The 10 streaming shows we can’t wait to watch in 2026
The 10 streaming shows we can’t wait to watch in 2026
Some of our favorite shows are ending, others are just getting started, and 2026 is stacked.
Happy New Year! I love when the calendar flips because it not only gives me a natural fresh start to make this year even better than the last, but it also means a fresh wave of shows to get excited about. And in our household, that’s a big deal. Sure, the streaming business itself feels a little chaotic right now. Things are shifting fast, companies are downsizing, and the industry is in a state of flux I’ve never seen. But as someone who just loves sitting down at night and watching great TV, the upside is huge. There’s never been more genuinely good television than there is right now. The new year will bring some big finales, long-awaited returns, ambitious new shows, and a few comfort favorites that keep finding new life. As Tara and I look ahead to what we’ll be watching in 2026, these are the 10 streaming shows I’m most excited to spend time with in the year ahead.
Top 10 streaming shows we’re excited about in 2026:
No. 10: ‘The Comeback’ (2005) | HBO Max
“The Comeback” coming back for a third and final season still feels a little unreal. This show was ahead of its time the first time around, and Lisa Kudrow’s Valerie Cherish somehow feels even more relevant now. The original seasons balanced brutal cringe with real empathy in a way very few shows ever pulled off.
The fact that this is officially the final chapter makes it hit harder. Valerie’s whole story has always been about chasing relevance, dignity, and self-worth in an industry that chews people up. Knowing this is the end makes me both excited and sad. This feels like one of those rare TV goodbyes that could actually say something meaningful on the way out.
The Comeback
For Valerie Cherish, no price is too high to pay for clinging to the spotlight. Desperate to revive her career, she agrees to star in a reality TV series, allowing cameras to follow her every move as she lands a part on a new network sitcom.
No. 9: ‘Half Man’ (2026) | HBO Max
“Half Man” is high on my list for one big reason: Richard Gadd. After what he pulled off with “Baby Reindeer,” I’m basically in on whatever he wants to do next. His new series centers on two estranged brothers whose shared history explodes back into the present, and everything about it sounds raw, personal, and uncomfortable in the best way.
I’m drawn to shows that aren’t afraid to sit in messy emotional spaces, and Gadd has already proven he can turn pain into something honest and compelling. We don’t have a firm release date yet, but this feels like one of those HBO Max dramas that sneaks up on people and could very well dominate the cultural conversation once it lands.
No. 8: ‘Rooster’ (2026) | HBO Max
Between Bill Lawrence and Steve Carell, “Rooster” already has my attention. Lawrence has a near-perfect track record when it comes to blending humor and heart, and Carell’s return to a big TV comedy role feels like an event in itself. The setup is simple and great. A celebrated writer ends up teaching at a college and is forced to reckon with his career, his ego, and his relationship with his daughter.
This feels like the kind of show that can be funny one minute and quietly emotional the next, which is exactly my sweet spot. In a year packed with dragons, violence, and finales, I’m really looking forward to something character-driven that will make me laugh out loud.
No. 7: ‘The Studio’ (2025) | Apple TV
“The Studio” was one of my favorite surprises of 2025. It skewered Hollywood in a way that felt informed, specific, and genuinely funny. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg clearly know this world (and love this world), and the show nailed that feeling of creative ambition crashing into corporate nonsense.
Rogen plays Matt Remick, a newly promoted studio boss who genuinely loves movies but is constantly buried under the reality of running a massive business. One of my favorite moments from Season 1 is the episode where Matt starts seeing a cancer surgeon. It’s a sharp, very funny contrast between Hollywood problems and actual life-or-death work, and it ends up being way more thoughtful than you expect for a show that’s mostly poking fun at the industry.
The Studio
Desperate for celebrity approval, the newly appointed head of a movie studio and his executive team at Continental Studios must juggle corporate demands with creative ambitions as they try to keep movies alive and relevant.
No. 6: ‘Crystal Lake’ (2026) | Peacock
“Crystal Lake” is taking a real swing, and I respect that. Instead of just doing another “Friday the 13th” remix, this series goes back to the beginning and reframes the story around Pamela Voorhees. That alone makes it more interesting than most franchise reboots.
I’m especially excited by the promise that this leans more psychological than splatter-heavy. I’m not a huge horror guy, so I’m happy this show is more about tension and character instead of just counting kills. If Peacock pulls this off, it could end up being one of the more surprising genre hits of the year.
No. 5: ‘The Pitt’ (2025) | HBO Max
“The Pitt” completely caught us off guard. The show unfolds in real time inside a busy Pittsburgh hospital, following doctors and nurses as they handle nonstop emergencies, personal fallout, and impossible decisions hour by hour. Tara and I put on Season 1 thinking it’d be an episode or two before bed, and suddenly we were fully locked in. The format, the performances, and the constant sense of urgency make it almost impossible to half-watch.
Season 2, picking up on the Fourth of July, feels like a perfect escalation. The hospital’s already operating at max stress, and throwing a major holiday into the mix only raises the stakes. This show has already proven it’s not just another medical drama. It’s a pressure cooker, and I’m genuinely excited to jump back in.
The Pitt
The staff of Pittsburgh’s Trauma Medical Center work around the clock to save lives in an overcrowded and underfunded emergency department.
No. 4: ‘Ted Lasso’ (2026) | Apple TV
I didn’t think we were getting more “Ted Lasso.” And then we did. And honestly, I’m thrilled. We need more shows that leave you feeling better than when you started watching.
The idea of Ted coaching a women’s team in this new season opens up new stories while keeping the heart of the show intact. I don’t care how it comes back or how long it runs. I just know that Ted Lasso, at its best, is warm, funny, sincere, and deeply human. That’s something worth celebrating.
Ted Lasso
Ted Lasso, an American football coach, moves to England when he’s hired to manage a soccer team—despite having no experience. With cynical players and a doubtful town, will he get them to see the Ted Lasso Way?
No. 3: ‘The Boys’ (2019) | Prime Video
The fact that this is the final season of “The Boys” makes it a huge deal. And the Season 5 setup sounds like pure endgame. By the time this comes back, it’s basically Homelander’s world, and it’s getting uglier by the day. Hughie, Mother’s Milk, and Frenchie are stuck in a “Freedom Camp,” Annie is trying to build a resistance from the outside, and Kimiko is missing, which is a sentence I do not like typing. Then Butcher shows back up with a virus that can wipe out Supes, which feels like the kind of “burn it all down” move this show has been building toward for years.
It’s not too much to call this the end of an era. And if this goes out the way it should, loud, brutal, funny, and a little horrifying, it’s going to be one of those finales people argue about for years.
The Boys
A group of vigilantes known informally as “The Boys” set out to take down corrupt superheroes with no more than blue-collar grit and a willingness to fight dirty.
This show is NOT for kids, thanks to the profanity, gore, and sexual content. But it is an antidote for adult fans who might be a little bored with the stereotypical superhero fare. It’s funny, dramatic, exciting, and thought-provoking.
No. 2: ‘House of the Dragon’ (2021) | HBO Max
I’m really banking on Season 3 of “House of the Dragon” being the moment everything explodes. Please let the slow burn end. Let the war arrive. And let this show deliver on what it promised in the beginning. For me, this show has always come just a little short of living up to its “Game of Thrones” predecessor. Obviously, that’s a high bar as one of the greatest TV shows ever made, but when you’re in this world, that’s the expectation.
With the new season, I’m rooting for this show to nail it. It’s got all the components working for it: unreal performances, great set design, excellent world-building, and a lore you can really dig into. If Season 3 sticks the landing and fully commits to the chaos, this could finally be the moment the series steps out of the shadow of “Game of Thrones” and becomes its own defining epic. That’s the version of this show I’ve been waiting for.
House of the Dragon
The Targaryen dynasty is at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins when King Viserys breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm.
No. 1: ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ (2026) | HBO Max
The show I’m most excited for in 2026 is “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” Yes, I just wished for a massive war and some serious carnage above with “House of the Dragon,” but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for a smaller, more intimate story set in Westeros. This one follows Ser Duncan the Tall, a wandering hedge knight with a big heart and not much else, and his sharp, mysterious young squire known as Egg, as they travel from tourney to tourney and stumble into problems way bigger than either of them expects.
Dunk and Egg’s story is about friendship, honor, and doing the right thing when it would be a lot easier not to. There are no dragons, no massive armies, and no end-of-the-world stakes hanging over every scene. It’s just two people trying to survive and keep their moral compass intact in a brutal, unforgiving world. If this captures even half the charm of George R. R. Martin’s novellas, it could end up being something really special. This is the kind of spinoff that feels like a reset. And I’m ready for it.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros: a young, naive but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits await these improbable and incomparable friends.