It’s Thanksgiving in the U.S., and that means many of io9’s writers and its readers are sitting down to share good times and good food with friends and loved ones (or getting a much-needed break, at the very least). But while the food, respite, and company are welcome, every year we like to take a moment and give thanks for the pop culture that has helped make the last year a little more of a smooth trip around the sun.
Below you’ll find the io9 team’s subjects of pop culture thanksgiving for 2025, from shows, to films, to games, to books, and even more, along with why we loved them enough to consider 2025 worth slugging through.
© Lucasfilm
Andor
It’s hard to think that lightning could strike with modern Star Wars, given the up-and-down quality we’ve had out of the galaxy far, far away lately, so there was a lot riding on Andor‘s second season this year to deliver something as gut-wrenchingly brilliant as its first. Not only did it deliver, in some ways it arguably managed to top its predecessor with a timely, haunting, and yet thoroughly hopeful story of resistance and tragedy that brought an end to one of the greatest stories Star Wars has woven in generations. Thank you for your service, Cass. – James Whitbrook
Alien and Predator
So often when Hollywood gets its hands on a beloved franchise, it screws it up. The list is too long to mention. But, this year, we saw that the opposite could be true. Artists could come in, understand, and elevate that material. And so we’re thankful for Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth, a shocking twist on the Alien franchise, and Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator: Killer of Killers and Predator: Badlands, two completely different, but equally awesome spins on Predator. Each is proof that franchise IP can, thankfully, still surprise and thrill us just like the originals. – Germain Lussier
© Apple TV
Apple TV’s Sci-Fi Shows
What can we say? We’re obsessed with nearly every sci-fi show that hits this streamer. Severance’s second season became our entire personality in early 2025; we spent all summer spreading the gospel of Foundation and Murderbot; and now, all we can talk about is what Carol’s up to on Pluribus. That Apple TV is also the home of For All Mankind, Silo, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Sugar, Dark Matter, and more should really make all other streamers ashamed by how far they’re all trailing behind. Sci-fi fans, however, feasted very well this year, and for that we are stuffed, thankful, and ready for more. – Cheryl Eddy
The Muppets
Sure, we lost Muppet*Vision 3-D at Disney World earlier this year, but when have the Muppets been known to accept any sort of defeat? Never, and that’s on Miss Piggy’s karate chops and Kermit’s leadership. There’s nothing they can’t overcome with a little song and a big showstopper, and that’s exactly what we’re getting. Jim Henson’s Muppets turned 70 this year and are gearing up for a huge comeback with a Muppets TV special co-starring Sabrina Carpenter and Seth Rogen and the Electric Mayhem being unleashed on Walt Disney World’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster, and there’s the little matter of a Miss Piggy vehicle feature film from Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, and Tony winner Cole Escola (One Piece). So put on Muppet Christmas Carol to get us one more sleep till their biggest year yet. – Sabina Graves
© Sandfall
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
If you managed to get into it without the mountain of hype and anti-hype in your head, Expedition 33 is certainly one of 2025’s best games and nicest surprises. Great turn-based combat and characters, combined with an unmistakably French aesthetic all combine into a pleasing experience, and one that should be a launch point for getting further into the RPG genre, turn-based or otherwise. – Justin Carter
Kamen Rider Zeztz
More Kamen Rider is always a good thing. But being able to tune in to new episodes every Saturday night in a live stream with a bunch of fans before bedtime is a peak “let’s go out and play” activity that’ll send you back to the halcyon days of your childhood. And we are so back. – Isaiah Colbert
© Sunrise/Prime Video
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
Whether or not GQuuuuuuX‘s remix of classic Gundam ultimately clicked with you by the end of it, there was something utterly joyful about the chance to have another Gundam show dropping bombshells every week to set the fandom on fire with theorycrafting and speculation. From the moment its audacious premise became clear, GQuuuuuuX was going to take us all on a wild ride, whether we came out of the other side loving it or loathing it. There’s few other fandoms I want to be discussing and debating with week in, week out than my fellow giant robot lovers. See you all next time for Hathaway? – James Whitbrook
Hades II
Sequels in any medium are hard, especially when the original is so unique, beautiful, and perfect. But this year, Hades II released out of early access, and it brought us immense joy. We’re thankful that the team at Supergiant Games made a game we want to play again and again and again. Because that’s literally the point. – Germain Lussier
© Warner Bros.
Sinners
It’s the time of year when Hollywood starts going full-throttle on awards talk, and horror is almost always left out of the conversation. That’s not the case this year thanks to Sinners. Despite releasing way back in April, Ryan Coogler’s gorgeous, brutal vampire tale—buoyed by a storyline that taps into both ugly and triumphant aspects of American history, viewed through a magical, musical lens—is as memorable as ever. Sinners has long since made its mark as a critical and commercial hit; any Oscars would just be icing on the cake. Even still, we’ve got our fingers crossed for Coogler and company, and we’re grateful that Sinners offered such a searing reminder that horror can hold just as much power as any other genre. – Cheryl Eddy
KPop Demon Hunters
The Netflix sleeper hit from Sony Animation has become this year’s biggest phenomenon after being a huge underdog in a year where animation has seemingly taken so many steps back in regard to representation at other major studios. Proving that timeless stories can still be found in diverse and bold projects, KPop Demon Hunters slashed past expectations in the industry to show the people yearn for more than the status quo. With catchy KPop music, gorgeous animation, female-fronted action, and rich supernatural lore, Huntr/x shows everyone how it’s “done, done, done”. – Sabina Graves
©Gkids/Science Saru
Dan Da Dan
In a sea of anime adaptations of well-known manga, Science Saru continues to elevate the medium by truly adapting the work and making it their own with season two. Whether it’s the use of kaleidoscopic colors, its side-splitting dialogue in English or Japanese, or its balance of tender romance and bombastic action, Dan Da Dan is simply a delight. – Isaiah Colbert
Matt Murdock’s Return to TV
What a year it’s been for Marvel’s hornhead. Daredevil: Born Again’s a bit shaggy, but Charlie Cox’s take on Matt Murdock remains as charming as it did a decade ago, whether he’s being a lawyer or an unhinged madman in the fights. It’s also been fun to have him as part of the Marvel Rivals roster, and he closed the year with a book celebrating his 60-year history. With more Born Again and a new comic run on the way, it’s good to have Matt to look forward to. – Justin Carter
© Gizmodo/Blizzard
World of Warcraft: Legion Remix
As someone who largely skipped World of Warcraft‘s most recent expansion, it was going to take a lot to really get back into Azeroth (especially with so many great games coming out to play). While my initial intrigue was piqued by the reveal of Midnight returning us to a gloriously rebuilt Quel’thalas, I fell back in love with Warcraft again thanks to the timey-wimey arrival of Legion Remix, a shaken-up revisitation of the beloved 2016 expansion. Soaring across the Broken Isles as a wildly overpowered Demon Hunter didn’t just prepare me to dip back into the class for Midnight but let me relive the memories of playing through one of WoW‘s greatest storylines like it was brand new all over again. – James Whitbrook
Brad Hill
Every month, artist Brad Hill releases new unique pop culture sculptures. They’re super limited and not always possible to buy, but they give us something to look forward to and pursue. We’re thankful for that. We’re also thankful that he got an incredible solo show earlier this year and for his work overall. Hill’s sculptures are a shining example of how art, even in the most unexpected, weird, and often small forms, can be inspiring and enjoyable. – Germain Lussier
© Steffan Hill/HBO
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
If reading all the A Song of Ice and Fire books feels like too heavy a lift, and the family history examined in Fire & Blood feels like too many Targaryens stuffed into one place, George R.R. Martin’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the perfect Westeros side quest. Three interconnected stories follow the adventures of Dunk (an ambitious and very tall hedge knight) and his scrappy squire Egg, whose shaved head hides a royal lineage his sassy mouth sometimes threatens to betray. With Game of Thrones and the still-ongoing House of the Dragon bringing Martin’s more sprawling, multi-perspective fantasy epics to life on HBO, we’re thankful the network has also decided his smaller-scale but no less delightfully entertaining Seven Kingdoms is worthy of the screen—arriving very early next year, to boot. – Cheryl Eddy
Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc
We might not have any word on a second season of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s magnum opus, but this film far and away exceeded all expectations for what a movie adaptation of one of the manga’s most introspective and heart-wrenching arcs can be. The music, the framing, the animation, and the whole presence of this film deserve to be appreciated for years to come. How spoiled are we! – Isaiah Colbert
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