2026 is looking like it’s going to have another banger of a year for TV. You may be thinking that some of your faves aren’t coming back until 2027 like Pluribus, Severance, or even The Last of Us (if you’re not on that popular whiny “Ellie wasn’t angry enough” train), but there is still a whole lot of TV to look forward to this year!
I’ve compiled a list of 10 shows that I’m THE MOST excited for in 2026. That doesn’t mean that I’m not digging other returning or premiering shows - there are just too many to shout out here! Don’t get your knickers in a twist about it. Also, VisionQuest isn’t on the list despite it being the cover photo. That might seem like a bit of a catfish, and your feelings are valid.
You’ll get over it.
Without further ado, here are my Top 10 Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2026.
I remember watching Man on Fire, the 2004 revenge film starring Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning when I was younger, and it was fantastic. This TV show is based on the same story, but it will be a more in-depth look into John Creasy and his PTSD-ridden personality as he protects the daughter of his recently deceased teammate while hunting down the dogs that took her father away.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will play Creasy in the eight-episode Netflix run of Man on Fire. Do you, like me, think this will be a hit? Or will I get… burned?
I’ll see myself out.
Set 50 years after the events of Blade Runner 2049 (because that’s how years work), Blade Runner 2099 follows an aging Replicant Hunter (Michelle Yeoh) and a known synthetic (Hunter Schafer) as they buddy-cop up and attempt to uncover a conspiracy involving a mega-corporation. I mean, it’s kinda what you’d expect from a Blade Runner TV show, right? There’s always a morally ambiguous Replicant, a tough-guy copper, and a corrupt corporation. Pretty predictable.
Do I give sh*t? HELL NO! We get to exist in this horrible, yet stylish, world one more time. It’s the grimy retro-futuristic visuals that are going to pull me into this show, and hopefully, the story will keep me hooked.
When Lily, Tom and I went to Star Wars Celebration in Japan last year, we saw a trailer for Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord and I popped the f*ck off. The return of Sam Witwer as the Sith Lord with the metal legs was something I definitely didn’t have on my bingo card, but it was a welcome surprise for sure. Time has only made my longing for this series created by Lucasfilm Animation grow stronger, and I just hope this can live up to my lofty expectations.
If you’re still confused as to why Maul survived being cut in half and thrown into a pit at the end of The Phantom Menace, you’re not alone. Just accept it and move on. That’s my advice.
When the Tomb Raider series was announced at Amazon Prime Video, I was intrigued. Sophie Turner was cast as Lara Croft, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge was announced as fronting the video game adaptation, and I had the equivalent of the Fry suspicious squinting meme. Then, when the costume test photos were released, I saw the vision. Turner looks really good and is ripped enough that you can believe she’d be able to raid all of those tombs and stuff.
The Waller-Bridge factor can’t be underestimated, though. She usually infuses some kickass humor into all of her shows, and the combination of all of that makes this one of my most anticipated entries of the year.
I wonder if there will be a scene where Turner locks her butler in a walk-in freezer…
The Duffer Brothers are back already?!
OK, so they aren’t writing The Boroughs, but they are producing it. This stellar veteran cast, including Bill Pullman, Geena Davis, Alfred Molina, and Alfre Woodard, is going to be freaking sick in a show focusing on a retirement community battling aliens (maybe?). I wonder if they are going to be ex-professional spies like in RED, or maybe they get some weird alien youthfulness like in Cocoon.
Either way, I’ll be tuning in. And I know my dad will. His favorite film often flips between The Long Kiss Goodnight and a more embarrassing film that I won’t disclose at his request. Anyway, he’ll be watching for Geena Davis, for sure.
Apple TV has been quietly putting out a remarkable array of TV shows over the last few years, and Margot’s Got Money Troubles looks like it’s going to be the next one in line. Based on the book of the same name, the show will follow Margot, a girl who turns to OnlyFans to support herself after becoming unexpectedly pregnant, and reconnecting with her ex-wrestler father on the way. Cool story.
BUT HAVE YOU SEEEEEEN THIS CAST? Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman, and Greg Kinnear are all attached to the series, and that’s just too good an ensemble to turn down. Fanning is increasingly becoming a must-see actress for me, but, seriously, Offerman as a wrestler?! GIVE ME WHAT I WANT!
I’m a mark for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When I was younger, I was obsessed. I was part of message boards, I wrote for a fansite, and I even created a Buffy episode guide (it was saved on a floppy disk and I have no idea where it is or even how I’d recover it anyway). That is to say, a Buffy revival is something that I’m seriously hyped for. Its subtitle of New Sunnydale is intriguing because the OG town fell into an enormous crater at the end of Season 7, so that’s gotta take a lot of dirt and a lot of money to fill AND THEN build a new town on top. Would it really be worth it?
Chloe Zhao is fronting the show, and I couldn’t be happier with that choice, but I really hope the new crop of teens do a good job so we don’t have to wipe it from our memory like [REDACTED].
Nicolas Cage is Spider-Man in Spider-Noir. Need I say more?
Fine.
Ever since his inspired casting in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, fans have clamoured for more of the Ben Reilly edition of a noir detective Spider-Man from another universe. Amazon Prime is giving us exactly what we wanted. Hopefully it’s not too much of a good thing, but I have some faith in this gumshoe adventure. Brendan Gleeson is also going to be playing the villain, and I always love a bit of Mad-Eye Moody.
Frieren Season 1 was a genuine surprise to me. A quiet and reflective show about an elf who continues living after her adventuring party, with whom she triumphed over the greatest evil in the land, becomes old or dies, and the world begins to forget about their accolades. Frieren, taking on her first apprentice, Fern, begins a new adventure. When we last left our heroes, Fern had become a first-class mage, and the party set off into dangerous northern territories. I just love being around these guys.
But if I don’t see Frieren get duped by at least three mimics this season, we riot.
Homelander has been an iconic TV villain since he burst onto the scene by downing a passenger plane, lying about it, and being overly abusive to everyone when The Boys premiered in 2019. Seven years on, we’re nearing the endgame with Homeland and Butcher, as the final confrontation awaits.
They both gotta die, right? Butcher is a bad person in general and he’s done too much f*cked up sh*t to survive this series. However, the milk drinker (iykyk) HAS to be obliterated in this finale! Let Hughie win! Let Frenchie and Kimiko be happy! BURN VOUGHT TO THE GROUND!
What did you think of this list? Did I miss any TV shows that aren’t VisionQuest? Do you think Homelander will defy the odds and survive the season? Let us know in the comments.
I feel like we are missing a few "also considered" shows like Monarch S2, Paradise S2, The Bear S5, and For All Mankind S5 and possibly Ahsoka S2.