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The Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2026: New and Returning Series

January 2, 2026
2 23 minutes read
The Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2026: New and Returning Series

Please, streamers, stop announcing the dates for 2026 TV shows! This is what we’ve been saying to each other for the past week or so — but nevertheless, they have persisted. Yes, yes, we know, Peak TV has peaked, and yet, there is still so much television coming our way in 2026. And this list of 53 is nearly all scripted series, save for major reality events like the 50th season of “Survivor” and the Emmy-winning competition “The Traitors.” Note: This introduction breaks down a tonnage of 2026’s undated highlights by streamer, so if you want to just skip to the list, just click here!

Whereas in past years, it’s become a trend to play hide-the-ball with release dates during the competitive Emmys window in the spring, this year has been different; there’s already a pretty full schedule into March and April. January is as full as we can remember, with returning hits — HBO Max’s Emmy-winning “The Pitt,” Shonda Rhimes’ Netflix smash “Bridgerton” — sure to dominate conversation, with franchise offshoots such as HBO’s “Game of Thrones” spinoff “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” and Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.” (Yes, there are also new shows that aren’t based on IP! See below.)

And then there are the vast undated masses. For HBO and HBO Max, we know the third seasons of “The Comeback” and “Euphoria” are coming in March and April, respectively, but we don’t know exactly when yet. “Half Man,” Richard Gadd’s follow-up to his Emmys behemoth “Baby Reindeer” (a co-production with the BBC) will be coming during the Emmys window, surely, as will the final season of “Hacks” and the limited series thriller “DTF St. Louis” (starring Jason Bateman, David Harbour and Linda Cardellini). HBO will also have “Rooster” (starring Steve Carell), a new Larry David show, “Lanterns,” “House of the Dragon” returning in the summer — and more.

The Netflix tsunami will continue, with the returns of the anthology satire “Beef” (starring Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac this time), “Ginny & Georgia,” “The Gentlemen,” “The Witcher,” “3 Body Problem,” “The Hunting Wives,” the final season of “Outer Banks” and much, much more. We’ll also be treated to new versions of “Little House on the Prairie” and “Man on Fire,” and classic literary adaptations of “East of Eden” (with Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist) and “Pride and Prejudice” (with Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden). Also among the streamer’s 2026 offerings are Dan Levy’s new comedy “Big Mistakes,” the conclusion of the much-loved “Heartstopper” series with “Heartstopper Forever,” the Rachel Weisz-led “Vladimir” and the Jed Mercurio-created thriller “Trinity” (with Gugu Mbatha-Raw and “Bodyguard” star Richard Madden, working with Mercurio again). The Duffer brothers will venture into post-“Stranger Things” content for Netflix with the horror drama “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” and “The Boroughs” — and yes, the animated “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85.” Not detailed here, but get ready for it: 4,000 offerings of Netflix reality series, true crime docs and unscripted competition shows like “Clue,” based on the game.

Deep breath after the Netflix paragraph! Apple has announced a lot of its spring programming, but among its un-dated series are another season of “For All Mankind,” the Anya Taylor-Joy-led limited series “Lucky” and (presumably!) “Ted Lasso” Season 4. (And fingers crossed Jessica Chastain’s thriller “The Savant” finally gets on the schedule!) Change is afoot at Paramount+ under David Ellison’s new regime, but soon-to-depart mega-producer Taylor Sheridan will have “The Madison,” “Dutton Ranch” and “Nola King” all heading our way in 2026. Since Showtime exists in name only now, the final seasons of “Yellowjackets” and “The Chi” are now Paramount originals, and will close out their runs there (as will “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”). “Lioness,” “MobLand,” “Dexter: Resurrection,” “The Agency” and “Colin From Accounts” will return as well.

As for Amazon, its Prime Video service will debut “Bait” (starring Riz Ahmed, which premieres at Sundance), the highly anticipated live action series “Spider-Noir” led by Nicolas Cage, “Blade Runner 2099,” the “Legally Blonde” prequel “Elle” and “House of Spirits” — you can file those three under IP adaptations we’re fine with, and yes, we’re hypocrites! “Every Year After,” based on Carley Fortune’s romance novel “Every Summer After,” and “Off Campus,” based on Elle Kennedy’s popular book series, are among Prime Video’s other 2026 dramas.

(Almost there, we swear, we’ve just got Peacock, Hulu and FX to go.)

First up, Peacock! The streaming home of Bravo’s reality hits and NBC shows (and its library) is coming off the success of Sarah Snook thriller “All Her Fault,” and in 2026, they’ll continue to lean into genre programming. There’s the family drug-running drama “M.I.A.” (from “Ozark” co-creator Bill Dubuque), the long-gestating “Friday the 13th” series “Crystal Lake” (with Linda Cardellini), thriller “The Good Daughter” (Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy play sisters) and a team of all-stars for the Elin Hilderbrand adaptation “The Five-Star Weekend”: Jennifer Garner, Regina Hall, Chloë Sevigny, Gemma Chan and D’Arcy Carden are the core cast. Peacock is also the destination for a little thing we call the Olympics (the opening ceremony in Milan is on Feb. 6).

Over on Hulu, the Disney-owned streamer will be subsumed into Disney+ at some point this year, but it’s still offering plenty of originals, including the eagerly awaited “The Testaments,” Margaret Atwood’s sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Mindy Kaling’s new comedy “Not Suitable for Work.” Sure to be highlights also are “Furious,” Elizabeth Meriwether’s retelling of the 1987 Debra Winger movie “Black Widow” (not that Black Widow!) starring Emmy Rossum, and “Phony,” a mystery starring Connie Britton and Sam Nivola. Scripted shows “Only Murders in the Building” and “Rivals,” and reality series “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” and “The Kardashians” are set to return with new seasons.

For FX, Season 18 of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” Season 2 of “Adults” and Season 5 of “The Bear” will all be on the network this year. And though Ryan Murphy’s “The Beauty” is dated below, his three (3!) other FX shows are not: anthology “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette,” “The Shards” (with Bret Easton Ellis) and lucky Season 13 of “American Horror Story,” with its huge, all-star cast. Limited series “Cry Wolf,” created by Sarah Treem, and starring Olivia Colman and Brie Larson, is on offer this year, as is the untitled “Snowfall” spinoff, which follows the original show’s characters Wanda and Leon.

OK, thank goodness, here’s the list!

See also  26 Movies You Need to Watch on Hulu Right Now (Nov 2025)
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January 2, 2026
2 23 minutes read
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