The Pop Tradition We’re Grateful for Getting Us By way of 2025

It’s Thanksgiving within the U.S., and which means a lot of io9’s writers and its readers are sitting right down to share good instances and good meals with buddies and family members (or getting a much-needed break, on the very least). However whereas the meals, respite, and firm are welcome, yearly we wish to take a second and provides thanks for the popular culture that has helped make the final 12 months just a little extra of a clean journey across the solar.

Beneath you’ll discover the io9 crew’s topics of popular culture thanksgiving for 2025, from reveals, to movies, to video games, to books, and much more, together with why we liked them sufficient to think about 2025 value slugging by.

Andor

It’s onerous to assume that lightning might strike with trendy Star Wars, given the up-and-down high quality we’ve had out of the galaxy far, far-off these days, so there was so much driving on Andor‘s second season this 12 months to ship one thing as gut-wrenchingly sensible as its first. Not solely did it ship, in some methods it arguably managed to prime its predecessor with a well timed, haunting, and but totally hopeful story of resistance and tragedy that brought an end to one of many biggest tales Star Wars has woven in generations. Thanks in your service, Cass. – James Whitbrook

Alien and Predator

So usually when Hollywood will get its arms on a beloved franchise, it screws it up. The listing is simply too lengthy to say. However, this 12 months, we noticed that the alternative could possibly be true. Artists might are available, perceive, and elevate that materials. And so we’re grateful for Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth, a stunning twist on the Alien franchise, and Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator: Killer of Killers and Predator: Badlands, two utterly completely different, however equally superior spins on Predator. Every is proof that franchise IP can, fortunately, nonetheless shock and thrill us identical to the originals. – Germain Lussier

Apple TV’s Sci-Fi Reveals

What can we are saying? We’re obsessive about almost each sci-fi present that hits this streamer. Severance’s second season turned our complete character in early 2025; we spent all summer time spreading the gospel of Basis and Murderbot; and now, all we will discuss is what Carol’s as much as on Pluribus. That Apple TV can also be the house of For All Mankind, Silo, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Sugar, Darkish Matter, and extra ought to actually make all different streamers ashamed by how far they’re all trailing behind. Sci-fi followers, nonetheless, feasted very properly this 12 months, and for that we’re stuffed, grateful, and prepared for extra. – Cheryl Eddy

The Muppets

Certain, we misplaced Muppet*Imaginative and prescient 3-D at Disney World earlier this 12 months, however when have the Muppets been identified to simply accept any sort of defeat? By no means, and that’s on Miss Piggy’s karate chops and Kermit’s management. There’s nothing they will’t overcome with just a little music and a giant showstopper, and that’s precisely what we’re getting. Jim Henson’s Muppets turned 70 this 12 months and are gearing up for an enormous comeback with a Muppets TV particular co-starring Sabrina Carpenter and Seth Rogen and the Electrical Mayhem being unleashed on Walt Disney World’s Rockin’ Curler Coaster, and there’s the little matter of a Miss Piggy automobile characteristic movie from Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, and Tony winner Cole Escola (One Piece). So placed on Muppet Christmas Carol to get us yet one more sleep until their largest 12 months but. – Sabina Graves

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

In the event you managed to get into it with out the mountain of hype and anti-hype in your head, Expedition 33 is actually one among 2025’s best games and nicest surprises. Nice turn-based fight and characters, mixed with an unmistakably French aesthetic all mix into a delightful expertise, and one which needs to be a launch level for getting additional into the RPG style, turn-based or in any other case. – Justin Carter

Kamen Rider Zeztz

Extra Kamen Rider is always a good thing. However having the ability to tune in to new episodes each Saturday evening in a dwell stream with a bunch of followers earlier than bedtime is a peak “let’s exit and play” exercise that’ll ship you again to the halcyon days of your childhood. And we’re so again. – Isaiah Colbert

Gundam Gquuuuuux Challia Phone — © Dawn/Prime Video

Cell Go well with Gundam GQuuuuuuX

Whether or not or not GQuuuuuuX‘s remix of traditional Gundam finally clicked with you by the end of it, there was one thing completely joyful in regards to the likelihood to have one other Gundam present dropping bombshells each week to set the fandom on fireplace with theorycrafting and hypothesis. From the second its audacious premise turned clear, GQuuuuuuX was going to take us all on a wild journey, whether or not we got here out of the opposite aspect loving it or loathing it. There’s few different fandoms I need to be discussing and debating with week in, week out than my fellow large robotic lovers. See you all subsequent time for Hathaway? – James Whitbrook

Hades II

Sequels in any medium are onerous, particularly when the unique is so distinctive, lovely, and excellent. However this 12 months, Hades II launched out of early entry, and it introduced us immense pleasure. We’re grateful that the crew at Supergiant Video games made a recreation we need to play repeatedly and once more. As a result of that’s literally the point. – Germain Lussier

Sinners

It’s the time of 12 months when Hollywood begins going full-throttle on awards speak, and horror is nearly all the time unnoticed of the dialog. That’s not the case this 12 months thanks to Sinners. Regardless of releasing manner again in April, Ryan Coogler’s attractive, brutal vampire story—buoyed by a storyline that faucets into each ugly and triumphant features of American historical past, considered by a magical, musical lens—is as memorable as ever. Sinners has lengthy since made its mark as a essential and business hit; any Oscars would simply be icing on the cake. Even nonetheless, we’ve bought our fingers crossed for Coogler and firm, and we’re grateful that Sinners provided such a searing reminder that horror can maintain simply as a lot energy as every other style. – Cheryl Eddy

KPop Demon Hunters

The Netflix sleeper hit from Sony Animation has turn out to be this 12 months’s largest phenomenon after being an enormous underdog in a 12 months the place animation has seemingly taken so many steps again in regard to illustration at different main studios. Proving that timeless tales can nonetheless be present in various and daring tasks, KPop Demon Hunters slashed past expectations within the business to indicate the folks yearn for greater than the established order. With catchy KPop music, attractive animation, female-fronted motion, and wealthy supernatural lore, Huntr/x reveals everybody the way it’s “carried out, carried out, carried out”. – Sabina Graves

Dan Da Dan

In a sea of anime variations of well-known manga, Science Saru continues to raise the medium by really adapting the work and making it their very own with season two. Whether or not it’s using kaleidoscopic colours, its side-splitting dialogue in English or Japanese, or its steadiness of tender romance and bombastic motion, Dan Da Dan is just a delight. – Isaiah Colbert

Matt Murdock’s Return to TV

What a 12 months it’s been for Marvel’s hornhead. Daredevil: Born Once more’s a bit shaggy, however Charlie Cox’s tackle Matt Murdock stays as charming because it did a decade in the past, whether or not he’s being a lawyer or an unhinged madman within the fights. It’s additionally been enjoyable to have him as a part of the Marvel Rivals roster, and he closed the 12 months with a guide celebrating his 60-year history. With extra Born Once more and a brand new comedian run on the best way, it’s good to have Matt to sit up for. – Justin Carter

World of Warcraft: Legion Remix

As somebody who largely skipped World of Warcraft‘s most up-to-date enlargement, it was going to take so much to essentially get again into Azeroth (particularly with so many nice video games popping out to play). Whereas my initial intrigue was piqued by the reveal of Midnight returning us to a gloriously rebuilt Quel’thalas, I fell again in love with Warcraft once more because of the timey-wimey arrival of Legion Remix, a shaken-up revisitation of the beloved 2016 enlargement. Hovering throughout the Damaged Isles as a wildly overpowered Demon Hunter didn’t simply put together me to dip again into the category for Midnight however let me relive the reminiscences of taking part in by one among WoW‘s biggest storylines prefer it was model new once more. – James Whitbrook

Brad Hill

Each month, artist Brad Hill releases new unique pop culture sculptures. They’re tremendous restricted and never all the time potential to purchase, however they offer us one thing to sit up for and pursue. We’re grateful for that. We’re additionally grateful that he bought an unbelievable solo present earlier this 12 months and for his work general. Hill’s sculptures are a shining instance of how artwork, even in essentially the most surprising, bizarre, and infrequently small types, will be inspiring and satisfying. – Germain Lussier

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

If studying all of the A Tune of Ice and Fireplace books appears like too heavy a elevate, and the household historical past examined in Fireplace & Blood appears like too many Targaryens stuffed into one place, George R.R. Martin’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the proper Westeros aspect quest. Three interconnected tales comply with the adventures of Dunk (an bold and really tall hedge knight) and his scrappy squire Egg, whose shaved head hides a royal lineage his sassy mouth typically threatens to betray. With Recreation of Thrones and the still-ongoing Home of the Dragon bringing Martin’s extra sprawling, multi-perspective fantasy epics to life on HBO, we’re grateful the community has additionally determined his smaller-scale however no much less delightfully entertaining Seven Kingdoms is worthy of the display—arriving very early next year, in addition. – Cheryl Eddy

Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc

We would not have any phrase on a second season of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s magnum opus, however this movie far and away exceeded all expectations for what a film adaptation of one of many manga’s most introspective and heart-wrenching arcs will be. The music, the framing, the animation, and the entire presence of this movie should be appreciated for years to return. How spoiled are we! – Isaiah Colbert