If you're a diehard TV fan, chances are you're a bit behind on your watchlist. So many must-watch shows came out last year, from the returns of juggernauts like The White Lotus and Stranger Things to surprise word-of-mouth hits like The Pitt and Heated Rivalry. Now that 2026 is approaching fall, it's time to take note of which upcoming shows will command the cultural conversation for the rest of the year—and which are already out and worth bingeing.
That's where I come in, a full-time culture writer whose literal job is to keep up with the overwhelming amount of media coming our way. Throughout the year, I'll be keeping track of the best and buzziest TV shows coming to Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Apple TV, and more. Read on for my picks for the best TV shows of 2026 so far.
The Best TV Shows of 2026 (So Far)
'The Pitt' season 2
Release Date: January 8, airing weekly on HBO Max
Starring: Noah Wyle, Katherine LaNasa, Patrick Ball, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell, Shabana Azeez, Sepideh Moafi, Lucas Iverson, Irene Choi, and Meta Golding
Paging Dr. Robby! The Emmy-winning medical series returned for its second year, picking up 10 months later on a Fourth of July day shift. Some of the season-long arcs include Langdon's (Ball) first day back at work after rehab, the introduction of new med students Ogilvy (Iverson) and Joy (Choi), and Robby's (Wyle) power struggle with Dr. Al-Hashimi (Moafi), his replacement for an upcoming sabbatical.
'Industry' season 4
Release Date: January 11, airing weekly on HBO
Starring: Myha'la, Marisa Abela, Ken Leung, Sagar Radia, Miriam Petche, Kit Harrington, Kiernan Shipka, Toheeb Jimoh, Max Minghella, Kal Penn, and Charlie Heaton
After bringing its Pierpoint era to an end in the season 3 finale, HBO's most undersung series reinvented itself in its fourth season. Harper (Myha'la) now leads her own team funded by a powerful backer, while Yasmin (Abela) navigates her new role as Henry's (Harrington) dutiful wife. Add a buzzy fintech start-up that enters everybody's orbit, and we're promised a propulsive new season.
'Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette'
Release Date: February 12, airing weekly on FX/Hulu
Starring: Sarah Pidgeon, Paul Kelly, Naomi Watts, Grace Gummer, Sydney Lemmon, and Alessandro Nivola
Just in time for Valentine's Day, Ryan Murphy debuted his latest anthology based on a true story, after American Crime Story and American Sports Story. The first iteration of Love Story follows the whirlwind romance between Carolyn Bessette (Pidgeon), then a Calvin Klein employee, and scion John F. Kennedy Jr. (Kelly). Their relationship was the subject of constant tabloid fodder before ending in tragedy, and the series imagines what went on in their private relationship. Come for the incredible performances, stay for the '90s fashion inspiration.
'The Comeback'
Release Date: March 22, airing weekly on HBO
Starring: Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky, Laura Silverman, Damian Young, Tim Bagley, Jack O'Brien, Andrew Scott, Matt Cook, Ella Stiller, John Early, Barry Shabaka Henley, Abbi Jacobson, Tony Macht, Brittany O'Grady, Zane Phillips, and Julian Stern
Lisa Kudrow's cult-classic Hollywood satire returned for a third and final season, 21 years after its 2005 debut and almost 12 years since its 2014 sophomore season. We adored seeing sitcom star Valerie Cherish (Kudrow) back on our screens—this time as an executive producer handling Hollywood today, from TikTok and Hot Ones to AI and streaming.
'The Testaments'
Release Date: April 8, airing weekly on Hulu
Starring: Ann Dowd, Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday, Rowan Blanchard, and Mattea Conforti
Brace yourselves for a return to Gilead. Hulu's follow-up to The Handmaid's Tale adapts Margaret Atwood's 2019 sequel novel, with Ann Dowd returning as Aunt Lydia. The series follows a new group of young women in Gilead—including June's (Elisabeth Moss) now-16-year-old daughter, Hannah, known as Agnes (Infiniti) as she struggles to come of age in the dystopia.
'Hacks' season 5
Release Date: April 9, airing weekly on HBO Max
Starring: Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Paul W. Downs, Meg Stalter, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, and Christopher Briney
Season 5 ended up being Hacks's last—but at least we got one more round of Ava (Einbinder) and Deborah (Smart) hijinks. After that false death announcement in the season 4 finale, Deborah returns to the U.S. for her final attempt at a major comeback.
'Big Mistakes'
Release Date: April 9 on Netflix
Starring: Dan Levy, Taylor Ortega, Laurie Metcalf, Abby Quinn, Boran Kuzum, Jack Innanen, Jacob Gutierrez, and Elizabeth Perkins
For his first TV show after Schitt’s Creek, Dan Levy teamed up with Rachel Sennott to create this raucous dark comedy about a dysfunctional New Jersey family. When gay pastor Nicky (Levy) and failed actor Morgan (Ortega) unknowingly steal jewels from the mob, they get sucked into the crime world and have to balance the enforcer’s demands with their overbearing mother’s (Metcalf).
'Margo's Got Money Troubles'
Release Date: April 15, airing weekly on Apple TV
Starring: Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Angarano, and Nick Offerman
All you need to hear to be excited for this show: David E. Kelley adapts Rufi Thorpe's buzzy 2024 novel, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Elle Fanning leading the cast. It follows Margo (Fanning), a 20-year-old single mom, as she searches for a way out of poverty after getting pregnant by her English professor.
'Widow's Bay'
Release Date: April 29, airing weekly on Apple TV
Starring: Matthew Rhys, Kate O’Flynn, Kevin Carroll, Dale Dickey, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Jeff Hiller, Toby Huss and Stephen Root
If the 19 Emmy nominations weren’t proof enough, take it from me: Widow’s Bay is the most exciting new show of 2026. It’s best to know as little as possible going into Katie Dippold’s horror-comedy series about the titular New England island town whose mayor, Tom Loftis (Rhys), is trying to sell it as the next Martha’s Vineyard. You know, if tourists can get past all the killings, the mysterious fog, and the generations-old curse.
'The Other Bennet Sister'
Release Date: May 6, airing weekly on BritBox
Starring: Ella Bruccoleri, Dónal Finn, Laurie Davidson, Poppy Gilbert, Maddie Close, Molly Wright, Grace Hogg, Ruth Jones, Aaron Gill, Varada Sethu, Indira Varma, Richard Coyle, and Tanya Reynolds
In a year of buzzy new period dramas, the BBC’s adaptation of Janice Hadlow’s novel became a heartwarming, word-of-mouth sensation. This Pride and Prejudice continuation follows wallflower Mary Bennet as she heads off to London to find her place in the world outside her sisters’ shadow and away from her mother's watchful eye. Though Mary also finds herself in the middle of a love triangle, the show’s true love story lies within her self-awakening.
'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed'
Release Date: May 20, airing weekly on Apple TV
Starring: Tatiana Maslany, Jake Johnson, Brandon Flynn, Murray Bartlett, Jessy Hodges, Jon Michael Hill, Charlie Hall, Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg, Nola Wallace, and Dolly De Leon
Once again, Apple TV comes through with a star-studded cast and a can't-miss premise: "Convinced she witnessed a crime—while simultaneously struggling through a custody battle and an identity crisis—Paula (Maslany) begins her own investigation, one that could unravel a greater conspiracy while also holding the keys to rebuilding her family and sense of self."
'The Vampire Lestat'
Release Date: June 7, airing weekly on AMC
Starring: Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, Eric Bogosian, Assad Zaman, Delainey Hayles, Jennifer Ehle, and Sheila Atim
For its third season, the show previously known as Interview with the Vampire switched narrators, with Lestat (Reid) stepping in to helm the adaptation of the second book in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Follow along with the vampire-turned-rockstar’s cross-country tour, as Lestat reckons with his complicated relationship with his mother (Ehle), the release of Louis’ (Anderson) memoir, the death of Claudia (Hayles), and the eternal loneliness of the living dead.
'House of the Dragon' season 3
Release Date: June 21, airing weekly on HBO
Starring: Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Harry Collett, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, and Phia Saban
2026 is a big year for Game of Thrones fans: Not only did A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere in January, but House of the Dragon returned for its third season. The latest installment brought the epic sea battles and dragon face-offs that fans had been waiting for, and some new dramatic tension as a female Targaryen finally sat upon the Iron Throne.
'Furious'
Release Date: July 27, airing weekly on Hulu
Starring: Emmy Rossum, Lola Petticrew, Scoot McNairy, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Steve Way, Danny McCarthy, and Jake Lacy
Liz Meriwether—the TV scribe behind Dying for Sex, The Dropout, and New Girl—is back with a new #MeToo-evoking miniseries inspired by the 1987 serial-killer flick Black Widow. It follows rookie FBI agent Alice Black (Rossum) as she and her boss (Bernstine) hunt down a female killer (Petticrew) whose victims are wealthy men.
'Sterling Point'
Release Date: August 5 on Prime Video
Starring: Ella Rubin, Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie, Amélie Hoeferle, Daniel Quinn-Toye, Bo Bragason, and Keen Ruffalo
Among Prime Video's stacked year of teen TV—from Off Campus to Every Year After to Elle and more—Megan Park's soap-tinged drama stands out as completely original. When adopted twins Annie (Rubin) and Connor (Ruffalo) discover they've inherited a Canadian island, Annie's exodus to Muskoka unearths some earth-shattering family secrets—including a secret sister (Hoeferle).
The Best TV Shows of 2026 Coming Soon
'A Different World'
Release Date: September 24 on Netflix
Starring: Maleah Joi Moon, Alijah Kai Haggins, Cornell Young IV, Jordan Aaron Hall, Kennedi Reece, Chibuikem Uche, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell, and Cree Summer
Nearly 40 years after the original, Netflix's reboot of A Different World will introduce viewers to a new generation of Hillman College. You'll be reacquainted with the original cast as we follow their offspring through freshman year, led by Dwayne Wayne (Hardison) and Whitley's (Guy) youngest daughter, Deborah (Moon).
'East of Eden'
Release Date: October 1, airing on Netflix
Starring: Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, Hoon Lee, Tracy Letts, Ciarán Hinds, Martha Plimpton, Joseph Zada, and Joe Anders
Netflix's long-anticipated adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel is almost here, with Pugh playing famed antihero Cathy Ames. For anyone who missed reading the book in school, Zoe Kazan's take will follow "Ames, whose life is intertwined with the lives of generations of men from the Trask family—notably those of Adam (Christopher Abbott) and Charles (Mike Faist)—as the characters live out the darker side of the California dream."
'Carrie'
Release Date: October 7, airing on Prime Video
Starring: Summer Howell, Samantha Sloyan, Siena Agudong, Alison Thornton, Joel Oulette, Josie Totah, Arthur Conti, Thalia Dudek, Amber Midthunder, and Matthew Lillard
Horror auteur Mike Flanagan is back with a new Stephen King adaptation. This time, he's bringing Carrie into the 21st century, expanding the classic story into a TV series touching on bullying in the age of social media and teens' mental health in the modern age.
'VisionQuest'
Release Date: October 14, airing weekly on Disney+
Starring: Paul Bettany, James Spader, Ruaridh Mollica, Todd Stashwick, T’Nia Miller, Lauren Morais, Orla Brady, Emily Hampshire, and James D’Arcy
Even if you're not a diehard Marvel fan, the studio's WandaVision trilogy is absolutely worth a watch. In this new spinoff, a reboot of Vision (Bettany) is on the run from agencies that want to weaponize him and is searching for his own meaning. To survive, he'll have to resist the sway of the A.I.'s living in his head—including Ultron (Spader)—and unravel the mystery of his new young companion (Mollica).
'Yellowjackets' season 4
Release Date: November 20, airing weekly on Paramount+
Starring: Melanie Lynskey, Sophie Nélisse, Tawny Cypress, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Christina Ricci, Samantha Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher, Courtney Eaton, Liv Hewson, Warren Kole, Elijah Wood, Kevin Alves, Sarah Desjardins, Nia Sondaya, Jenna Burgess, Hilary Swank, Molly Ringwald, and June Squibb
Get ready to "buzz, buzz" for the last time, as the cult-favorite mystery-thriller concludes with its final season. In addition to seeing the teen survivors finally rescued, season 4 is expected to wrap up a bunch of lingering questions.
