My Hahn-est Opinion

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THE AARONS 2025

It’s the Eleventh Annual Aarons, celebrating the Best and Worst of Film and TV in 2025!

FIRST UP: THE 2025 AARON FOR BEST FILM!

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THE AARONS 2025 - Best Film

Kicking off the ceremony’s second decade, 94 movies are competing in this year’s Aaron Awards. I did enjoy most of them but in hindsight I should have watched 27 fewer films. Here are The Aarons for Best Film:

#10. Presence

Auteur director Steven Soderbergh has long since carved out a niche for himself in the world of cinema and he made that presence known twice over in 2025. His foundational film of the year flips the haunted house genre on its head by presenting everything from the point-of-view of the ghost within. Though the film’s perspective is limited, its perceptiveness is not; the occupying family is haunted less by the phantom than by their failings to each other in the wake of a traumatic event. Soderbergh’s long-takes - shot by himself with a handheld camera - establish a unique intimacy with the subjects, ensuring that, long after the final reveal, Presence will linger with its viewers.

#9. Black Bag

An unorthodox horror film wasn’t the only thing Steven Soderbergh had in his bag of tricks last year: the Ocean’s Eleven director unveiled his latest long con only two months after Presence debuted. Like that film, Black Bag puts a novel spin on both domestic drama and genre tropes when a husband is informed that his wife may be a mole within their intelligence organization. While the stakes are high, the film wrings its tension from smaller moments than the typical spy thriller, favoring uneasy dinner parties over flashy foot chases. Covertly, it’s the relationship of the central couple, with calculated performances from Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett, that is Black Bag’s secret weapon.

#8. Sinners

Sinners redeemed the blank check Ryan Coogler earned after helming the billion-dollar grossing Black Panther; the result might just have saved original big-budget blockbusters for everyone. With meticulous detail to its period setting and great patience in establishing its ensemble cast before unleashing hell upon everything it built up, Sinners congeals elements of historical fiction, musicals, and horror into a crowd-pleasing American epic. More than a mere monster mash-up, the movie expounds on the power of communal experiences, the pitfalls of assimilation, and the perils of precipitateness. Even without those larger ambitions, simply watching Michael B. Jordan gun down the KKK would be flawless fun. 

#7. The Monkey

Fresh off his biggest hit yet in last year’s Aarons Award-winner Longlegs, Oz Perkins released two movies in 2025 but it was his tale of a cursed family heirloom that was the real keeper. Though the influences of producer James Wan and original writer Stephen King are prominent, The Monkey has the eccentric director still marching to the beat of his own drum. Few artists are so adept at creating a cacophony of cartoonish carnage and fewer yet could make such chaos feel so poignant. For viewers who embrace its manic whims, The Monkey might just unlock a more peaceful outlook on the ever-present specter of death.

#6. One Battle After Another

Paul Thomas Anderson’s revelatory work about ex-revolutionaries on the run has appeared on one best-of-the-year list after another for good reason. Battle succeeds on all fronts, with propulsive directing from Anderson, a nerve-racking score by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, and a performance from newbie Chase Infiniti that holds its own against veteran actors like Leonardo DiCaprio. The affecting father/daughter relationship formed by those two stars grounds a thrillride that veers between bold political satire and hilarious stoner comedy. Such an uncompromised filmmaker’s vision being given a big budget and a wide release is a minor miracle; the film receiving such ongoing acclaim is a hard-fought victory. 

#5. Frankenstein

Sympathetic creatures have been at the center of Guillermo del Toro’s body of work since the very beginning, but none of them have ever been as close to his heart as Frankenstein. While the director reveres the novel that inspired him, his long-gestating adaptation succeeds not as a direct translation of the text but as a deeply personal one focused more heavily on themes of generational trauma. The highlight of the film is del Toro’s continued devotion to handcrafted designs, ones on display in the ornate setwork and intricate make-up of its undead character. For fans of the director, it wasn’t much of a shock that Frankenstein ended up being the most beautiful creation of the year.

#4. Weapons

Barbarian unearthed an unexpected dark side to Whitest Kids U’ Know sketch performer Zach Cregger; Weapons takes that twisted sense of humor and runs with it. With an arsenal of talent at his disposal, including Julia Garner and Alden Ehrenreich, the director builds out an eerie mystery involving disappeared children using perspective-shifting techniques he perfected from his debut. Where lesser films would struggle to conjure up answers as exciting as the questions they raised, Weapons slyly unloads a cinematic punchline for the ages. With that ongoing unpredictability cementing him as a master of horror, it’s anyone’s guess what Cregger might have next in his chamber.

#3. Twinless

Straight Up director James Sweeney was surprisingly devious with his follow-up feature. The black comedy, centered on two men who meet in a support group for people who have lost twins, expands on the type of unlikely connections that defined his previous work. It also possesses the same whip-smart dialogue and shrewd use of symmetry that led that film to victory in the 2020 Aaron Awards. Yet his second film has something a little more sinister under the surface than its heart-warming predecessor. Its true nature is best left for others to discover for themselves but is something that elevates Twinless into a truly one-of-a-kind experience.

#2. Shelby Oaks

Shelby Oaks came out of seemingly nowhere last year to take root under the skin. The crowdfunded project had former YouTube film critic Chris Stuckmann putting his money where his mouth is and showing up other creators with the scariest film of the year. The director’s social media background is evident in how expertly found-footage and folklore are entangled in the tale of one woman’s search for her long-lost sister. As more and more branches of the conspiracy are uncovered and the film barrels towards its petrifying end, the viewer discovers alongside the protagonist just how inescapably ensnaring the nightmare of Shelby Oaks has become.

AND THE BEST FILM OF 2025 IS...

#1. Elio

There’s an unquestionable universality to Elio’s quest for belonging, even if The Aarons ends up alone in naming it the best film of the year. Though the Pixar film about a young boy swept up in an intergalactic adventure was largely ignored by the theater-going audience, it is hopefully destined to still be discovered by all the kids who need to hear its message of acceptance. The space-set saga is inhabited by adorable sidekicks and fearsome villains as imaginative as expected from the studio; its animation is likewise awe-inspiring. Had someone as unhealthily obsessed with aliens as myself seen it when I was young, it would have easily become my whole world.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARONS FOR WORST FILM!

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THE AARONS 2025 - Worst Film

This list could have been anchored by Popeye slasher films alone if I had had the strength to finish any of the three released last year. Here are The Aarons for Worst Film:

#10. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

It may not top the pitifulness of the pizza parlor perils the franchise previously delivered, but the second Freddy’s is still unappealing any way you slice it. All the new animatronics added can’t hide the rotten core beneath them: a sloppy script which this time was solely written by series creator Scott Cawthon. The writer piles on plotlines, switching abruptly from one antagonist to the next, hoping fan-service will mask its shoddy structure. Yet when every one of those story threads is left unresolved by the dour cliffhanger ending, it’s obvious to all parties involved that Five Nights is a gigantic waste of time.

#9. Fixed

While television shows like Samurai Jack and Dexter’s Laboratory made Gendy Tartakovsky a legend in the animation industry, his reputation is in need of dire repair after his painful passion project Fixed. The years that the raunchy comedy spent in development completely neutered any shock value it might have had, with at least one film being released in the meanwhile with a similar premise. Once dumped on Netflix, the decent thing for them to do would have been to bag it and dispose of it. A lack of support for traditional hand-drawn animation is certainly a problem at the moment, but tasking those artists with drawing dog genitalia is just not the right fix.

#8. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

The question going into Pantera was not how the gang of thieves would pull off their next heist, but which other movies they would rip off while doing so. The sequel picks up from the previous entry’s discount-Usual Suspects ending and continues to pilfer from Michael Mann’s Heat as its cop and conman butt heads yet again. The endless heel turns and flashbacks involved this go-round are reminiscent of the Fast & Furious films, though the most high-speed action here is a laidback drug-fueled scooter ride. The upcoming third Den of Thieves likely already has someone else in mind to rob from; audiences would be smart to steal away before then.

#7. The Woman in the Yard

Woman in the Yard, what are we doing here? The title alone doesn’t exactly inspire fear, and the film itself fares even worse. To be fair, Yard isn’t that far outside Blumhouse’s frequent output of garbled jump-scare-heavy junk. Genre fans might expect at least a little better from Orphan director Jaume Collet-Serra, though there’s only so much one can do to improve a script that’s duller than watching paint dry. In its mystifying final moments, The Woman in the Yard plants itself down alongside the worst of elevated horror; if your unsubtle monster metaphor doesn’t end up making any sense, just put it out to grass.

#6. In the Lost Lands

Anyone who decides to explore In the Lost Lands shouldn’t be surprised if they end up, well, lost. The post-apocalyptic Western, based on an unfinished series of short stories by the author of the unfinished Game of Thrones series, never seems to have any idea what direction it’s headed in or who audiences should care about. Storytelling has certainly never been the strong suit of Resident Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson, but here the video-game-esque visuals are as murky as the narrative. Even undiscerning viewers on the trail of eye-candy will find any hope put in Lost Lands to be misplaced.

#5. Vicious

Director Bryan Bertino is no stranger to bad horror films and actress Katheryn Hunter must feel just as at home in them after last year’s The Front Room. Dakota Fanning would have been better off sending them both packing. The trio’s Paramount+ film about a cursed box that demands something you love, something you need, and something you hate only appears to make room for viewers to have that last item. Beware though! The solution is not as simple as it seems: Vicious is ultimately too uneventful to inspire that much vitriol. The only sacrifice to be made to the mind-numbing film is one’s sanity.

#4. Smurfs

Even though the Smurfs are 0 for 3 for modern reboots, multiverse theory suggests there will always be someone out there willing to greenlight another. If those poor souls wish to avoid the same fate, they might start with casting a no-name voice actor for their No-Name Smurf instead of one as excruciating as James Corden. Rihanna’s original songs are little relief; “Don’t stop the music” is nowhere to be heard. The third pop star to voice Smurfette in as many films leads the franchise on its second trip through the ‘real world’; Smurfs had a premise that opened up unlimited possibilities and then blue it on rehashing past failures. 

#3. Star Trek: Section 31

Section 31 takes a series famous for strange new worlds and sends it to a garbage dump. The ill-advised spin-off would be incomprehensible to anyone who hasn’t seen the first three seasons of Star Trek: Discovery yet it’s unrecognizable to anyone who has. Rather than mirroring the best of the franchise, the film models itself after repellant ragtag enterprises like Suicide Squad and Borderlands right down to the unhinged editing. A Star Trek that’s too cowardly to engage with any of the concerns behind its titular black-ops agency or its reformed-dictator protagonist is one that can boldly go away. 

#2. Don’t Log Off

There’s a lot of things that Don’t Log Off shouldn’t have done. For example, the screenlife horror film shouldn’t have waited so long to upload its footage if it wanted to capitalize on the COVID-19 Zoom-call craze. It shouldn’t have cast its ill-fated friend group without any regard to their acting talent or chemistry together. Social distancing be damned, it shouldn’t have structured its slim story so that each friend walks right into the killer’s trap one-by-one, nor should it have copped out on having them suffer any consequences for it. There’s only one thing prospective viewers should do: not watch it.

AND THE WORST FILM OF 2025 IS...

#1. War of the Worlds

Following in the footsteps of the great Orson Welles, Ice Cube’s rendition of War of the Worlds will leave unsuspecting bystanders to wonder if it was real. Viewers are able to watch worlds collide from the confines of a computer screen in the found-footage adaptation, as the rapper scrambles and ultimately fails to find an appropriate reaction to situations as baffling as aliens deleting his dead wife’s Facebook page. Its biggest disgrace is its capitulation to society’s new overlord, Amazon: the tech-giant that distributed the film conveniently cast itself as humanity’s savior at the end. The true saving grace of the categorical disaster is how it briefly united the whole world, if only in its condemnation and mockery.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARON FOR BEST DIRECTOR!

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2025 - Best Director

PSA: PTA got snubbed. Here is The Aaron for Best Director:

WINNER: Ryan Coogler - Sinners

Maybe The Aarons have no right to judge directors; if anyone can cast the first stone, it’s Ryan Coogler. While the filmmaker’s past accomplishments include revitalizing the iconic Rocky franchise and leading the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its first major Oscar nominations, Sinners will undoubtedly go on to be revered as his magnum opus. The vampire flick gave the director plenty to sink his teeth into, from flickering eyes in hellish shadows to the heavenly delights of its showstopping dance number. Suckers for the extreme widescreen format in particular, like this critic and Coogler himself, will find Sinners to be perfect.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Guillermo del Toro - Frankenstein

There was no genius better equipped to bring Frankenstein to life than the Crimson Peak creator.

James Sweeney - Twinless

Sweeney was praised for his singular vision when he won this award in 2020; Twinless affirms the director is without compare.

Chris Stuckmann - Shelby Oaks

After years of analyzing movie-making, the director’s atmospheric debut confirms that some of that knowledge stuck, man.

Lynne Ramsay - Die My Love

Die-hard fans of Lynne Ramsay’s dreamlike direction will find plenty to love in her latest reverie.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARON FOR BEST FILM PERFORMANCE!

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THE AARONS 2025 - Best Film Performance

The Aarons have not yet implemented a Best Casting award, though my all-time favorite pick would probably be when Iron Man forges his first suit. Here is The Aaron for Best Film Performance:

WINNER: Dylan O’Brien as Rocky/Roman - Twinless

With his dual roles in Twinless, Dylan O’Brien has gone from running mazes to running circles around his peers. His portrayals of Rocky in the film’s flashbacks and surviving twin Roman in its remainder are remarkable not just for how the actor differentiates the two characters from each other but how multifaceted he makes each one. O’Brien’s steady hand gently guides the gruff everyman Roman through all five stages of grief over the course of the film, delicately balancing audience’s sympathy and uncertainty towards the potential ticking time bomb. The actor himself deserves to explode in popularity after the unparalleled performance. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart - Blue Moon

Hawke pours his heart into every role but Blue Moon might become what the maestro’s best remembered for.

Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr - The Smashing Machine

After years of making big bucks for low-effort mugging, The Rock finally cooked up a performance worthy of an acting heavyweight. 

Jennifer Lawrence as Grace - Die My Love

The former ‘Girl on Fire’ showed just how fiery she can get in My Love’s formidable tour-de-force.

Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein - Frankenstein

Isaac’s narcissistic neurotic Frankenstein is never less than electrifying to watch.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARON FOR BEST SUPPORTING FILM PERFORMANCE!

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THE AARONS 2025 - Best Supporting Film Performance

I don’t know about you, but I’m riding for Chicken Jockey. Here is The Aaron for Best Supporting Film Performance:

WINNER: Jacob Elordi as The Creature - Frankenstein

Standing at a superhuman six-feet five-inches tall, Jacob Elordi was practically built to be Frankenstein’s Creature. It’s not that physical characteristic that secures the Euphoria star his victory here though, as harrowing as that hulking frame may become when stalking its prey across the Arctic. It’s the humanity that the actor imbues the Creature with throughout his ordeal, a depth that exposes the tenderness behind the wounded soul’s reign of terror. Evolving the character from pitiable victim to rageful beast and back again, Elordi seamlessly stitches together all the components needed for the complex character. To not acknowledge that self-actualization would make one the true monster. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Micheal Cera as Bjorn Lund - The Phoenician Scheme

The Phoenician Scheme is hardly serious but Cera’s silliness still sneaks up on a viewer. 

Amy Madigan as Gladys - Weapons

Even among a murderer’s row of talented actors, Madigan’s menacing work was something magical.

Mark Ruffalo as Kenneth Marshall - Mickey 17

The delightful detestability of Ruffalo’s dishonorable Marshall is something not easily duplicated. 

Oona Chaplin as Varang - Avatar: Fire and Ash

Chaplin’s vile Varang caused any arguments about Avatar having unmemorable characters to instantly go up in smoke.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARON FOR BEST SCREENPLAY!

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THE AARONS 2025 - Best Screenplay

First we screen, then we play. Here is The Aaron for Best Screenplay:

WINNER: Blue Moon by Robert Kaplow

Even if the accompanying film doesn’t quite eclipse the best movies of the year, it’s all too easy to be over the moon about Robert Kaplow’s screenplay. Following lyricist Lorenz Hart on the opening night of his former creative partner’s smash hit musical Oklahoma!, Blue Moon immortalizes the melancholy of a mostly forgotten evening. Populating the bar setting with winsome individuals from both history and his imagination, the screenwriter engorges himself on witticisms that are like music to one’s ears. Kaplow’s dialogue is not only befitting the linguists it’s made for but it belies those characters’ insecurities at every turn of phrase. A script that prompts this much laughter and introspection only comes around every once in a while.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Twinless by James Sweeney

Twinless wouldn’t make a bad pairing with Blue Moon given Sweeney’s similar quick wit and insight.

Weapons by Zach Cregger

Weapons’ effectiveness lay in Cregger’s tactical deployment of contrasting points-of-view. 

Wake Up Dead Man by Rian Johnson

Once again, Johnson revitalizes the murder-mystery genre. At this point, he could probably do it in his sleep.

Superman by James Gunn

A treatise positing kindness as more powerful than a locomotive got Gunn’s universe off to a super start.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARON FOR BEST SCORE!

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THE AARONS 2025 - Best Score

I think Patrick Doyle’s music for Thor is extremely underrated, but we’re not here to settle old scores. Here is The Aaron for Best Score:

WINNER: Sinners by Ludwig Göransson

It would have been criminal for a film about the transcendent power of music to not exemplify it; Ludwig Göransson ensured Sinners had no such transgression. The composer, who last won this award in 2023 for his unforgettable work with Oppenheimer, poured his blood, sweat, and tears into the batty blues music. Symbolizing the film’s spiritual conflict between good and evil, the score pits Göransson’s rapturous guitar riffs against creepy crescendoing choral compositions. Harmonized by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, blues savant Eric Gales, cast-member Miles Canton, and his own wife, a classically trained violinist, Göransson’s soundtrack epitomizes Sinners’ belief in the power of community. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS: 

The Fantastic Four: First Steps by Michael Giacchino

A buoyant anthem and sublime Silver Surfer theme were just some of the fantastic facets of Giacchino’s fourth franchise in the MCU.

Marty Supreme by Daniel Lopatin

2019’s Best Score recipient served up another superb synthesizer gem for Josh Safdie’s sports flick.

Mickey 17 by Jung Jae-il 

The pretty piano pieces of Jung Jae-il’s score numbered among Mickey 17’s finest qualities. 

F1 The Movie by Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer’s high-octane hybrid of electronic and orchestral instruments raced ahead of some stiff competition.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARON FOR BEST SONG!

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THE AARONS 2025 - Best Original Song

Time to put on your big guy pants, okay, and face the music. Here is The Aaron for Best Original Song:

WINNER: “I Lied to You” by Miles Canton - Sinners

Truthfully, it’s tempting to name Miles Canton’s “I Lied to You” as not just the best original song of the year, but the best of the entire century. Certainly nothing seems more worthy of that designation than the centerpiece to Sinners’ sensational ‘surreal montage’ given the song’s timeless nature. Breaking historic boundaries, the track blurs together blues, hip-hop, tribal music, and more into a staggering soundscape elevated further by the singer’s other-worldly voice. Hearing Canton’s haunting high note as he literally brings the house down is as close to heaven as Sinners could possibly get.  

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

“As Alive As You Need Me To Be” by Nine Inch Nails - Tron: Ares

Honoring Tron’s legacy of magnificent music, the electronic ecstasy of Ares’ lead single would get any being’s blood pumping. 

“Golden” by HUNTR/X - K-Pop Demon Hunters

Demon Hunters popped off with “Golden,” maybe the most inescapable earworm since Frozen’s “Let It Go”.

“Open the Door” by David Byrne and Hayley Williams - The Twits

The soothing sounds of the talented twosome stood in sharp contrast to the terrible Twits.

“Let’s Prepare for Paddington” by Olivia Colman - Paddington in Peru

Colman’s delightful ditty aptly prepared audiences for the pleasantries of Paddington in Peru.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 DAVID FOR BEST SCHOOL!

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2025: THE DAVID - Best School

The David is a special award designed by and named after my good friend, intended to honor unusual aspects of film and teach other award shows how they can improve.

This year, David’s homework for me was to evaluate the educational institutions present in 2025 films. I found a few that made the grade. Here is The David for Best School:

WINNER: Goodman Middle School - The Life of Chuck

The greatest school will always be the one that best prepares kids for their future, and, don’t get it backwards, Goodman Middle School laid the foundation for the entirety of The Life of Chuck. There are multitudes to the school’s merit, but they flow first from its phenomenal faculty. Every teacher, from Kate Siegel’s Miss Richards to Samantha Sloyan’s Miss Rohrbacher, endearingly demonstrates the utmost care for their students’ development. Enhancing the experience are the school’s abundance of extracurricular activities, most notably the co-ed dance program ‘Twirlers and Spinners’. That accepting environment encourages students like Chuck to always put their best foot forward no matter where Life may lead them. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS: 

Galsworthy House School - Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

As maddening as they might be to certain moms, intelligent educators like Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Mr. Walliker make Galsworthy laudable.

Miyagi-Do Karate/Han School of Kung Fu - Karate Kid: Legends 

The ‘two branches’ of ‘one tree’ conjointly give students a steady footing from which they can then crane-kick ass.

Fantastic Science with Mr. Fantastic - The Fantastic Four: First Steps 

No utopia would be complete without educational public television that teaches kids to reach for the stars.

Maybrook Elementary School - Weapons 

Personalized name tags? Seven hot dogs a day? It was the best school around! What murdaaas?

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARONS FOR BEST TV SHOW!

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THE AARONS 2025 - Best TV Show

There were a lot of great shows released last year, but this category has a max of 10 nominees. 

Oops, I forgot. I mean it has an HBO Max of 10 nominees.

Here are The Aarons for Best TV Show:

#10. Yellowjackets (Season 3) - Showtime

Yellowjackets may not generate the same buzz it once did but the campy survival story was always destined for cult status. The changing of seasons brought the show to its long-promised bloodletting as the stranded soccer team succumbed to savagery in both the past and present timelines. Watching that horrifying hive mentality win out stimulated one’s lizard brain in exactly the way the show excels at. Instigated by a chance encounter for the teens and a mysterious murder for their older selves, each of the season’s storylines was equally captivating. Even if the devil-may-care plotting cannibalized the show’s chance at a satisfying conclusion, it will have been worth it.

#9. Haha, You Clowns (Season 1) - Adult Swim

Haha, You Clowns won’t be a laugh riot to a lot of people; the few who can relate to its oddball humor will discover a special kinship. Expanding on a series of short films produced for the late-night network, creator Joe Cappa’s straightfaced sitcom about three wholesome brothers and their widowed father is unlike anything else on television. Bouncing rapidly between surreal escalations of everyday occurrences and sincere apologies for that extreme behavior, each episode brings viewers to a bizarre catharsis. Making gags that are indistinguishable from genuine moments is a tonal balance that only Clowns could juggle.

#8. It: Welcome to Derry (Season 1) - HBO

For anyone put off by the kindness of Clowns, maybe It is for them. The prequel TV series welcomes viewers back to the world of Andy Muschietti’s recent adaptation, with the director himself spearheading the series and the brilliant Bill Skarsgård reprising his role as Pennywise. Derry recycles the camaraderie among kids and spooky spectacle that lured audiences to It once before but pulls some nasty tricks on them along the way. The expanded lore and inclusion of Shining character Dick Halloran will make Stephen King aficionados feel right at home; fans of following It formulate fears will also be feasting.

#7. Death by Lightning (Miniseries) - Netflix

Whether or not they are well-versed in history, viewers are likely to find Lightning striking. The brief presidential tenure of James A. Garfield is one not often dramatized or even acknowledged but Death breathes new life into its events. Told from the perspective of the reluctant President and his eventual assassin Charles Guiteau, the four-episode miniseries lightly traces America’s lost opportunities to its current conflicts. An ironic sense of humor and an ensemble cast including Nick Offerman, Betty Gilpin, and Shea Whigham will be enough to generate intrigue for modern audiences, though hopefully Lightning’s yearning for a better future will also spark something deeper within them.

#6. The Lowdown (Season 1) - FX

To those not yet in the know: The Lowdown is one of the most entertaining shows on TV. Fans of creator Sterlin Harjo’s previous show Reservation Dogs shouldn’t be surprised by that fact: the comedic neo-noir set in Tulsa, Oklahoma is similarly populated by quirky characters and driven by a homegrown sense of justice. The star of the show is Ethan Hawke’s laidback charm as citizen journalist Lee Raybon, who stumbles his way through a local cover-up. Among all the shows currently competing for one’s time, the cool factor of an hour-long hangout with Hawke and the always enjoyable Keith David is Lowdown’s unfair advantage.

#5. Pluribus (Season 1) - Apple TV

There are many reasons to join in on Pluribus, though the involvement of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul creator Vince Gilligan is probably enough. The mind behind two of the greatest TV shows of all time has concocted another unmissable experience in a premise that echoes the writer’s earlier work on The X-Files. Taking Gilligan’s usual meticulous method and applying it to the hostile takeover of the human race, the pensive show possesses a profound exploration of grief and raises complicated questions about the ethics of individualism. That degree of emotional intelligence makes Pluribus unique in the world of television.

#4. The Chair Company (Season 1) - HBO

I Think You Should Leave’s Tim Robinson had audiences glued to their seats by The Chair Company. The sketch comedian made a successful shift to long form storytelling in the HBO series, escalating his usual erratic obsessive characters to their utmost limit by way of an inane unending conspiracy. As seemingly silly clues slowly reveal strange connections, Robinson’s iconic cringe-comedy crash-outs start to feel increasingly rational while remaining nothing less than riotous. Co-conspirators include Lake Bell and Sophia Lillis as the family grounding the good-natured character and legendary SNL writer Jim Downey as a co-worker who eggs on his worst impulses; that’s good company to keep.

#3. Severance (Season 2) - Apple TV

Regardless of how many years it breaks for in between installments, Severance stays a cut above other shows on TV. The second season, storywise at least, picks up immediately after the last one’s status-quo shattering cliffhanger and illuminates more of the ins-and-outs of the labyrinthian Lumon Industries. The curious and cutting parody of inhumane business practices once again profited from putting its people first, splitting its time well between developing both their work and home personas. That enriched characterization, and the moral conundrums it subsequently raised, was directly responsible for a divisive ending that will surely dominate water-cooler conversations until the Severance crew gets back to work.

#2. Adolescence (Miniseries) - Netflix

Adolescence demonstrates maturity in both its form and function; the British miniseries took the world by storm by addressing an omnipresent concern from up close. Piecing together the emotional fallout of a disorienting tragedy, each of the show’s four hour-long episodes is a technical marvel filmed entirely in one take. As dazzling as watching the camerawork can be, it never distracts from the sorrow of the show’s subject. Co-creator Stephen Graham and newcomer Owen Cooper both shine as a father and son grappling with the ripple effects of the all-too-common radicalization of young men. It’s an important message that, unfortunately, will likely never grow old.

AND THE BEST TV SHOW OF 2025 IS...

#1. The Rehearsal (Season 2) - HBO

The preparation that the actors in Adolescence put into its one-shot episodes was nothing next to the undertaking of The Rehearsal. Having refined his premise of practicing life events over the course of the show’s previous episodes, comedian and unexpected activist Nathan Fielder took flight in a season devoted exclusively to aviation safety. As expected, his plan to testify before congress takes some outlandish detours, including staging an entire singing competition as a show-within-the-show and producing a prescient look at fascists running Paramount+. As airlines weigh Fielder’s advice on boosting co-pilots’ confidence, they might want to consider how deftly the season navigates those absurdities to stick its landing.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARONS FOR BEST TV EPISODE!

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2025 - Best TV Episode

This award normally goes out to the 10 best television episodes of the year, but could there be a secret bonus episode this time? Stranger things have happened. Here are The Aarons for Best TV Episode:

#10. “Common People” (Black Mirror, Season 7, Episode 1)

Objects in Black Mirror may be closer than they appear: the cheeky ‘Common People’ bites the hand that feeds with a send-up of subscription services like its own platform, Netflix. Killing two birds with one stone by adding its satire of overpriced ad-supported streaming tiers on to one about already hellish healthcare systems, the episode’s reflection of reality is not nearly as far-removed from current times as one would like. An unconventionally cast Chris O’Dowd and Rashida Jones have uncommon chemistry as a young couple forced to subscribe to survive; watching that spark between them slowly fade upgrades the experience of an already emotionally devastating ending.

#9. “Strike Last” (Cobra Kai, Season 6, Episode 14)

With a weak start to its season and the imminent release of a new film entry, the Karate Kid sequel series looked to be on its last legs; in its masterful penultimate ‘Strike,’ Cobra Kai swept those fears away. It’s not that the moves the show took to close out its worldwide martial-arts championship were unpredictable; it’s that watching them in action was a beauty to behold. An explosive face-off between series villains Terry Silver and John Kreese flawlessly set the stage for the show’s subsequent finale, but it was seeing long-suffering karate-student Tory put the smackdown on her rival that gave “Strike” its most lasting impact.

#8. “Volunteers” (Abbott Elementary, Season 4, Episode 9)

If asked to pick potential crossovers for the heartfelt TV sitcom Abbott Elementary, the family unfriendly Always Sunny in Philadelphia is not the first name most people would volunteer. Despite their shared city, the two shows are entirely disparate. Luckily, the crew at Abbott understood the assignment, brilliantly blending the highjinks of their hard-working teachers with the capers of a gang who will never learn a lesson. The clash of personalities paired people up perfectly for the project, particularly when matching the curmudgeonly Mr. Johnson with the grotesque Frank Reynolds. What started as an out-of-the-box idea ended up schooling every other crossover to ever do it.

#7. “Sloppy Joseph” (Poker Face, Season 2, Episode 6)

Over two seasons of Poker Face, detective Charlie Cale may have taken down her fair share of sloppy psychopaths but the unnerving Stephanie Pearce was not her average joe. Taking an amusing recess from the show’s typical high-stakes crime-solving, the victim in ‘Sloppy Joseph’ is a classroom gerbil and the perpetrator is the school’s top student, an eleven year old girl. Despite her age, she quickly proves herself more dastardly than every prior villain; young performer Eva Jade Halford even steals the show from its notable guest star, character actress Margo Martindale. Within the series’ sophomore slump, Halford earns the episode a gold star.

#6. “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail” (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 3, Episode 6)

Admittedly, most of the latest season of Star Trek went a little too far up its own ass; then, there was “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail,” one of the franchise’s finest hours. The tale of the Enterprise’s conflict with a scavenger ship acted as the perfect bridge between the Strange New shipmates and those of the original series, with tag teams led by Captain Pike and a young James T. Kirk working together to sabotage their foe. Similarly, the episode’s thrills are twofold: the large-scale spectacle of the colossal enemy ship and the small-scale fellowship forged between Kirk and his future crew, an appetizer of the franchise coming full-circle.

#5. “The Oner” (The Studio, Season 1, Episode 2)

The makers of Adolescence weren’t the only ones to show love to the one-take last year; The Studio produced its own amazing ode. The meta episode’s adoration for movie-making extends from its characters to its viewers: studio executive Matt Remick, played by Seth Rogen, is just as ecstatic to supervise the making of a single-take scene as the viewer is to watch ‘The Oner’’s own continuous shot unfold. While the in-universe filming involving guest stars Sarah Polley and Greta Lee quickly devolves into a rollicking comedy-of-errors, the episode pulls off its own without a hitch. That’s to be expected from The Studio: no notes.

#4. “Mac & Dennis Become EMTs” (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 17, Episode 3)

Informed by their experience with Abbott Elementary, the gang of Always Sunny cooked up a mini-crossover of their own in an episode that can be best described as Bringing Out the Dead meets The Bear. Fueling an unauthorized ambulance gig with unhealthy microdosing (of hot peppers) to stay stimulated was the show’s latest recipe for its cornerstone chaos. Throwing in a frenzied food truck scam and mixing it with the return of the gang’s self-declared nemesis The Lawyer sent it boiling over into one of series’ best episodes. Sunny’s unwillingness to slow down seventeen seasons in is directly responsible for the ensuing overdose of laughter.

#3. “Chikhai Bardo” (Severance, Season 2, Episode 7)

‘Chikhai Bardo’ provides enlightenment on the ultimate goal of Severance by restructuring the show around the unexpected ties that bind. That new philosophy permeates a poetic episode that sends viewers on a journey through several circles of hell alongside Dichen Lachman’s Ms. Casey, interspersed with flashbacks involving Adam Scott’s Mark Scout. It’s a philosophy also made manifest in the astonishing transitions that long-time cinematographer and first-time director Jessica Lee Gagné uses to splice together the non-linear narrative. Revealing the heartbreaking bonds between these characters elevated the show to a whole new level, and left audiences more invested than ever in Lumen Industries reaching its moment of death. 

#2. “Episode 3” (Adolescence, Season 1, Episode 3)

With its one-shot format, Adolescence stares down society’s ills with an unbroken gaze; the show’s style could have easily come across as gimmicky if not for ‘Episode 3.’ Isolating its viewers in a pre-trial detention center with only teen murderer Jamie Miller and the psychologist tasked with assessing his fitness for trial, the episode pares itself down to an unavoidable, uncomfortable look at the tragedies of toxic masculinity. With nowhere else to turn, viewers are placed in the psychologist’s shoes: forced to consider what sympathy such a child might deserve and how safe affording him that sympathy would leave one’s self. Those are questions viewers are left to carry even after the episode’s only cut to black.

AND THE BEST TV EPISODE OF 2025 IS...

#1. “Pilot’s Code” (The Rehearsal, Season 2, Episode 3)

The best part of The Rehearsal is its unpredictability; no one, likely not even Nathan Fielder himself, could have guessed where ‘Pilot’s’ would eventually arrive. Certainly someone might have assumed that, at one point in his assessment of aviation protocols, Fielder would channel Tom Hanks by reenacting the life of pilot Sully Sullenberger. That same person though likely wouldn’t have foreseen the star casting himself as a baby Sully and breastfeeding from puppeted parents built to scale. At the end of that uncanny journey, the episode’s final hypothesis - that Sully was listening to the chorus of Evanescence's “Bring Me to Life” during the Miracle on the Hudson - doesn’t seem like nearly as much of a departure from reality as it might have 30 minutes prior.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARON FOR BEST TV PERFORMANCE!

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2025 - Best TV Performance

I haven’t caught up on The Mandalorian yet. I should Grogu that. Here is The Aaron for Best TV Performance:

WINNER: Rhea Seehorn as Carol Sturka - Pluribus

Having to place the outcome of Pluribus on one actor’s shoulders, Vince Gilligan wisely knew he’d better call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn. Playing one of a dozen people immune from a hivemind, Seehorn is tasked with showcasing the full breadth of the human experience opposite calmer co-stars. The same grand expressions of grief and trauma that won her this award back in 2022 for her work as Kim Wexler translates perfectly to the isolated Carol, and her exasperation at the alien Others’ peculiarities once again takes the actor over the edge. Out of many praiseworthy performances last year, this one stands alone. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Britt Lower as Helly R. - Severance

Lower’s performance reached new heights with the reveal of hidden layers to the role of Helly R.

Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller - Adolescence

Graham’s germination of grief throughout Adolescence nurtures the depth of its tragedy. 

Michael Shannon as James A. Garfield - Death by Lightning

For at least a short while, Shannon provides a soothing portrait of a President driven by hope and integrity.

Sarah Snook as Marissa Irvine - All Her Fault

Snook is all too convincing as the anguished mother of a missing child; whatever failings the mystery show had were certainly not her fault.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARON FOR BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE!

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2025 - Best Supporting TV Performance

I support Paramount bidding to Warner Bros.

Sorry, I meant to write: I support Paramount bidding farewell to Warner Bros.

Here is The Aaron for Best Supporting TV Performance:

WINNER: Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller - Adolescence

If there’s one certainty to Adolescence, it’s that there will always be those who underestimate someone just because they’re young. It would be unwise to do so with a person like Owen Cooper. At the age of 15, and with his first ever acting gig, the performer exhibited a wisdom beyond his years in his eerily believable performance as the juvenile criminal. Jamie Miller may have an undeniable emotional volatility, shifting unsuspectingly from a scared little kid to a scarily entitled one, but at no moment does Cooper appear to be out of control. Hopefully Adolescence is only just the beginning; it will be a privilege to see him continue to grow as an actor.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Guiteau - Death by Lightning

Macfadyen’s pitch-perfect pathetic Guiteau proved his former Succession role wasn’t just lightning in a bottle. 

Dichen Lachman as Ms. Casey - Severance

Ms. Casey’s job involves a lot of menial labor; Lachman’s matchless work demands recognition.

Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise the Clown - It: Welcome to Derry

Skarsgård painlessly slipped back into Pennywise’s skin, a transformation just as terrifying as the last time around.

Emilia Jones as Maeve Prendergrast - Task

The CODA star stepped up to the task as the compassionate kidnapping collaborator.

NEXT UP: THE 2025 AARON FOR WORST TV SHOW!

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2025 - Worst TV Show

Sometimes, only getting 8 episodes every 3 years is a blessing. Here is The Aaron for Worst TV Show:

WINNER: Found (Season 2) - NBC

Like many network shows since J.J. Abrams changed television, Found lured viewers in with a killer hook and then quickly lost its way. While the first season established a dark and dangerous dynamic between investigator Gaby Moseley and the once-kidnapper now-captive Sir chained up in her basement, the second starts with Sir on the run and the show struggling to fill that void with anything equally compelling. While Gaby’s co-workers drone on-and-on about the emotional damage of her actions, the trappings of the show’s case-of-the-week format renders any long-term consequences moot. No matter how many kidnap victims the team went on to save, something they never found was a new reason for viewers to care.

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS:

All’s Fair (Pilot Only) - Hulu

After giving her legal drama a fair shake, it appears that making watchable television is a bar Kim Kardashian just can’t pass.

Watson (Pilot Only) - CBS

If you’re going to be the umpteenth show to transplant Sherlock Holmes characters to modern day, the results can’t be this elementary, my dear Watson.

The Hunting Party (Season 1) - NBC

Viewers searching for a serial killer thriller with bold twists and satisfying payoffs should keep on hunting.

Happy Face (Season 1) - Paramount+ Carelessly blurring the line between true crime and fiction made Happy Face’s own Hannibal Lecter dynamic hard to stomach.

THAT'S OUR SHOW! THANK YOU FOR READING!

SCROLL ON FOR A LIST OF FILMS ELIGIBLE FOR THE 2025 AARONS!

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2025 - Eligible Films

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t was half right. Here are all the films that were eligible for The 2025 Aarons:

Avatar: Fire and Ash

The Bad Guys 2

Ballerina: From the World of John Wick

Black Bag

Black Phone 2

Blue Moon

Bring Her Back

Captain America: Brave New World

Clown in a Cornfield

Companion

The Conjuring: Last Rites

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

Die My Love

Dog Man

Don’t Log Off

Drop

Eddington

The Electric State

Elio

F1 The Movie

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Fear Street: Prom Queen

Fight or Flight

Final Destination Bloodlines

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

Fixed

Fountain of Youth

Frankenstein

Freaky Tales

Friendship

Good Boy

Good Fortune

The Gorge

Gothic Slayers

Heart Eyes

Hell of a Summer

A House of Dynamite

I Know What You Did Last Summer

In the Lost Lands

Jurassic World Rebirth

Karate Kid: Legends

Keeper

K-Pop Demon Hunters

The Life of Chuck

Locked

The Long Walk

M3GAN 2.0

Marty Supreme

The Mastermind

Match

Materialists

Mickey 17

A Minecraft Movie

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

The Monkey

The Naked Gun

Nobody 2

Nouvelle Vague

Novocaine

One Battle After Another

Paddington in Peru

The Phoenician Scheme

Plankton the Movie

Predator: Badlands

Predator: Killer of Killers

Presence

R. L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead

Red Sonja

Shelby Oaks

Sinners

The Smashing Machine

Smurfs

Star Trek: Section 31

The Strangers: Chapter 2

Superman

The Surfer

Thunderbolts

The Toxic Avenger

Tron: Ares

Twinless

The Twits

Until Dawn

V/H/S/Halloween

Vicious

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

War of the Worlds

Weapons

Wicked: For Good

Witchboard

Wolf Man

The Woman in Cabin 10

The Woman in the Yard

SCROLL ON FOR A LIST OF TV SHOWS ELIGIBLE FOR THE 2025 AARONS!

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2025 - Eligible TV Shows

Do you ever feel like somebody’s watching You? Here are all the TV shows that were eligible for The 2025 Aarons:

Abbot Elementary (Season 4b-5a) - ABC

Adolescence (Miniseries) - Netflix

Alien: Earth (Season 1) - FX

All Her Fault (Miniseries) - Peacock

Bat-Fam (Season 1) - Amazon Prime

Bel-Air (Season 4) - Peacock

Black Mirror (Season 7) - Netflix

The Chair Company (Season 1) - HBO

Cobra Kai (Season 6c) - Netflix

Dark Winds (Season 3) - AMC

Dexter: Original Sin (Season 1) - Showtime

Dexter: Resurrection (Season 1) - Showtime

Duster (Season 1) - HBO Max

Elsbeth (Season 2b) - CBS

Found (Season 2b) - NBC

Good American Family (Miniseries) - Hulu

Goosebumps: The Vanishing (Season 2) - Disney+

Haha, You Clowns (Season 1) - Adult Swim

Happy Face (Season 1) - Paramount+

Harley Quinn (Season 5) - HBO Max

The Hunting Party (Season 1) - NBC

Invincible (Season 3) - Amazon Prime

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 17) - FXX

It: Welcome to Derry (Season 1) - HBO

Long Bright River (Miniseries) - Peacock

The Lowdown (Season 1) - FX

Mythic Quest (Season 4) - Apple TV

The Paper (Season 1) - Peacock

Poker Face (Season 2) - Peacock

Pluribus (Season 1) - Apple TV

The Rehearsal (Season 2) - HBO

Rick & Morty (Season 8) - Adult Swim

The Righteous Gemstones (Season 4) - HBO

Severance (Season 2) - Apple TV

Side Quest (Miniseries) - Apple TV

Smiling Friends (Season 3) - Adult Swim

Solar Opposites (Season 6) - Hulu

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Season 3) - Paramount+

Star Wars: Tales of the Underground (Miniseries) - Disney+

St. Denis Medical (Season 1b-2a) - NBC

Stranger Things (Season 5) - Netflix

The Studio (Season 1) - Apple TV

Task (Season 1) - HBO

Yellowjackets (Season 3) - Showtime

You (Season 5) - Netflix

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Season 1) - Disney+

PILOT ONLY:

All’s Fair (Pilot Only) - Hulu

DMV (Pilot Only) - CBS

Stumble (Pilot Only) - NBC

Watson (Pilot Only) - CBS

THANK YOU FOR READING!