With shows as varied as The Pitt, Task, Adolescence and The Chair Company once again proving that there’s still room for new ideas in the increasingly IP-focused landscape of prestige TV, 2025 has been a pretty good year for television. At the time of writing, 2026 looks set to provide audiences with the same wealth of variety, with returning favourites and exciting newcomers vying for our attention from basically the beginning of January.
For the list below—which I’ve arranged by order of release date, with a few tantalising maybes thrown in at the end—I’ve decided to maintain that same mix of old and new. So, while I’m excited to see what will happen if and when shows like Rings of Power, Silo, 3 Body Problem, and The Night Manager return to our screens, the ten series I’ve listed have simply sparked my imagination a little more. Similarly, while I’m dying to see the next seasons of Shōgun, The Last of Us, and The White Lotus (not to mention a certain Boy Who Lived…), they all just feel a little more 2027 right now.
Read on to discover more about the most anticipated shows expected to release next year, and use the guide below to find (eventually) on services like BBC iPlayer, AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.
The Pitt, Season 2
I tried to avoid adding too many follow-up seasons to this list, but in this and many other ways, The Pitt is a special case. Adolescence might have gotten all the hype for its one-take chapters, but The Pitt’s 15-episode single shift in a Pittsburgh emergency room structure (and yes, this one is for fans of ER) was no less formally daring. It was also nerve-shredding and heartbreaking in just the right ratio.
For all that, the bravest choice that creators R. Scott Gemmill and Noah Wyle took was creating a show in 2025 that wore its heart on its sleeve. Is it too much to expect that a second series released this fast can be anywhere near as good? I don’t see any reason to doubt them.
Release date: 8 January 2026
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
If TV release dates are to be trusted, prestige fans will only have to wait until mid-January for the first blockbuster HBO show of 2026. Yes, George R.R. Martin fans are set to once again balance feelings of excitement and rage with the release of A Knight of Seven Kingdoms: a prequel series starring newcomer Deter Sol Ansell as the young Aegon Targaryen opposite Peter Claffey as the titular hedge knight.
This is the third branch of the Game of Thrones television universe, and the story is set 100 years before the original books but after the ongoing House of the Dragon—and naturally, if you’re a fan of those, you’ll want to add it to your calendar. The latter will also return for its third season next summer, but after a few too many scenes of people talking around tables, it’s fair to say that Knight currently looks like the more exciting property.
Release date: 18 January 2026
Wonder Man
Our next IP mega show comes courtesy of the MCU’s somewhat flailing TV division. To be honest, it’s been a minute since one of these shows really hooked me in, but going by the trailer for Wonder Man, that might be about to change.
Helmed by Shang-Chi director Dustin Daniel Cretin, the show will follow a Hollywood stuntman (Watchmen’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who gets superpowers after being exposed to an ionic ray (whatever that is). From there, the show will examine the impact of fame on a superhero in the world of Hollywood. With a vibe that kind of sounds like the MCU meets The Studio and featuring guest appearances from Ben Kingsley (reprising his iconic role as failed actor Trevor Slattery), this has the potential to be its own thing, which is not something we’ve said about an MCU show for a while.
Release date: 18 January 2026
Elle
Our first IP revival on this list comes from an unlikely source: the world of Legally Blonde. Yes, the beloved lawyer-in-pink Elle Woods, famously played by Reese Witherspoon across two hugely successful movies in 2001 and 2003, is said to be returning just two years after a failed attempt to bring the character back to the big screen—but naturally, if you’re a fan of the movies, be sure to keep an eye out for this one.
The show is said to focus on a teenage Elle (played by Lexi Minetree) and will be set in a high school in the 1990s—so expect plenty of Clueless era outfits and retro fun.
Release date: Unconfirmed, but everything points towards summer 2026.
Lanterns
The next mega-budget IP show that’s been firmly inked into our calendars is the first new TV project of James Gunn’s DCU (and yes, that Peacemaker technically originated before Gunn was elevated to his current role). Whatever the case, the show will attempt to do what numerous filmmakers have so far failed to accomplish: providing a satisfying central story arc for the Green Lantern—or any of them, for that matter.
The series will, of course, bring back Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner from Gunn’s Superman alongside Kyle Chandler as the experienced Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, the up-and-comer—and if you liked the actor’s performance in Rebel Ridge, you’re probably as excited as I am to see what else he’s capable of.
Release date: nothing confirmed, but we can expect this one to arrive sometime after Supergirl premieres on 25 June 2026.
The Boys, Season 5
The only other repeat offender we’ve included on this list is the latest season of The Boys. I’ve done this as, aside from being one of the most consistently entertaining shows of the last six years (think Watchmen meets Kick-Ass), this upcoming season is said to be the last.
That means that the stakes will be higher than ever for Butcher, Hughie, Starlight and Homelander—and I wouldn’t be surprised if one or more of them fails to make it out alive. Almost nothing has been said about the series at the time of writing, but if leaked set photos of Homelander in an internment camp are anything to go by, it looks set to be as topical as ever.
Release date: Unconfirmed, but the middle of 2026 seems likely.
Crystal Lake
Set in the world of Jason Voorhees’ Friday the 13th, Crystal Lake is not what you would call an original idea. That said, it’s one of only three slasher franchises (after Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street) to attempt the switch to the small screen, so I must say I’m nothing if not intrigued. The show will be the latest series from indie powerhouse A24, so expect a good deal of style along with the slashing.
Linda Cardellini is set to star as Pamela Voorhees in what looks like a prequel to the original movie. The show is also being developed by Welcome to Derry creator Brad Kane, who (fun fact) started his music career and famously provided the singing voice for the original Aladdin.
Release date: Unconfirmed, but 2026 seems likely.
Neuromancer
If it gets released in 2026, the AppleTV+ adaptation of Neuromancer deserves to be one of the most hotly anticipated shows of the year. For good reason, no one in their right mind has ever managed to turn William Gibson’s hugely influential sci-fi novel into a movie or TV show—which makes me all the more intrigued to see what series creators Graham Roland (Dark Winds) and J.D. Dillard have in store.
Gibson’s book, which follows a superhacker named Case, is widely regarded as the cyberpunk bible—so if you like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or The Matrix, a movie heavily inspired by it, you’ll want to add this one to your list.
Release date: Nothing confirmed for just yet, but late 2026 looks possible.
First Day on Earth
I’m not entirely sure what to take from the fact that Michaela Coel has largely gone off the radar since the release of her phenomenal 2020 series I May Destroy You—except to say that if ever there was a show that might require its creator to take a break after, it is probably that one. Whatever the case, since then, she’s appeared in just Wakanda Forever and a single episode of Mr and Mrs Smith.
That could all be about to change next year with the release of Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers and David Lowery’s Mother Mary—but the real Coel heads will know that First Day on Earth is the one to watch out for. Much like I May Destroy You, this ten-part series (which has been executive produced by Jesse Armstrong) was written and directed by Coel and also stars her—this time as a British novelist who moves to Ghana to reconnect with her estranged father. All I can say is: Banger incoming.
Release date: Again, nothing announced yet, but here’s hoping.
Threads
We’ll end our list with more of a hopeful one than a sure thing. In April 2025, it was announced that Warp Studios, the legendary music label and producers behind Adolescence, had optioned the rights to remake the iconic 1984 show Threads, which followed the aftermath of a nuclear attack through the eyes of people in Sheffield.
This impossibly dreary show was originally aired as a kind of PSA to make people aware of what an incident like that could really look like, but it’s since become a cult classic in its own right. Now, with fears of nuclear war as high as ever (think A House of Dynamite), it feels like an incredible time to revisit it or, perhaps more likely, reimagine it for the present day.
Release date: 2027 almost feels more likely, but with the success of Adolescence, the studio might feel emboldened enough to get this one done sooner.
