TV Tuesday: Hiding in Plain Sight?

[yourlibrarian]

End of year is a time for 2025 lists. The Guardian came out with Top 50 TV Shows & Hidden Gems of 2025. Can a gem be that hidden if it’s on a list of top shows? What makes something a “hidden gem” to you?

Comments

[jo]

Not sure if you're linking to what you mean to link to? The link goes to the Guardian's list of the 50 best shows of 2025 (you say Top 5 in the text), and nothing about hidden gems. They have a separate article on the best shows people probably missed/didn't watch (there are 20 listed: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/29/a-total-knockout-the-best-television-you-never-watched-in-2025).

But yes, a gem could be hidden and still be a best show because critics will have watched it, even if it didn't make waves with the public at large.

[yourlibrarian]

Thanks for the catch! Looks like it was 2 separate articles, plus a typo there. Updated!

[8hyenas]

I think usually it’s a show that I encounter one time. I haven’t heard anyone talk about it, I haven’t seen clips, or even know the actors.

My favorite was when I was in a subreddit and someone who was autistic posted that their special interest was matching people to TV shows they’d never seen. They asked about five questions, pretty bland, what are some favorites, favorite genre, etc. I played the game and got given Lodge 49, which I watched and loved.

So for me I guess a gem is partly the show itself, but also how I find it.

[yourlibrarian]

Oh what an interesting result!

[wendelah1]

Most of these shows I've never heard of. Even those that I have, I have not seen even a single episode. And since I don't have streaming (except for Amazon which my son pays for), I probably never will, so "gem" or not, they're all hidden to me.

[yourlibrarian]

True, not to mention shows that never got distributed either online or via DVD. Yet second chances have been such a big factor in turning mediocre viewing or box office disappointments into classics.

[feurioo]

A hidden gem, for me, is usually something I encounter by chance, not through media/advertising. Mr. Inbetween was my hidden gem of the year, although (or maybe because) it's an older show. I hadn't ever heard about it until I looked on Reddit for recommendations of underrated TV shows, and it piqued my interest.

Similarly, I'm currently watching a Japanese manga adaptation (Love and Fortune) because somebody on MyDramaList.com compared it thematically to the J-drama Learning to Love, which I was already checking out. Turns out L&F is the superior show by far in storytelling and cinematography, and I would never have touched it without this random rec. (I usually watch newer and less "risky" Asian shows.)

Edit: From the 20 Hidden Gems shows in the article...
... I already know: 7 (finished: Common Side Effects, Wayward, Down Cemetery Road, North of North; not finished: Chad Powers, Long Story Short, The Eternaut)
... I have heard of: 8 (the extra show: The Horne Section TV Show I know from TM fandom)
... I would recommend none from the shows I've seen, though North of North was certainly cute and Common Side Effects was intriguing enough (mainly memorable to me due to one spectacular song choice). Wayward was largely a letdown (a wasted Toni Collette + I expected better from Mae Martin after Feel Good), and Down Cemetery Road is, just like Slow Horses, simply not my thing.
... I would be interested in checking out: Asura, Reunion

[yourlibrarian]

I think it's a lot easier these days to have "hidden" gems just because of the vast quantities of shows. There's so much more we've never heard of. Perhaps one definition is a niche show which was never found by its demographic.

[rogueslayer452]

I consider a show that is a "hidden gem" to be something less known, not really advertised and barely talked about, or if it is it's only on certain areas among online spaces but not on bigger platforms. As others have pointed out, it's something I stumbled across by mere chance and being surprised that it's not better known, although truthfully it's something that ticks all those boxes for me, personally, which might not for others.

When you take into account how many shows are out now without much announcement or advertisement and then just cancelled, I imagine there are a lot of "hidden gems" that some are just discovered or aren't even aware of existing.

[yourlibrarian]

Yes, those 1 season shows are legion.