After a dearth of good TV on our screens in recent times as a knock-on effect of the Hollywood writers and actors strikes, there are lots of returning shows to look forward to this spring and summer.
From the follow-up to Apple TV's singular sci-fi thriller Severance, to the sure-to-be nail-biting final season of Netflix's martial arts Cobra Kai, and series three of the acclaimed anthology series The White Lotus, there's an abundance of shows to feast on.
Here is our pick of some of the best drama and reality TV shows to watch in the coming months.
Severance
The first season of creator Dan Erickson's dystopian drama Severance aired in early 2022, so it's been a bit of a wait to enjoy the second run. It has been airing in weekly instalments on Apple TV+ since 17 January, with the nine-episode series set to finish on 21 March.
Should you need a refresher, the brilliant Adam Scott stars as Mark Scout, who leads a team at Lumon Industries, a mysterious company whose employees have undergone a severance procedure - a process that surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives.
As well as returning cast members John Turturro, Britt Lower, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette and Zach Cherry, season two will welcome some new additions including Tramell Tillman, Alia Shawkat, Gwendoline Christie and Merritt Wever. Here's hoping we will finally begin to figure out what the heck is going on this season...
Cobra Kai
This Karate Kid TV spin-off has brought viewers on a journey since it first landed in 2018. This surprisingly well-crafted, smart, funny and moving continuation of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence's story is set 34 years after the events of the original The Karate Kid movie.
It follows the continued rivalry and blossoming friendship between Ralph Macchio's Daniel and William Zabka's Johnny and their younger cohorts including Johnny's son Robby (Tanner Buchanan) and Daniel's daughter Samantha (Mary Mouser).
The action-packed story is finally concluding with the third instalment of season three which is set to land on Netflix on 13 February. It's sure to be epic as the karate saga comes to a close, with the trailer promising a return to the Karate Kid event "where it all began" - the Under 18 All-Valley Karate Championship tournament.
Love Is Blind
Season eight of Netflix's US Love Is Blind drops on the streaming service on Valentine's Day (14 February), as it follows a group of singletons from Minneapolis searching for true love.
The "dating experiment" has had peaks and troughs since it debuted in 2020, with some contestants appearing to be more interested in finding fame than a lifelong partnership, but here's hoping the latest run will feature some couples to root for.
For the uninitiated - the series sees a group of men and women date, fall in love and get engaged before ever seeing one another face-to-face. Yes, it's just as preposterous as it sounds, but it's worth watching for the genuinely heartwarming connections between some matches.
The White Lotus
In one of the most highly-anticipated TV returns of 2025 - season three of the biting social satire The White Lotus will be coming to HBO on 16 February. Creator, writer and director Mike White's black comedy anthology series debuted in 2021 and followed the guests and employees of the fictional White Lotus resort chain in Hawaii, while season two was set in Sicily.
While initially intended as a 6-part limited series, the huge success of the first season ensured its future and HBO has already renewed The White Lotus for a fourth run.
So what's in store this time around?
The White Lotus is heading to Thailand and will follow a new group of guests and staff — with at least one familiar face in the mix. There's a star-studded mix of newcomers including Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Scott Glenn, Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wood and Parker Posey.
With the trailer declaring "What happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand", it looks like we're in for another wild ride.
Reacher
Season three of Prime Video's Reacher, based on Lee Child's ever-popular Jack Reacher books, drops on 20 February. It's a pulpy action crime thriller series that, crucially, doesn't take itself too seriously and stars a perfectly cast Alan Ritchson in the titular role as a drifter former military police investigator who investigates crimes and dishes out his own brand of street justice.
After a somewhat disappointing and lacklustre second season, the trailer for season three looks like a proper return to form, with action and humour in spades.
A logline reads: "Reacher travels to Maine in search of a deadly foe from his past and ends up entangled with rogue DEA agents, dangerous killers, and a mysterious family business."
The Last of Us
Rejoice, The Last Of Us will finally return to screens this April! The hit HBO series - a TV adaptation of a video game - was a runaway success and it sounds like co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have big ambitions for the second run of the zombie apocalypse thriller.
Set five years after the events of the first season, Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal will be back as pseudo-father-and-daughter duo Ellie and Joel as they continue their journey through a post-apocalyptic world overrun by fungus-infected zombies.
The seven-episode series also welcomes a host of new cast members including Kaitlyn Dever, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Wright, Young Mazino, Spencer Lord and Isabela Merced.
The showrunners said fans don't need to worry about the shorter season run as each episode will "feel like its own blockbuster." Even better news is that they plan to continue the story into a third and possibly even a fourth season down the line...
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
Momtok is back! The second series of Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which can be streamed on Disney + in Ireland, returns this spring, with a date yet to be confirmed.
The jaw-dropping eight-episode series dropped last September and provided a fascinating insight into a group of Utah-based TikTok influences as they navigated the fallout of a social media scandal.
There promises to be plenty more drama ahead as Taylor Frankie Paul and co. return for a second instalment.
Take a look at the season one trailer to get a taste of what to expect.
Squid Game
The third and final season of Netflix's Squid Game will be coming on 27 June. And after the cliffhanger season two ending, fans will be crying out to see what happens next.
Warning: Spoiler alert for Squid Game season two!
In the season two finale, Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) attempts to rally his fellow competitors against the architects of the game but is double-crossed by the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), who has spent much of the season hiding in plain sight as Player 001. In a devastating twist, the Front Man kills Gi-hun's best friend Jung-bae (Lee Seo-hwan).
Netflix has confirmed season three will pick up directly after the shocking season two ending.
Series director, writer, and executive producer Hwang Dong-hyuk said of the third and final run: "I am thrilled to see the seed that was planted in creating a new Squid Game grow and bear fruit through the end of this story. We'll do our best to make sure we bring you yet another thrill ride."
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