For TV nerds, there is one thing about the week of Thanksgiving that's better than a delicious, post-feast slice of pumpkin pie or the chance to shame your annoying cousin with your knowledge of Star Trek trivia.
The chance to catch up on the best television you never had time for this year.
To that end, here's a list of the coolest TV series worth catching up on during this Thanksgiving holiday — including standouts from 2025 and a couple recommendations that are always worth revisiting. Next time someone complains about having nothing to watch, show them this — there's still lots out there, if you've got the stamina and an open mind.
Alien: Earth
FX, Hulu
Finally, a talented storyteller takes on the one permutation left in the sprawling Alien franchise — what happens if the legendarily carnivorous Xenomorph, along with a few other extraterrestrial horrors, gets loose on Earth? Because it's from the mind of showrunner Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion), we also get human minds transplanted inside synthetic bodies, warring corporations feuding over deadly alien life forms that have crash-landed on Earth, a suspenseful homage to the first two Alien movies and a quirky, compelling synthetic person played by Timothy Olyphant. In other words: Pure sci-fi heaven.
The Lowdown
FX, Hulu
On the surface, this is a street-wise, Southern-tinged noir mystery, with Ethan Hawke as a dysfunctional "truthstorian" — actually, a muckraking citizen journalist and failing bookstore owner — digging into the mysterious death of the righteous scion from a corrupt, powerful family in Tulsa. But it's also an exploration of steadfast, working-class culture pitted against the corrupting power of wealthy, entitled elites. Basically, the story of our times.
Pluribus
Apple TV
This is the most creative and surprising science fiction story I've seen in years, featuring Better Call Saul alum Rhea Seehorn as a miserable-yet-successful novelist who finds herself among a handful of people worldwide left out when an alien virus unites all other living humans into a gigantic hive mind. Surprisingly, this new organism seems kind and dutiful. Which leads to an irritating question: Is this paradise finally on Earth, or a long con that can only be unraveled by the most melancholic person left on the planet?
The Beast In Me
Netflix
There is no one in Hollywood better at playing the frazzled, mentally unstable-yet-sympathetic protagonist than Claire Danes. And she soars in Netflix's cat-and-mouse drama as a damaged author interviewing Matthew Rhys' arrogant son of a real estate magnate for a memoir — but really trying to discover whether he killed his first wife. As a showcase for two actors expertly inhabiting their characters, sparring with each other with delicious glee, this story is perfection.
Season 3 of The Diplomat
Netflix
It's bracing to see Keri Russell shine as Kate Wyler, a no-nonsense ambassador to the United Kingdom, forced to work under West Wing alum Allison Janney's Grace Penn — a vice president at the center of a brutal scandal who becomes president when the Commander in Chief dies. Worse, Janney's character appoints Kate Wyler's husband Hal (Rufus Sewell) — a brilliantly opportunistic figure Kate has become estranged from — as her vice president. Let the politics-tinged relationship drama begin!
Season 5 of Slow Horses
Apple TV
No matter how many times I see Gary Oldman's defiantly slovenly, crafty spy leader Jackson Lamb manipulate his misfit crew of underachieving British intelligence agents into saving the day, it is never enough. So it's wonderful to savor Lamb's turn in the show's fifth season, taking on both a mysterious group turning the government's intelligence plans against itself and a clueless, preening Director-General of MI5 played by Battlestar Galactica alum James Callis.
Being Eddie
Netflix
For any other celebrity, this collection of compliments and legend-boosting disguised as a documentary would feel presumptuous and overdone. But given how reclusive superstar Eddie Murphy has been over his career, a film that takes fans into his sprawling home to meet his wife and kids — though offering little-to-no explanation of who they are — as he tells the fascinating story of reinventing standup comedy, the movie business and Saturday Night Live … well, that's definitely worth showing up for.
The American Revolution
PBS
Because this is a Ken Burns documentary, you will see an expansive story in six parts told over 12 hours with lots of details delivered over gorgeous images of maps and paintings. But it is also Burns' attempt to bring a scholarly eye to an often-mythologized event, speaking extensively about Native American tribes, the role of women, the influence of slavery and divisions among Americans over the revolution itself. Best of all, it's the kind of program public media excels at, delivering teachable, sometimes painful truths.
Rick Beato's videos about music
YouTube
For music nerds, there is no better way to while away the hours than to hear accomplished musicians speak on their craft. Beato, a skilled guitarist and producer himself, is among the best at getting big names to talk shop, plunging into Sting's songwriting process, the playing style of inspired pianist Hiromi, guitarist David Gilmour's work on Pink Floyd's classic records and the secrets of Steely Dan's expert axeslingers.
Game of Thrones
HBO Max
There are lots of older TV series viewers can dig into over Thanksgiving. But few are as illustrative of modern times than HBO's expansive sword and sorcery drama. Forget about the dragons, the barely hidden sexism and racism or the disappointing finale; this series sums up the dangers of entitled, unprepared leaders, the ruthless quest for power among toxic narcissists, and the sad tragedy of everyday people tangled and ruined by the whims of the more powerful. At times, watching these episodes feels like a primer on navigating the modern political landscape, though it debuted on TV nearly 15 years ago.
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