In what’s felt like another heavy year for news and current affairs, sometimes the best place to seek solace is in a great TV show or by laughing at a viral story on social media. Thankfully, this year we’ve been spoilt for choice. Between faux-feminist joy rides to space and Alan Carr in a Traitor’s cloak, the memes have been aplenty.
As 2025 draws to a close, it’s time to take stock of the best and worst moments in pop culture…
The Highs
Record breaker: Adolescence pulled in 66.3m views in two weeks, sparked a global conversation about toxic masculinity, was discussed in Parliament and swept up at the Emmys. Pity the Amazon exec who rejected it before Netflix snapped it up.
Teen dream: No, we’re not the target audience for YA romance The Summer I Turned Pretty. Yes, we became extremely emotionally invested in the outcome of this fictional love triangle.
Iconic duo: Iconic duo Alan Carr and Cat Burns’ friendship as two unlikely – yet extremely successful – Traitors was a delight. As were their lip-synching TikToks, proof that their bond transcended the castle.
Meme queen: Parker Posey’s pill-popping one-percenter in The White Lotus season three was an instant internet icon. All together now: ‘Piper, noooooooo!’
True romance: ‘Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married’, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce posted in August to the tune of 36.6m likes and crashing Instagram. ‘Turns out Instagram needed to process this news, just like everyone else,’ said a Meta spokesperson.
Bridget 4.0: We laughed, we cried, we re-watched Leo Woodall’s wet shirt tribute to Mr Darcy. Mad About The Boy proved that bringing back a beloved heroine can be v good indeed.
The Lows:
Salty scandal: The best-selling nature memoir turned movie (starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs) caused an oddly fascinating literary scandal – that TikTok devoured – following allegations that the true story was not, er, entirely true.
Launch letdown: One self-indulgent step for the rich and famous, one giant leap nowhere for feminism. The Blue Origin space mission was a colossal PR fail (although it provided excellent Halloween costume inspo).
Merkin-gate: Was master marketeer Kim Kardashian trolling us all when Skims launched her ‘ultimate bush’ thong (£34)? Probably. Did it immediately sell out? Of course it did.
(Photo: Getty)
Eat the rich: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding takeover in Venice this summer – estimated to cost £36m – ignited its very own protest movement, No Space For Bezos.
Carrie got cancelled: We tried to love season three of And Just Like That… we really did – but between the phone sex and poo jokes, it was tough going. When HBO pulled the plug, it was almost a relief.
