Tag Archives: atheist

Entertainment

5 Best Netflix Shows of 2025, Ranked: ‘Nobody Wants This’ and More

Maravi Post Reporter

Netflix had many of its most popular shows return in 2025, including Stranger Things, Squid Game, Cobra Kai and Wednesday.

However, none of those franchise hits managed to match the quality of Netflix’s elite series across all genres.

Now that the year is winding down, Watch With Us is sharing our picks for the five best Netflix shows of 2025.

This year, three out of the five picks belonged to drama series, but two of Netflix’s most beloved comedies earned a place as well.

26 Best Shows on Netflix Right Now (December 2025): ‘The Closer’ and More

5. ‘Nobody Wants This’ (2024 – Present)

The ongoing courtship of Joanne Williams (Kristen Bell) and Noah Roklov (Adam Brody) continues in Nobody Wants This season 2. Netflix values this show so much that it had a new season ready to go just 13 months after the show’s premiere. This feel-good romantic comedy is about a Rabbi and an atheist who fall deeply in love.

At the end of season 1, Noah chose his love for Joanne over the coveted Head Rabbit job he wanted so badly. Joanne and Noah’s worlds were already colliding, but now they’re faced with harder questions about how they intend to fit into each other’s lives and the sacrifices they’re willing to make in the name of this relationship. True love can and does get really messy on this series, but Bell and Brody are so appealing as the lead characters that it’s fun to watch Joanne and Noah together.

Nobody Wants This is streaming on Netflix.

4. ‘Dept. Q’ (2025 – Present)

There’s nothing like a good British mystery series to liven things in the streaming-verse. Dept. Q is one of the most engrossing Netflix shows of the year, thanks to the intensity of Matthew Goode as Carl Morck. Carl is a police detective who survived a tragedy that claimed the life of another officer and left his partner, James Hardy (Jamie Sives), paralyzed. To get Carl out of the way, his superiors have dumped him into an underfunded cold case investigation unit.

29 Must-Watch British Crime Shows to Stream Right Now (December 2025)

Carl’s new job inspires other outcasts, including Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne) and Akran Salim (Alexej Manvelov), to join Department Q, while even James provides remote support. Their first case together revolves around the disappearance of prosecutor Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), a woman who has been missing for years. The show also quickly reveals Merritt’s current whereabouts, but you’ll have to keep watching to find out who took her and why.

Dept. Q is streaming on Netflix.

3. ‘Forever’ (2025 – Present)

Judy Blume’s beloved young adult novel Forever… celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, and the story never felt more timely than with the modern reboot it received on Netflix. Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. lead the series as high school athletes Keisha Clark and Justin Edwards, respectively. They had known each other for years before, but they reconnected as teens and suddenly experienced their first true feelings of romantic love.

Keisha and Justin share a powerful bond, but their newfound relationship faces a lot of tests. They may both be athletes, but they have different goals, different circumstances and immense family pressure weighing down on them. Are they prepared for the sacrifices it will take to keep them together? We’ll all find out when season 2 arrives.

Forever is streaming on Netflix.

How Is Netflix’s ‘Forever’ Similar — and Different — From the Book?

2. ‘Adolescence’ (2025)

We’ve already mentioned the feel-good show on this list. Adolescence is the feel-bad show. This is an immaculately produced miniseries, but it’s also a tough watch as 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) is arrested for the murder of his classmate. The fallout from that arrest emotionally crushes his parents, Eddie (Stephen Graham) and Manda Miller (Christine Tremarco), as well as Jamie’s sister, Lisa (Amélie Pease).

Each episode is filmed as if it were one long continuous take. Cooper won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a miniseries for his intense performance in episode 3 opposite Erin Doherty as psychologist Briony Ariston. I think Cooper is going to be a major star if he can be this good regularly. Graham and Doherty won Emmys for their performances as well, and Adolescence took home the prize of Outstanding Limited Series. There’s no question about the quality of this show; you just may be seriously depressed after watching it.

Adolescence is streaming on Netflix.

1. ‘A Man on the Inside’ (2024 – Present)

There’s a real argument that can be made that Adolescence deserves the top spot on this list, but I picked A Man on the Inside because it doesn’t make me want to crawl into a ditch and despair about the state of the world. This mystery comedy is just a joy to watch, and it feels like Netflix’s answer to Only Murders in the Building — minus all of the murders, of course.

Ted Danson Through the Years

Ted Danson leads the cast as Charles Nieuwendyk, and he’s lost none of the charm that’s served him very well over the last four decades of sitcoms. Charles is a retired professor who reclaims his purpose in life as a private detective’s assistant; he’s just not very good at being discreet about it. Season 2 finds Charles on a new case he goes undercover as a professor at Wheeler College, as the campus is seemingly being blackmailed into refusing a billionaire’s donation. This season, Danson’s real-life wife, Mary Steenburgen, joined the cast as Charles’ new love interest (and potential suspect), Mona Margadoff.

A Man on the Inside is streaming on Netflix.

Religion

 Music Beyond Belief in Africa

Leo Igwe

 By Leo Igwe

Music beyond belief refers to irreligious music and songs, including humanist, atheist, and freethought songs. The pervasiveness of religion in Africa has made it difficult for many Africans to acknowledge, understand, or appreciate music and songs beyond the precinct of religion, faith, and belief in God. Gospel music and songs are among the most popular in Nigeria. Many artistes jostle to outgospel one another. Many artistes are turning gospel musicians overnight. Even the so-called world musical lyrics feature invocations of God or supplications to the supreme being or some supernatural agents. The tragedy is that many people think or have been made to believe that religion has a monopoly on artistic expressions. Incidentally, this is not the case. Religion does not have a monopoly as popularly believed because there are musical forms and songs beyond belief. Several song tracks and lyrics speak to nonreligious, humanist, atheist, and freethought themes, principles, and values. These songs form a part of many cultures; they are found in many societies across the globe.

While irreligious songs are not mainstream, they exist and feature in the music industry. And the time has come for humanists, atheists, and freethinkers to pay closer attention to this category of music. Humanists need to reclaim their artistic legacy. In some parts of the world, humanist, atheist, and freethought songs are emerging and becoming a distinct category of music. Some humanist organizations have choir groups that render nonreligious songs. The humanist organization in the UK has a choir. The group renders songs at its events and conferences. One of the key features at the World Humanist Congress in Copenhagen this year was a rendition by a humanist choir from Norway. The choir sang one of Bob Dylan’s songs, Blowin’ In The Wind. The popular freethought leader, Dan Barker, a former pastor, has inspired a secular music band in the US. His Nothing Fails like Prayer, and other songs are played at freethought meetings and conventions. The German song about freedom of thought, Die Gedanken sind frei, is played at atheist meetings and conventions. So, music and songs beyond belief are growing globally. It has become necessary for humanists from Nigeria and, nay Africa to explore the potentials and possibilities of music beyond belief. This exploration is important because music and songs nourish the heart and mind. Music is an effective way of sending and spreading a message. Music is an aspect of African culture. Africa has been described as the land of the drums. This is the time to get the world to know and hear the sounds from the continent’s musical drums beyond belief.

A closer look at the musical field in Nigeria reveals the existence, expression, and manifestation of lyrics and songs that speak to nonreligious, irreligious, and religion-critical outlooks. One that quickly comes to mind is Fela Kuti’s Coffin for the Head of State. Fela Kuti used this piece of music to highlight the hypocrisy and double standard of religious Christians and Muslims, especially those who are in power. He described Christianity and Islam as moneymaking organizations and noted the contradictions in the lives of Christian and Muslim clerics whom he said exploited the gullibility of their followers. Another piece of irreligious music that comes to mind is Femi’s Wonder Wonder Wonder. In line with his father’s Coffin for the Head of State, Femi noted the confusion that Christians and Muslims were causing, the religious wars that their fanatics waged, and the tendency of clerics to enjoy life at the expense of their members. Other irreligious lyrics and songs exist in English and in local languages. Humanists in Nigeria need to discover these cultural goods. Humanists need to explore ways of enriching the country’s irreligious musical culture. And one way to do this is to celebrate the country’s irreligious music and musicians.

African humanists should play freethought songs at meetings and conventions. There should be annual or biennial events to celebrate Africa’s irreligious musical legends. Humanists who can sing should form a humanist choir or a music band. There are many humanists waiting to show their talents. Humanist and atheist songwriters should work and come up with lyrics that highlight irreligious views and ideals. Humanists and atheists often criticize religion or highlight the absurdities of god belief. And music could be an effective tool to achieve this goal. Humanist and atheist associations should consider organizing beyond-belief musical festivals. They should stage irreligious musical talent hunts in schools, colleges, and universities and help young humanists and non humanists, as the case may be, realize their artistic gifts. Humanists should commit to furthering and promoting music and songs beyond belief in Africa.

Igwe is a board member of Humanists International, UK.

Opinion, Sponsored

Zimbabwe: Dangers of an Exclusively Religious Nation

MaraviPost 1 Comment

Religion in Zimbawe
Catholic Church in Zimbabwe

I was born and raised in Zimbabwe and I never got to witness the struggle that brought my country independence. I grew up enchanted by stories of the liberation struggle and as a child, one of my many ambitions was to become a soldier…apart from being a superhero with super powers. Like everyone else born after independence, I was referred to as a “Born Free.” It is a title that hints a great degree of privilege: we were born in the right time period of the right country. This is a period where every Zimbabwean enjoys the benefits of the liberation struggle, freedom for all and emancipation from the institutions established by colonial rule. However like most Zimbabweans, I was disillusioned by the reality of the post-independent Zimbabwe. The colonial institutions remained in place and the majority of the nation is up to this day enslaved by poverty. Various civil societies, non-profits and government agencies have launched various development initiatives up to this day to attempt to bail us out of the failed national dream, but we sure have a long way to go. One area in the neo-colonial equation has however been ignored in all these efforts, and this is religion. Continue reading Zimbabwe: Dangers of an Exclusively Religious Nation →