From zombie fights and waterfall skirmishes to acai bowls and half and halfs, last year was defined by both excellent television and amazing on-campus cuisine. 2025’s best television seasons can be tastefully paired alongside a menu of WashU dining options to choose the perfect treat. 

AnaElda Ramos | Managing Illustration Editor

1. “The Pitt” Season 1 as an acai bowl from Collins Farms

Collins Farms’ acai bowls, with their numerous but high-quality ingredients creating something practically perfect, represent “The Pitt” on HBO Max. The main hook of the show is that while it takes place entirely in the emergency room of a Pittsburgh hospital, the entire 15-episode season occurs in real time across 15 one-hour episodes, making for one stressful but eventful day! 

Actor-writer-executive producer of “The Pitt” Noah Wyle stars as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, who leads the emergency room alongside charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) and a sizable group of medical residents, interns, and students. 

The large cast of principal characters who all have distinct personalities and strong emotional journeys throughout the season are complemented by a rotating cast of guest actors portraying each new emergency room patient. The medical makeup design from a team led by Myriam Arougheti is quite impressive, and their work makes all of the last-minute emergency room surgeries feel appropriately realistic and stress-inducing. 

The 15-episode season feels very tight, and praise could be lavished on the phenomenal performances (especially Wyle as Robby and Isa Briones as Dr. Trinity Santos, an overly confident medical intern), rich storytelling, amazing sound, or tense direction, especially in the episodes covering the aftermath of a mass shooting. Just as “The Pitt” is nearly flawless all the way through, so is that acai bowl with granola and fruit, crafting a perfect treat.

2. “Abbott Elementary” Season 4 as a half and half from Bear’s Den

Even though a half and half contains some tasty chicken tenders and fries, it may not be the best meal in the world. Still, it perfectly fulfills its role, in the same way that the fourth season of “Abbott Elementary” from ABC does.

The fourth season is a pretty perfect mockumentary-comedy in the same lane as “The Office” or “Parks and Recreation.” The show follows teachers at the titular elementary school, from the earnest, relatively new teacher of Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) to the soulful veteran Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and chronically online, out-of-touch principal Ava Coleman (Janelle James). 

The 20-minute episodes are snappy but full of great jokes and strong character growth among the core cast. Season 4 serves as one of the best so far, with Brunson, James, and Ralph all delivering phenomenal comedic performances. The costumes by Hachy Mendez are also great, with an episode focusing on a Halloween party. 

Nothing in “Abbott Elementary” will make anyone cry or jump out of their seat, but it is extremely consistent and delightful, just like the crispy chicken tenders of a half and half. All of the pitch-perfect character interactions this season, ranging from a new class pet to a ringworm outbreak, make it a show absolutely worth checking out on Hulu. 

AnaElda Ramos | Managing Illustration Editor

3. “The Last of Us” Season 2 as ice cream from Campus Creamery

Ordering ice cream from Campus Creamery on the South 40 with a new mix-in perfectly encapsulates this season of “The Last of Us.” The hit HBO Max series returned for its sophomore season, with a renewed focus on Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who, at just 19, begins a brutal quest for revenge while traversing the remains of an apocalypse-torn United States, ravaged 20 years ago by a zombie-like fungus. 

While the first season was defined by its rich emotion and human focus, the second maintains most of that emotion while bringing in a number of exciting action scenes, such as a subterranean subway battle. Alongside strong performances from its core cast, especially Ramsey as an angry and regretful teen, Season 2 introduces a compelling Catherine O’Hara as a bitter therapist in a scene-stealing guest role. 

Just like an ice cream from Campus Creamery is known to be great, the same is true for “The Last of Us,” with its gorgeous post-apocalyptic sets from production designer Don Macaulay, haunting score from composers Gustavo Santaolalla and David Fleming, and terrifying makeup for the zombies, or “infected,” from a team led by Paul Spateri. 

However, just as a Campus Creamery mix-in could be swapped out while still staying delicious, this season of “The Last of Us” swaps some emotion for grand battles while still maintaining its excellent quality. This season features a strong set of action scenes, a consistent cast of characters, and a brand-new location, Seattle. In contrast, Season 1 focused more on a high number of guest actors, deeper emotion, and consistent new locations. That’s not to say either season is necessarily better; they just offer two different but consistently great versions of a zombie show. 

4. “Severance” Season 2 as a Qdoba bowl

The long wait culminating in an enjoyable, if even just barely disappointing, bowl from Qdoba mirrors the release of the second season of Apple TV’s “Severance.” While still highly entertaining, this latest season pales slightly in comparison to its first by having a slower start, but once “Severance” gets going, the sci-fi workplace show is absolutely enrapturing. 

“Severance” tells the story of a company, Lumon Industries, that has invented a powerful microchip, splitting each of its employees into an “innie” and “outie” version. The second season expands the world of “Severance,” brings in new locations — including a trip to the world’s tallest waterfall — and increases the role of Season 1’s more secondary characters such as the eloquent dancing office manager Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) and the rebellious Helly R. (Britt Lower). 

Just as the wait for a Qdoba bowl is long, “Severance” Season 2 starts off a bit slower as the characters get back into the groove of office life and disguised rebellion. But the show rapidly accelerates through the thrilling adventure episode “Trojan’s Horse” that ends with a shocking twist, the fascinating and devastating “Chikhai Bardo,” and the blood-pumping season finale “Cold Harbor.”

“Severance” has many great aspects, such as the gorgeous white-and-blue cinematography (especially the work by Jessica Lee Gagné), a disturbing yet intriguing title sequence by Oliver Latta and Teddy Blanks, and strong cast performances across the board, but especially from Patricia Arquette’s Ms. Cobel and Tillman’s Mr. Milchick. Similarly, a Qdoba bowl has many great parts, like the guacamole, queso, and a wide array of salsas. “Severance” is absolutely worth checking out, and it provides a wonderfully intriguing near-future sci-fi story. 

5. “Apple Cider Vinegar” (limited series) as chicken fried rice from Corner 17

“Apple Cider Vinegar,” a breakout hit limited series from Netflix, is easily represented by chicken fried rice from Corner 17. While there may be some fluff and unnecessary aspects, when that perfect bite of egg, rice, and chicken lines up, the fried rice is delicious. In the same vein, “Apple Cider Vinegar” is sometimes a little soapy or overly focused on its main character, fraudster Belle Gibson (Kaitlyn Dever). But when everything lines up, like in the penultimate episode “Casseroles,” it is extremely entertaining.

“Apple Cider Vinegar” focuses on two women: real-life social media influencer Belle Gibson, who faked a brain cancer diagnosis to sell a recipe app, and the fictional character Milla Blake (Alycia Debnam-Carey), who dives into the world of alternative medicine to treat her true diagnosis of cancer. 

Watching the series is worth it alone for Dever’s phenomenal performance as the attention-seeking pathological liar of Gibson. From karaoke to lies to interviews, Dever carries the show and delivers perhaps 2025’s finest performance in television with her initial empathetic nature twisting into something revolting as she furthers her lies. 

Fried rice is not perfect all the way through, but those just-right moments make all the rest worth it. Yes, “Apple Cider Vinegar” is a little dramatic, with some out-there direction choices, but when anchored by strong performances from Dever and Debnam-Carey and shocking makeup from designer Helen Magelakis, it turns into something fascinating.

There are a number of incredible 2025 shows not listed here, especially “Silo”’s second season, “Stranger Things” Season 5, and “The Studio”’s debut season. There are so many hidden gems out there to explore. From medical dramas to zombie outbreaks and schoolyard comedies to social media fraudsters, 2025 offered something for everyone. 

There could be a little caution when exploring a new WashU restaurant or picking a TV show to watch, but the potential benefits of discovering a new favorite out of nowhere make any risk absolutely worth it.