TOP 5 SHOWS OF 2025

The best shows of the year did more than entertain...

They spoke to identity, healing, power, reinvention, and the quiet spaces in between. Each of these selections offered a different kind of mirror. Sometimes through laughter, sometimes through longing, and sometimes through soft chaos that made us feel alive.

AURA MAG TOP FIVE:

5. Nine Perfect Strangers

Season two of Nine Perfect Strangers returns with Nicole Kidman as Masha, a mysterious and provocative wellness leader who now hosts her retreat in a secluded, snow-covered European landscape. This time, nine new guests arrive, each carrying their own emotional weight, trauma, or secret longing.

What unfolds is not a spa vacation. It is a deeply psychological unraveling, with each guest pushed to confront their patterns and shadows through unconventional, often disturbing methods.

The show is both eerie and hypnotic. Its pacing slows your nervous system while keeping your mind alert, like an extended breath in cold air. While not always gentle, it delivers moments of clarity and emotional resonance that feel earned. For those on a healing journey, it may not offer solutions, but it does offer reflection.

4. Selling Sunset

In its newest season, Selling Sunset continues to deliver its unique combination of high-stakes luxury real estate and high-drama personal dynamics. The agents of The Oppenheim Group return, navigating commissions, competition, and confrontations with unapologetic boldness.

Yes, there are houses worth tens of millions, couture outfits for casual coffee runs, and endless sunset shots from glass balconies. But beneath the surface, the show reveals something deeper: the cost of ambition, the performance of femininity, and the art of self-presentation.

There is something strangely affirming about watching women take up space: loudly, beautifully, and imperfectly. It is not aspirational in the traditional sense. It is about control, image, and survival.

And sometimes, it is just fun!

3. Paradise

Paradise quietly became one of the most emotionally resonant shows of the year. The series begins with a woman who inherits a crumbling seaside property and, with nowhere else to go, decides to return to the place she once tried to forget.

As she repairs the house, she begins to reconnect with people from her past, including a childhood friend, a former love, and a woman who holds secrets that change everything. The show explores the intersections of memory, regret, and redemption through soft dialogue and stunning natural backdrops.

This is not a loud story. It is tender and introspective. Each character feels like someone you might know in real life—flawed, kind, hurt, hopeful. It asks what happens when the life you were running from becomes the one you are called to heal within.

2. Palm Royale

Set in 1969 Palm Beach, Palm Royale is a vibrant period dramedy centered around Maxine Simmons, a woman on the fringes of high society who is determined to break into the world of the elite.

Maxine, played by Kristen Wiig, is charming and delusional in equal measure. Her journey is filled with schemes, misunderstandings, and missteps as she tries to reinvent herself into someone who belongs in the most exclusive circles. The show features an ensemble cast of powerful women, each navigating their own masks and ambitions.

The visuals are dazzling, with lush gardens, ornate gowns, over-the-top country clubs, and the humor is sharp. But underneath the glamorous aesthetic is a story about class, self-worth, and the quiet ache of never quite being accepted.

It’s a feast for the eyes and a whisper to the soul, especially for anyone who’s ever tried to build a life they weren’t born into.

1. Loot

Loot returns with Maya Rudolph in her most radiant form as Molly Wells, a billionaire divorcée who, after a very public split, decides to re-enter the world of philanthropy by taking an active role in the charity foundation she once left behind.

The show follows her transformation from disconnected heiress to a woman who wants to contribute something meaningful. Alongside a team of foundation staff, each lovable and chaotic in their own right. Molly slowly learns how to rebuild her life, not with money, but with purpose, humility, and heart.

What makes Loot stand out is its ability to make reinvention feel both hilarious and sacred. The comedy is warm, the fashion is unforgettable, and the emotional core is never lost beneath the laughter.

It is a show about what happens after the fall, and how becoming someone new often means returning to who you truly were all along.

In a year where joy felt revolutionary, Loot was the show that gave us laughter, softness, and growth, all wrapped in sequins and sincerity.

In essence, it's an excellent idea to curate the content that you consume, and be mindful with the intention of why you are consuming and what you will get out of it. Remember, everything is energy.

So, when you choose a show to watch - think to yourself, "am I choosing this show for humor, relaxation, education, entertainment...?"

Once you do this, you are setting an intention, instead of just mindlessly binge watching into oblivion. It shifts the energy that you allow in and that you put out. It is all about intention.

Enjoy your favorite show, and stay inspired!