7 Best Animated TV Shows of 2025, Ranked

2025 was an epic year for the animation world as many shows really made waves with fans with their debuts. The animation industry might be struggling in some ways as the larger production companies continue to shuffle their priorities around in favor of other kinds of projects, but the shows and projects that have made their way to screens have been huge successes. This not only included major revivals and reboots, but a ton of brand new releases as well.

Not only were there massive animated movies taking over the big and small screens, but there were a ton of great TV shows that made their debut over the course of 2025 too. There were so many great hits that this list can’t quite get it all covered, either. Brand new shows, major revivals and reboots, and large mysteries abound, and you can check out our picks for the best animated shows of 2025 below.

7). The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball

The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball released two brand new seasons that picked up right from where The Amazing World of Gumball left off with Cartoon Network seven years prior. This revival series brings back the original creator and much of the same crew from the first series, but adds a whole new energy for the modern era. Both seasons of this new series feel incredibly fresh, and still in line with Gumball’s wacky spirit.

Standout episodes include “The Synthesis,” “The Portrait,” and “The Score,” and we even got episodes fleshing out the wider plot at large. It’s only at the bottom of this list for technical reasons as it’s not as “brand new” as many of the other shows here and is instead a continuation.

6). King of the Hill Season 14

King of the Hill‘s own revival with Hulu also walks that fine line of being a continuation, but it’s also a brand new show in every other sense. It might feature the original voice cast and the creators behind it all, but it’s a brand new take on the classic animated series that accomplishes what all revivals of its kind hope to do in the same way. It captures the spirit of that original series, but also feels like it’s been modernized without losing any of that original appeal.

It walks such a tightrope that it’s just impressive to see how well it sticks the landing. It’s the old fashioned King of the Hill we love, but somehow didn’t lose itself within the new ten episode format with Hulu. It was just the wildest reboot we got in 2025, and for that reason it deserves a place here for being just so great to watch.

5). Haunted Hotel

Netflix had its own fair share of great animated debuts this year, and Haunted Hotel is the kind of gem that might have slipped by your radar otherwise. Created by Matt Roller, this animated series sees a sister taking over a hotel once managed by her now dead brother. But as she does so with the family, it’s clear that there are ghosts, demons, and all kinds of other troubles that start to appear through the course of its debut season.

It’s such a well crafted sitcom in that it uses its premise to great extent as it plays around with all sorts of fun visuals. The scale increases a great deal as well as by the time we get to the finale, it’s the full end of the world and a demon is stuck in a constant time loop in order to save his family. It’s a show that develops its idea from episode to episode, and offers such a great path for the future.

4). Haha, You Clowns

Adult Swim also offered its fair share of brand new shows in 2025, and there was some stiff competition among all of them to stand out. Of those debuts, one late in the game was Joe Cappa’s Haha, You Clowns. Standing out immediately from the rest of Adult Swim’s shows thanks to its air of positivity around it, the series showed off three boys who are being raised by their father following the death of their mother.

Each episode walks such a fine line between genuine sitcom optimism and a bubbling intensity underneath, and that’s something that reaches its apex at the end of the season. It’s just a fun show with no stakes in each episode with a trio of very good boys who were raised right. If you want a perfect encapsulation of how great it is, check out “Plane” in particular.

3). Long Story Short

The other major Netflix animated original was also a rather quiet hit when compared to everything else. Crafted by Bojack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Long Story Short is just one of the most compelling shows of 2025 overall. It’s a window into the lives of the extended Schwooper family, but told in a non-linear fashion. Each episode jumps around to different points of the characters’ lives, and helps to fill in the gaps in between each jump.

It’s just so packed in each episode with character drama, and so many tight jokes in the dialogue that it’s an absolute marvel to see. It’s a Netflix series crafted with the binge format in mind as you’ll end up wanting to watch through every single episode in a single sitting. There is just so much to unpack with each of the characters, their ties to Judaism, their connections with one another, and much more. Do yourself a favor and watch this one.

2). Common Side Effects

In terms of the new Adult Swim originals that we got in 2025, there’s no better example than Common Side Effects. It released so early in 2025 that many might have forgotten it as the year came to an end, but it stands up right next to any live-action drama series. But it’s also a show that could only exist in animation as it’s a very fantastical kind of idea that also unfortunately hits way too close to home in the current landscape of the medical industry in the United States.

Created by Joe Bennett and Steve Hely, Common Side Effects sees its lead Marshall discovering a mysterious mushroom that essentially revives you after death. It’s such a big deal that it launches a massive conspiracy that involves the shadow government, big pharma, assassins, and all sorts of other wild things. It’s just a wild ride from beginning to end, and you owe it to yourselves to check it out.

1). Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

Even with all of that being said, there’s just nothing that beats out a great Spider-Man cartoon. That’s exactly what Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is. It’s a brand new take on the famous and admittedly overdone superhero that finds a fresh way to tell its story. It’s not only nostalgic in its art style as it’s reminiscent of more classic Spider-Man stories, but there’s such a vibrant and youthful energy that brings it perfectly into the modern era.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is spearheaded by Jeff Trammell, whose experience with Craig of the Creek really comes through in how the series is able to juggle so many characters and give them something to do each week. Then it all coalesces at the end with Peter Parker becoming a fully realized Spider-Man, and it’s just so satisfying that it made for the best animated watch of 2025 overall.

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