16 most anticipated TV shows of 2026

The new year brings the usual wealth of returning television series, and anticipated titles include “All Creatures Great and Small” (Season 6 begins Jan. 11 on PBS), “Hacks” (Season 5 will likely be in spring on HBO), and “Ted Lasso” (Season 4 is TBD on Apple TV). But should you be looking for something brand-new, here’s a something-for-everyone list. Note, as always, that premiere dates are subject to change.

A country-house party prank goes terribly wrong in this elegant-looking British series, adapted from Christie’s 1929 novel and featuring young sleuth Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent (Mia McKenna-Bruce). Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman co-star. (Premieres Jan. 15, Netflix)

Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson star in this 1970s espionage thriller, in which two young women become CIA operatives after their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances. (Jan. 15, Peacock)

This “Game of Thrones” prequel, taking place a century before that series’ events, is based on author George R.R. Martin’s novella “Tales of Dunk and Egg,” the story of a lowborn knight (Peter Claffey) and his child squire (Dexter Sol Ansell). (Jan. 18, HBO)

An office worker (Sophie Turner, speaking of “Game of Thrones”) at a pension fund investment company gets unexpectedly pulled into a heist in this six-episode series, also starring Archie Madekwe (“Saltburn”) and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd. (Jan. 21, Prime Video)

Ryan Murphy’s latest is a body-horror sci-fi thriller, in which supermodels around the world are literally exploding after taking a “fountain of youth” drug. The cast includes Rebecca Hall, Anthony Ramos, Ashton Kutcher and Isabella Rossellini. (Jan. 21, FX/Hulu)

Yet another Marvel Comics adaptation, and an intriguing one: Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) are actors hoping to be cast in a “Wonder Man” movie, with the former suddenly finding himself with superpowers of his own. Destin Daniel Cretton (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”) and Andrew Guest (“Community,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) are the co-creators. (Jan. 27, Disney+)

In the growing category of “adult animated comedy” (e.g., the Netflix hit “BoJack Horseman”) comes this series, in which an uptight Las Vegas lawyer (voiced by Adam Scott) teams up with a local magician (Janelle James) to bring some pizzazz to his cases. (Feb. 20, Netflix)

This comedy about a disgraced NFL superstar is something of a “30 Rock” reunion, with Robert Carlock, Sam Means and Tina Fey on the creative team and Tracy Morgan playing the title role. Daniel Radcliffe(!), Erika Alexander and Bobby Moynihan co-star. (Feb. 23, NBC)

From “Derry Girls” creator Lisa McGee, this comedy/thriller follows three Irish childhood friends as they try to solve the mysterious death of a former schoolmate. (February TBD, Netflix)

This might be a nice one to disappear into on a rainy spring afternoon: Alexandre Dumas’ classic French tale of betrayal and revenge arrives on the small screen, starring Sam Claflin, Jeremy Irons and lavish locations filmed all over Europe. (March 1, PBS)

Hero Fiennes Tiffin, co-starring with his uncle Joseph Fiennes, plays a 19-year-old Sherlock Holmes, solving his first murder case while a student at Oxford. The series is based on Andrew Lane’s “Young Sherlock Holmes” books. Co-stars include Zine Tseng, Natascha McElhone and Colin Firth. (March 4, Prime Video)

Based on Margaret Atwood’s bestselling sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale” (itself already a TV hit), this series follows a new generation of young women growing up in the dystopian theocracy of Gilead. Ann Dowd, of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” returns as Aunt Lydia; Chase Infiniti (“One Battle After Another”) co-stars. (April TBD, Hulu/Disney+)

In this horror/comedy, Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”) plays the mayor of an island town in New England, contending with locals who believe their community is cursed. Apparently it is? Katie Dippold (“Parks and Recreation”) is the showrunner. (April 29, Apple TV)