The 25 hottest TV shows we'll all be watching in 2025: Bergerac rebooted, a Motherland spin-off and a Hollywood satire chock-full of guest stars
Looking for a new show to kickstart the New Year? The Mail's TV experts have sifted through hundreds of programmes to bring you 25 for '25 - rounding up the best shows to stream on demand right now…
ENTERTAINMENT
1. DESTINATION X
SUMMER, BBC1
Rob Brydon hosts this challenge show, billed as The Traitors-meets-Race Across The World, in which contestants travel around Europe in a blacked-out bus and must guess where they are using clues. 'It turns Europe into a board game,' says Rob. 'I'm the puppet master orchestrating every twist.'
2. 99 TO BEAT
SPRING, ITV1
Can you find a child's dummy in a mound of jelly or put on a frozen T-shirt in one smooth action? Those are the kinds of crazy challenges in this new, 100-contestant game show. Just make sure you don't come last in a challenge and you'll stay in the running to win the big cash prize.
3. CELEBRITY BEAR HUNT
5 FEBRUARY, NETFLIX
Holly Willoughby and Bear Grylls in the Costa Rican jungle, waiting for the celebrity contestants to arrive
Mel B, Boris Becker and Shirley Ballas are among the stars trying to avoid being hunted down by Bear Grylls in the Costa Rican jungle. 'Impress Bear with how you do on tasks he sets to stay safe,' says host Holly Willoughby. 'But if not, the hunt begins, and you could be out.'
4. THE SUMMIT
LATER THIS YEAR, ITV1
A share of a possible £200,000 prize awaits those who can scale a very tricky New Zealand peak in this daunting show. Hosted by Ben Shephard, its 14 contestants also have to face challenges set by the shadowy Mountain's Keeper as well as potentially treacherous weather.
5. GAME OF WOOL
AUTUMN, CHANNEL 4
Tom Daley took up knitting to relieve the stress of competitive diving, fell in love with the craft and is now hosting this show to find the UK's knitting champion. In each episode the ten hopefuls must first work on a group knit in teams before taking on an individual challenge, making items such as jewellery and home accessories.
COMEDY
6. AMANDALAND
SPRING, BBC1
Philippa Dunne (left) and Joanna Lumley also star in the six-part comedy Amandaland
This six-part Motherland spin-off puts Amanda (Lucy Punch) front and centre as she struggles post-divorce. Amanda moves with her two children to south Harlesden – or SoHa, as her estate agent calls it.
7. THE STUDIO
MARCH 26, APPLE TV+
Seth Rogen plays embattled Hollywood studio boss Matt Remick, meeting real-life movie stars who are playing appalling versions of themselves. Martin Scorsese, Charlize Theron and Olivia Wilde guest star.
8. YOU'RE CORDIALLY INVITED
JANUARY 30, AMAZON PRIME
Imagine finding your wedding venue has been double-booked. Will Ferrell plays the father of one bride, Reese Witherspoon the sister of the other, as they battle for control. What ensues involves collapsing jetties, a black eye and an alligator in a bedroom.
9. CHANGING ENDS
LATER THIS YEAR, ITV
Alan Carr plays the older version of himself again in series three of this autobiographical comedy, with Oliver Savell as the young Alan. They are filming series three and four back to back. 'My dream of Changing Ends becoming Northampton's answer to The Crown comes two steps closer to a reality,' jokes Alan.
10. A CRUEL LOVE: THE RUTH ELLIS STORY
COMING SOON, ITV
Four-part drama exploring the troubled life of Ruth Ellis (Lucy Boynton), the last woman to be hanged in Britain, for murdering her lover in 1955.
DRAMA
11. SMALL TOWN, BIG STORY
COMING SOON, SKY ATLANTIC
Mad Men's Christina Hendricks is an LA producer who returns to film in her native Ireland – risking the unearthing of a long-kept secret in this six-part series.
13. AGATHA CHRISTIE'S TOWARDS ZERO
COMING SOON, BBC1
There's murder beside the seaside in this three-part whodunnit starring Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Ella Lily Hyland.
14. I FOUGHT THE LAW
AUTUMN, ITV
This six-part, fact-based drama tells the remarkable story of Ann Ming (Sheridan Smith), whose daughter's killer walked free after two mistrials. Her 17-year campaign helped overturn the ancient double jeopardy rule – meaning he could be tried again for the same crime in 2016.
15. A THOUSAND BLOWS
FEBRUARY, DISNEY+
Malachi Kirby play fighter Hezekiah Moscow in the dangerous world of 1880s illegal boxing
Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight swaps gang warfare in Birmingham for the perilous world of illegal boxing in 1880s London. Brutal and bloody, this six-part series stars Stephen Graham as Sugar Goodson and Malachi Kirby as Hezekiah Moscow, two real-life stars of the Victorian ring.
16. I, JACK WRIGHT
APRIL, U & DRAMA
Trevor Eve takes the title role in this six-part thriller following the fight for a tycoon's vast wealth following his untimely death, apparently by suicide. John Simm plays one of his sons, who discovers he's been cut out of his father's will.
17. KING AND CONQUEROR
LATER THIS YEAR, BBC1
The Battle Of Hastings defined English history for 1,000 years, and this epic eight-part drama starring James Norton as Harold, Earl Of Wessex, tells the story behind it.
18. BERGERAC
FEBRUARY, U & DRAMA
A reboot of the 80s detective show starring John Nettles. Damien Molony takes on the role of Jim Bergerac in a six-part series again set in Jersey. Nettles sadly said no to a cameo, but the iconic Triumph Roadster his character drove is returning.
19. BRIAN AND MAGGIE
COMING SOON, CHANNEL 4
Steve Coogan plays Labour MP turned TV inquisitor Brian Walden in this two-part series focusing on Margaret Thatcher's final TV interview, by Walden, in 1989. It was a grilling that eventually led to her resignation as PM. Dame Harriet Walter plays Mrs Thatcher.
21. MISS AUSTEN
FEBRUARY, BBC1
Attracting a stellar cast, Miss Austen stars include Isabella Fowle (Rose Leslie), Cassandra Austen (Keeley Hawes), Dinah (Mirren Mack) and Mary Austen (Jessica Hynes)
Starring Keeley Hawes as Jane Austen's sister Cassandra, this four-part drama explores a real-life mystery: why she burned her famous author sibling's letters after her death.
20. DEATH VALLEY
SPRING, BBC2
He dazzled as the evil Duke of Norfolk in Hilary Mantel adaptation The Mirror And The Light. Now Timothy Spall plays an ex-actor who uses skills acquired while portraying a TV sleuth to help solve murders in this six-part series set in Wales. Also stars Gwyneth Keyworth.
FACTUAL
22. UNDERDOGS
LATER THIS YEAR, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds looks at animals in the shadows in this ten-part series. 'We're focusing on creatures like the wolverine and hippos,' says Ryan. 'They are the evil geniuses who keep the natural world in order for show-boating sharks and gorillas.'
23. HUMAN
JULY, BBC2
How did man become the dominant form of life on Earth? This five-part series presented by paleoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi will show us, using breakthroughs in DNA technology. 'We use archaeology, travelogue and reconstruction to tell the story of how we became modern humans,' she explains.
24. THE GREAT EXPLORERS
FEBRUARY, CHANNEL 5
Captain James Cook's adventuring came to a violent stop in Hawaii in 1779
Former Top Gear host James May turns his attention to the world's most legendary explorers – Christopher Columbus, Walter Raleigh and James Cook. 'We think we know basic pub facts about them, but the reality may come as a surprise,' says James, who retraces their steps and promises hands-on experiments.
25. WALKING WITH DINOSAURS
LATER THIS YEAR, BBC1
The original Walking With Dinosaurs roared on to our screens 25 years ago. Now comes a new six-part series that uses amazing palaeontological discoveries and new technology to tell the story of creatures that roamed the Earth millions of years ago. Each episode follows one dinosaur – including the largest meat-eating dinosaur, the Spinosaurus, and the 30-ton Lusotitan – using bone analysis to understand their lives and deaths.