with Keyworth totally drive the whole thing.Dept. Q (Netflix)If you have the space to fit another grumpy, traumatised detective into your life, then make it Matthew Goode’s DCI Carl Morck in this nine-part adaptation of the first in Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Danish crime novels, moved from Copenhagen to Edinburgh for TV. Recovering from an attack that killed one colleague and paralysed another, Morck returns to work and is tasked with heading up a new unit investigating high-profile cold cases. With the help of mysterious Akram, a Syrian refugee with a talent for violence and baking pastries, and colourful chatterbox Rose, Department Q tackles the case of a young woman who went missing four years earlier. With a leisurely pace that prioritises character, the series builds into a satisfyingly dark crime story that should suit fans of Luther and Rebus.Doctor Who Series 15 (BBC One)Debate the madcap finale and rushed exit of Ncuti Gatwa all you like, but it’s worth remembering that before Doctor Who arrived there, it delivered some great episodes this year. “Lux” looked fantastic and gave us a very memorable villain, “The Well” was very creepy, with a terrific guest appearance from Rose Ayling-Ellis, “The Story & The Engine” was visually stunning and featured another excellent guest performance from Ariyon Bakare as ‘The Barber’… The Disney money made it all look colourful, exciting and new, and no matter where you looked, there were ideas to spare. Gangs of London Series 3 (Sky Atlantic)Criminal kingpins the Wallace family and their not-insignificant list of enemies and enemies-turned-reluctant allies came back for a third series of betrayals, plotting and gory violence. With Sean Wallace inside following the events of the previous series finale, it’s up to Elliot to step into the power vacuum and to say goodbye to his previous undercover self… or is it?Series three was filled with the same conflict, backstabbing and expertly choreographed violence as the previous two. A fourth instalment has yet to be announced but there’s certainly room in this bloody, twist-filled story for one.Just Act Normal (BBC Three)Heartbreaking, sharp and funny is a difficult cocktail to pull off on screen, but Janice Okoh’s Just Act Normal does it with apparent ease. This six-part comedy-drama about three Black teenagers trying to survive abandonment by their mother in the face of her pressing debts and the threat of social services finding out that they’re on their own is filled with real emotion, laughs and solid performances from its young cast. Adapted by Okoh (Sanditon, Hetty Feather) from her acclaimed stage play Three Birds, it’s subtle, unusual and emotional.Taskmaster Series 19 (Channel 4)It can’t still be good, can it, after all this time? Oh yes it can, and even though the 19th series of Alex Horne and Greg Davies comedy challenge show Taskmaster is still airing at the time of writing, it’s already clear that the current line-up will be remembered as a classic. Why? The dry delivery of Fatiha El-Ghorri, the charm of Mathew Baynton, the weekly on screen quarter-life breakdown of Stevie Martin, the no-nonsense Rosie Ramsey, and the unpredictable strangeness of US import Jason Mantzoukas. As the show’s first non-UK-dwelling international contestant, Mantzoukas (The League, Brooklyn 99, Parks and Recreation) has added a great deal to the Taskmaster mix, namely confusion and rage, all of which makes for great, stupid TV. Long may it continue.The Crow Girl (Paramount+)When every other British TV show seems to be a crime drama, it’s hard to stand out in the genre but The Crow Girl manages to with a tight plot, real intrigue and great performances from leads Eve Myles (Keeping Faith, Torchwood) and Katherine Kelly (Gentleman Jack, Strike Back), alongside Dougray Scott and Victoria Hamilton. A second series is already in the pipeline, so investing in the characters of DCI Jeannette Kilburn (Myles) and psychotherapist Dr Sophia Craven (Kelly) won’t be a waste of your time. Over six episodes, we follow those two as they investigate a string of murders that leads to a historical conspiracy. Dark but not exploitative, gritty but not without light, this is a crime fiction fan’s idea of a good time.Toxic Town (Netflix)A tough but important watch, four-part Netflix miniseries Toxic Town is written by screenwriter Jack Thorne (Adolescence, Joy, His Dark Materials) and inspired by the true story of the Corby women who, in the early 2000s, brought a legal case against the council responsible for the release of industrial poisons into the local environment that caused their babies to be born with limb differences, and sometimes fatal health issues. Jodie Whittaker gives a great, gutsy lead performance, supported by Aimee Lou Wood and Claudia Jessie playing some of the real women affected by this tragic betrayal.Virdee (BBC One)Who else misses Luther? If it’s a handsome maverick detective who plays fast and loose with the rules while investigating gory, macabre murders you’re after, then Virdee is your man. Add in some family drama, and this Bradford-set crime series, adapted by AA Dhand from his own novels, makes a decent watch. The six-part drama follows DCI Harry Virdee (Staz Nair), a father and husband who’s been estranged from his Sikh family ever since he married his Muslim wife. We watch as Harry negotiates his family relationships, including his criminal kingpin brother in law to whom he owes a serious debt, while hunting down a killer targeting South Asian victims in his home city of Bradford. HONOURABLE MENTIONS– Boarders Series 2 (BBC Three) This teen boarding-school race comedy-drama goes from strength to strength.– Funboys (BBC Three) A funny, gross-out, totally charming Northern Irish comedy series.– Malpractice Series 2 (ITV) Every doctor’s worst nightmare makes for excellent medical drama.– Reunion (BBC One) A better-than-average crime drama with a top cast, set among the deaf community.– Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes (Disney+) A strong dramatisation of a shocking event.– The Change Series 2 (Channel 4) Bridget Christie’s comedy drama is spilling over with wisdom, ideas and laughs.– Video Nasty (BBC Three) Three Northern Irish teens get involved in their own moral panic when they travel to England to complete their video nasty collection in this nostalgic horror comedy.The post The Best British TV Series of 2025 (So Far) appeared first on Den of Geek.