2025 was an insane run for media releases, and like any good entertainment nerd, I kept track of it all month by month. There were so many great books, films, and TV moments across so many platforms that I could not name them all, so if you don’t see your favorite piece of media from this year, don’t be disappointed. The following are, in my opinion, the best things I found that came out this year.
- January: Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
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@romantasy.realms via YouTube Listen, I am obsessed with Fourth Wing for a reason, and that reason is Violet Sorrengail. The series took the internet by storm in 2023, and it continues to do so as new lore about the characters drops. According to Yarros, the next book won’t arrive until 2027, but many readers, including me, hope it will arrive sooner. I highly recommend listening to the graphic audiobook; it makes the story that much more interesting.
Music: The Weeknd’s final album, Hurry Up Tomorrow.
TV: Season 2 of XO, Kitty (Netflix).
Film: Marked Men: Rule and Shaw starring Chase Stokes and Sydney Taylor.
- February: My Fault: London (Prime Video) & So Close to What by Tate McRae
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@PrimeVideo via YouTube Shorts If you thought that My Fault: London wasn’t going to be my top choice for whatever month it came out, you thought extremely wrong. If I were ranking the top media of the year, this film would be number one. However, it’s tied with So Close to What because that album was life-changing for me on a spiritual level (something I will say about every Tate McRae album).
Music: BLACKPINK’s LISA also released her first solo album, Alter Ego, and Sabrina Carpenter dropped a much-anticipated Short n‘ Sweet deluxe album with four extra tracks.
TV: The final season of Cobra Kai and the season 4 premiere of Sweet Magnolias, Running Point, starring Kate Hudson (both on Netflix).
Books: Alison Saft released Wings of Starlight, a novel about the love story between Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings characters Queen Clarion and Lord Milori.
- March: Playboi Carti’s Long-Awaited Album MUSIC
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Playboi Carti via Spotify After five years and much teasing, Carti announced the release of his third album, MUSIC. It featured over 30 songs with artists like The Weeknd, Travis Scott, and Future. He played a few new songs during his Rolling Loud set in Miami the year prior.
Music: JENNIE dropped her debut album, Ruby, and Ariana Grande dropped a deluxe version of her 2024 album, eternal sunshine. After the end of her tour, Kelsea Ballerini also released a deluxe album of her most recent record, Patterns.
Film: In the cinematic world, Disney’s live-action Snow White finally hit the big screen, though it ultimately performed abysmally. Sofia Carson’s newest Netflix movie, The Life List, was also released.
- April: Lauren Roberts’s Fearless
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@Natillavani via Youtube Shorts This past year, Lauren Roberts’s Powerless series exploded on BookTok. The final installment in the series, Fearless, was released in 2025 amongst high expectations.
Music: Two notable albums were also released: At the Beach in Every Life, by Gigi Perez, which featured the viral “Sailor Song,” and the now-cancelled d4vd’s debut album, Withered.
Books: Two other highly anticipated books, King of Envy in Ana Huang’s Kings of Sin series, and Tahreh Mafi’s Watch Me, the first book in a sequel series to the Shatter Me series, were also released.
- May: Motorheads (Prime Video)
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@PrimeVideo via YouTube My May binge was Motorheads on Prime, and I was super disappointed to see that it was not renewed for a second season despite performing extremely well with audiences. The cast was full of diverse actors and was an overall powerhouse series.
Music: Miley Cyrus released her ninth studio album, Something Beautiful, which isn’t my favorite album of hers, but still flaunted a few good songs.
TV: Disney+ and Dave Filoni continued their new annual tradition on May 4th of releasing Tales of the Underworld, which centers on Asajj Ventress after the Clone Wars and the upbringing of Cad Bane.
Film: A new Karate Kid movie starring Ralph Macchio, Jackie Chan, and newcomer Ben Wang hit screens, as well as the newest installment of the MCU, Thunderbolts, which features Yelena Belova and some notable ex-cons.
- June: Live Action How To Train Your Dragon (Universal Studios)
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@UniversalPictures via YouTube My most anticipated film of the year? The live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon. I’ve loved the animated version since I was a little girl, and, in my opinion, the film was worth the hype with all of the new things depicted as well. The second movie is set to release in 2027.
TV: Season 3 of Ginny and Georgia aired this month, along with season 2 of the Buccaneers on Apple TV, which has one of the best soundtracks I’ve seen in a while. On Prime, we were liars debuted and were quickly renewed for season 2, which will be based on the last book in the duology.
Music: Addison Rae released her debut album, Addison, which included many viral singles.
Film: Biggest surprise of the month? For me and everyone else, it was Netflix’s KPOP Demon Hunters that took the world by storm and broke records for Netflix. The second movie is promised by the end of the decade, tops.
- July: The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 (Prime Video)
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@PrimeVideo via YouTube The highly anticipated final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty aired in July with a two-episode premiere that stunned audiences. The soundtrack is still as iconic as ever, and as the season aired, one thing was for sure: Jenny Han was not going to fail us with her long-awaited finale.
Film: The newest Superman movie went viral for its commentary on current events. A release I was especially surprised by was the fourth ZOMBIES movie. The songs were well-written, one of which, entitled “Dream Come True,” was on repeat in my car for a month.
- August: Man’s Best Friend by Sabrina Carpenter
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Sabrina Carpenter via Spotify With the release of the single “Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter claimed the “song of the summer” once again. When her album came out, she was responsible for online trends such as the “Tears” trend.
Music: A bunch of strong albums were released this month: Conan Gray’s fourth album, Wishbone, Renee Rapp’s second album, BITE ME, and MGK’s newest album in the pop-rock genre, lost americana.
Movies: Freakier Friday, the sequel to the Disney hit Freaky Friday, hit theaters and Disney+. Sofia Carson’s second movie of the year, My Oxford Year, alongside Corey Mylechreest, premiered early in the month on Netflix.
TV: Season 2 of My Life With the Walter Boys premiered on Netflix.
- September: Wednesday Season 2 (Netflix)
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@Netflix via YouTube Although the first four episodes arrived in August, the second season of Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega, took a dark turn and concluded in early September. The series is set to return for season 3 at a later date.
Music: Zara Larsson, who opened for Tate McRae’s Miss Possessive tour, released her third album, Midnight Sun, making a comeback to the music scene on the same day as Doja Cat, who released her fifth album, Vie.
Books: If you’ve read any of Lynn Painter’s books, her newest release, Fake Skating, which follows two childhood friends, is to die for. In fact, one of the narrators she worked with is Charlie Bushnell!
TV: Prime Video’s show of the month, The Runarounds, took audiences by storm, and believe it or not, the band is real and going on tour! They were also featured in Outer Banks, as the director, Jonas Pate, worked on both shows.
- October: It’s Not That Deep by Demi Lovato
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Demi Lovato via Spotify With the release of her new album, It’s Not That Deep, Demi Lovato made her long-awaited return to the music scene. She also announced that a tour is in the works. ADELA, the Slovakian superstar known for her time in Katseye’s popstar academy, is her opener.
Music: Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, The Life of A Showgirl, which ultimately disappointed me and many fans, but some of the songs were okay.
TV: The Winx Club reboot, as abysmal as it was, was released, with a second part promised to come out in either January or February of this year. The Witcher season 4 also graced our screens, with Liam Hemsworth replacing Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia.
Film: Prime released a rom-com starring Madelaine Petsch called Maintenance Required, and Tron Ares was also released, although it performed poorly at the box office. The biggest surprise of the month for me was Regretting You, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel. It was just as good as the book with a few alterations.
- November: Wicked: For Good (Universal Studios)
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@UniversalPictures via YouTube The second part of Wicked‘s release was on par with the hype, and for the second year in a row, the marketing exceeded high expectations.
Music: Tate McRae released a surprise deluxe version of So Close to What with four extra songs, including the anthem “TIT FOR TAT,” and Kelsea Ballerini dropped a surprise six-song EP, Mount Pleasant.
Film: Aside from Wicked, the only other movie release of note to me was Sidelined 2: Intercepted, the sequel to Sidelined: The QB and Me, which premiered exclusively on Tubi last year. The sequel stars Noah Beck and Siena Adugong, with Charlie Gillespie in a guest-starring role.
TV: Season 2 of Prime Video’s Maxton Hall: The World Between Us, the German drama based on the book series of the same name, also premiered this month, with season 3 in production and slated to release within the next year.
- December: Stranger Things 5 (Netflix)
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@Netflix via YouTube To wrap up the year, one of the most highly anticipated shows in Netflix’s history, Stranger Things, put out its final season with the series finale playing in select theaters, a first for the streaming giant.
TV: Percy Jackson season 2 also started airing, and the final part of the season is expected to be released in January; season 3 is already in production with a possible season 4 renewal. Heated Rivalry, a TV show based on the book of the same name by Rachel Reid, took the internet by storm at the beginning of the month. It is also expected to return for a second season on HBO Max, following the plot of the second book. The legacy of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was set in stone by the six-episode docuseries streaming exclusively on Disney+. Emily in Paris season 5 on Netflix was also released as well.
Film: Tell Me Softly, based on the trilogy by Mercedes Ron (responsible for the Culpables franchise), was released on December 12. The third installment of James Cameron’s Avatar franchise, Fire and Ash, made a strong debut at the box office and grossed over Cameron’s goal amount: $1 billion.
Books: Alex Aster’s Lightlark series continued with the release of the fourth installment, Crowntide, after novellas following the main male love interests, Grim and Oro, released earlier this year (#teamGrim).
There was a lot that happened this past year, and it was exciting to see how the year in media played out. I cannot wait to see what 2026 has in store and everything that comes after.