The 5 Best TV Show Intros In 2026, Ranked

In all transparency, the It (2017) and It: Chapter Two (2019) prequel series, It: Welcome to Derry (2025), aired its eight-episode debut season in 2025, but few TV intros have matched its mastery. Therefore, it’s still one of the best this year because it’s impossible to shake. Moreover, it sets an impressively high bar for the shows in 2026 to clear with their TV intros. It’s definitely one to know before It: Welcome to Derry returns for its already-renewed second season.

The intro sets initially scenic postcard-esque portraits of Derry against the 1956 track “A Smile and a Ribbon” by sisters Patience and Prudence. The positive feelings coincide with the intro’s efforts to present as an idyllic tourism ad for the small town. Gradually, the camera pulls back through all-too-small shapes to reveal the truth behind the seemingly cheery community. Juxtaposed to the upbeat song is the reality of the town’s horrors, like the explosion at Ironworks. The highly saturated colors only amplify the truth of the horror show, which will be returning for a second season sometime in 2027. So, now is the time to check out this intro!

For a show about fate and the lack thereof, From’s intro puts an unnerving spin on the Pixies’ “Que Sera, Sera.” The child-like drawings that usually elicit a positive reaction in their hopeful depiction of the world, become something much more sinister in the cool-toned intro. The show will reveal them to be records of the more secretive happenings in the town. 

So secret that the town doesn’t have a name, but it is recognizable in the eeriest of visuals. Whether in a tattered American flag or stripped-down suburban houses, there’s a sense of what once was. There’s a real sense of a before and after, with the show’s events being in the latter. That essence complements From’s blending of science fiction and horror. As a piece, this intro sets a chilling tone where everything is not as it seems, a lot like the cult classic, Lost (2004).

The original Scrubs (2001) used Lazlo Bane’s “Superman”, per Zach Braff’s recommendation to creator Bill Lawrence. Scrubs, the revival, brought the original song and its original intro back with a new twist. Of course, it includes the new cast members who join the show as up-and-coming doctors and nurses at Sacred Heart Hospital. It also features the three main returning cast members: Braff as Dr. J.D. Dorian, Sarah Chalke as Dr. Elliot Reid, and Donald Faison as Dr. Christopher Turk. The intros are broadly the same over the 15 years.

The characters go through the same motions–putting their stethoscopes over their shoulders and setting up an X-ray. The differences come in the camera quality. There’s a visible shift from a production standpoint: the original was shot on film, while the new one does so digitally. The intro reflects that in its content, too. Before the X-ray is taken, it’s placed in a paper chart and put on the wall. The more analog approach makes way for a digital one in the new intro, with iPads and computer screens. That difference also offers a sharper picture that contributes to the refined theme. The lyrics “I can't do this all on my own / No, I know I'm no Superman” take on a new meaning with the time between the versions of the shows. The new Scrubs addresses that through stories about updates to the hospital’s technology as well as the staff’s mental health.

The new comedy Rooster (2026), starring Steve Carell in a role that fans of The Office (2005) won’t want to miss, has an excellent intro. Set to Michael Stipe & Andrew Watt’s “I Played the Fool”, the title sequence adopts a charming animation style to introduce the titular character through pictures in a book. For clarification, Carell plays author Greg Russo, who wrote the beloved Rooster books, where the titular character is a brave action hero.

So, the intro reveals that with an animated Greg reading his book in front of a board with his name misspelled above the phrase “No one must be humiliated.” Those words and words from the book itself scramble and fall around the characters. Dylan (Danielle Deadwyler) protects herself with another book; Archie (Phil Dunster) pays no attention to anything but his dog; the book burns around Katie (Charly Clive) from a cigarette that she smokes. Ice cubes spawn from Sunny (Lauren Tsai) while Walt (John C. McGinley) walks out of a sauna. It ends on a shot of the character that Greg holds himself up against—the one he created. All the while, the track presents a world in which the characters keep trying amid the chaos of their lives. 

An awareness of the stunning Rivals intro is a must before the romantic drama returns for its hotly anticipated second season later this year. Based on Dame Jilly Cooper’s book of the same name, this show deals with all the drama, sex, and scandal around independent television in 1986. It’s set in the scenic yet fictional town of Rutshire in the Cotswolds, and the intro is set to “Rivals Titles” by Natalie Holt and Jack Halama. Holt’s work has been on my radar since falling for her scores during Marvel Studios’ Loki (2021). She delivers, once again, here.

This track embraces the show’s content and tone with symbols that appear in the series, as well as the iconic red high heel on the cover of Cooper’s books. With beats and moans syncing up with mallets hitting balls and opera music, there’s a real energy to this one. Red is the dominant color, which works with Rivals’ dedication to exploring genres like romance and themes like power. It’s also an intro that gets better once you’ve seen the show (more than once, if you’re like me) and the golden trophy and exploding champagne bottles take on a whole new meaning.