From global hits to home-grown originals, 2025 was a year of incredible TV. These titles in SBS On Demand’s Best TV Shows of 2025 collection had everyone talking.
The Handmaid’s Tale
After a three-year gap, The Handmaid’s Tale returned for its sixth and final season in 2025 – and it was well worth the wait. The dystopian drama, based on Margaret Atwood’s seminal novel, follows Elisabeth Moss’ June, a handmaid living under the totalitarian rule of Gilead, a theonomic government that enslaves fertile women. After five seasons of survival, rebellion, and sacrifice, Season 6 sees June and her companions, Luke (O.T. Fagbenle), and Moira (Samira Wiley), attempt to take down Gilead’s regime once and for all. Does the fifteen-time Emmy Award-winning series stick the landing? One thing’s certain: The Handmaid’s Tale keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
The Handmaid's Tale
series • Drama
MA15+
series • Drama
MA15+
Rogue Heroes
Before being picked to write Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming James Bond film, Steven Knight created Rogue Heroes, a boisterous drama revealing the origins of the British Army Special Air Service (SAS).
After an explosive first season set in 1941 Cairo, the second season shifts to Italy in 1943, where German spies and mafia conspirators lie in wait. The cast bringing these inspiring historical events to life includes Jack O’Connell as Paddy Mayne, Connor Swindells as David Stirling, and Sofia Boutella as Eve Mansour. Based on the book by Ban Macintyre, Rogue Heroes depicts the stories of heroes that are almost too unbelievable to be true.
Both seasons of Rogue Heroes are streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Rogue Heroes
series • Drama
MA15+
series • Drama
MA15+
Alone Australia
When it comes to harsh landscapes, Australia is one of the top providers on the list, which makes it perfect for the concept of the reality TV series Alone. Like the versions challenging participants in harsh areas of America, Canada and Europe, our local franchise drops its contestants in complete isolation and waits to see who can survive the longest. Season one took participants to Tasmania, and season two headed to New Zealand. In 2025, Alone Australia debuted its third season, taking the action to the wild mountain ranges of Tasmania. Ten participants put their survival skills to the test, enduring starvation, floods, and a range of local wildlife for a chance to win $250,000. Season 3 of Alone Australia was another gripping season that had Australia talking - loud enough that SBS has confirmed a fourth season of the survival series is on the way in 2026, this time set in the freezing Arctic!
Stream all three seasons of Alone Australia at SBS On Demand (or set up camp with other international series from around the world, all waiting at the Alone Hub at SBS On Demand).
Stream free On Demand
Alone Australia
series • Competition reality
M
series • Competition reality
M
The Old Man
Jeff Bridges starring as an ex-CIA operative forced to go on the run for his actions in the Soviet-Afghan War? It’s easy to see why The Old Man was one of the top series with SBS viewers again this year. Over two seasons, The Old Man has gripped viewers with the story of Dan Chase (Bridges), a grizzled veteran hiding from the world and his regrets, who is forced back into the limelight after the FBI’s Harold Harper (John Lithgow), a morally compromised ex-colleague of Chase’s, mounts a manhunt that forces him to face his past.
The Old Man is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
The Old Man
series • Thriller
MA15+
series • Thriller
MA15+
Code of Silence
Code of Silence is a sharp and fresh new police drama that stands apart from the pack of British crime offerings thanks to a compelling performance from its leading lady, Rose Ayling-Ellis, and its representation of diverse and disabled groups on-screen and behind the scenes, too. Ayling-Ellis’ character Alison Brooks, a deaf woman brought in to assist police detectives with surveilling a criminal gang, shines a light on the oft-overlooked services of lip readers. Through six riveting episodes, Alison assists detectives Ashleigh (Charlotte Ritchie) and James (Andrew Buchan) in cracking the silent code of the gang before they can enact their plans.
Stream free On Demand
Code of Silence
series • Drama
M
series • Drama
M
You can also see Rose Ayling-Ellis in warm-hearted documentary Old Hands, New Tricks.
Stream free On Demand
Rose Ayling-Ellis: Old Hands, New Tricks
series • Documentary
PG
series • Documentary
PG
Who Do You Think You Are? Australia
Australia’s multicultural population has a diverse heritage, which is highlighted in Who Do You Think You Are? Australia. The popular docuseries returned for its sixteenth season in 2025, introducing a new group of Aussies seeking to understand their family histories. Featuring a cast of local celebrities (including Marc Fennell, Claudia Karvan, and Patrick Brammall), Who Do You Think You Are? Australia takes viewers to all corners of the country and far across the globe, uncovering unknown tales of love, survival, and sacrifice that lie within the lineage of everyday Australians.
Who Do You Think You Are? Australia is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Who Do You Think You Are? Australia
series • Documentary
M
series • Documentary
M
Dark Winds
Dark Winds breaks ground as the first police drama to feature a lineup of Native American cast members, producers and directors, telling Native American stories on-screen. Set on the Navajo reservation in America’s southwest, the show stars Zahn McClarnon as veteran cop Joe Leaphorn, a lieutenant weighed down by the mistrust and racism from his local county, attempting to solve a string of murders and mysteries occurring on his land. Joining Leaphorn’s team of officers is the spiritual recluse Bernadette (Jessica Matten) and the newcomer with a secret mission, Jim (Kiowa Gordon).
With all three seasons of Dark Winds streaming on SBS, now is the time to catch up on the show everyone is obsessed with ahead of Season 4’s release in 2026.
Dark Winds is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Dark Winds
series • Crime drama
MA15+
series • Crime drama
MA15+
Blue Lights
In a year full of top-notch police dramas, the Belfast-set world of Blue Lights was a welcome return. Season 3 of the Irish procedural picks up with the team at the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PNSI) as they attempt to take down a formidable new figure in Belfast’s criminal underworld, Dana Morgan (Cathy Tyson). Dana’s ruthlessness and intelligence put PSNI officers Grace Ellis (Siân Brooke), Tommy (Nathan Braniff), and Annie (Katherine Devlin) to the test, forcing them to lay everything on the line for duty, whilst also maintaining a rocky balance with their personal lives.
All three seasons of Blue Lights are streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Blue Lights
series • Crime drama
MA15+
series • Crime drama
MA15+
Reckless
Australia’s newest home-grown TV addiction is also one of the year’s best. Reckless is a dark comedy of pure chaos, starring Tasma Walton and Hunter Page-Lochard as feuding siblings June and Charlie, who are forced to reconcile, or at least confront, their differences as they try to cover up a hit and run in their hometown of Fremantle, Western Australia.
Fremantle may be a small town, but it has eyes everywhere, and it’s not long before the siblings’ lies have consequences. An adaptation of Neil Forsyth’s Scottish thriller Guilt (also streaming at SBS On Demand), Reckless brings a uniquely Australian and hilariously unpredictable twist on its source material, standing out as one of the best Aussie offerings of 2025.
Reckless is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Reckless
series • Thriller
MA15+
series • Thriller
MA15+
Find more great shows you might have missed in the BEST TV SHOWS OF 2025 COLLECTION at SBS On Demand. You can also discover the year's most popular films and documentaries, and the year's hidden gems, in the BEST OF 2025 HUB.
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