The best new shows to stream on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and more

By Dan Girolamo and Anthony Orlando Updated January 16, 2026

2026 has begun, and streaming networks have some big new shows from 2025 for audiences to start the year. Netflix has released the entirety of Stranger Things 5 on its digital library, completing one of the most popular TV shows in history.

There are also several shows from 2025 that have just won big this awards season. Season 1 of HBO Max’s The Pitt won Best Drama Series at the Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice Awards. Meanwhile, Apple TV’s The Studio won these two awards for Best Comedy Series with its first season.

There are also many shows that have captivated audiences, including the second season of Fallout, Pluribus, and It: Welcome to Derry. Read the entire guide for the full list of recommendations.

We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, and the best shows on Prime Video.

Once again, Stranger Things has rocked the world with its latest season on Netflix. We saw the heroes of Hawkins continue their hunt for the monstrous psychic Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) in the Upside Down as the U.S. military keeps everyone in Hawkins locked in the town.

In the show’s fifth and final season, Vecna kidnaps more children from Hawkins with his Demogorgons, initiating his final plan to wipe out humanity. As the secrets of the Upside Down have begun to unfold, the series has also revealed the truth behind Will’s (Noah Schnapp) kidnapping in season 1. This has brought Stranger Things full circle, making season 5 an epic climax to this beloved series.

Stream Stranger Things season 5 on Netflix.

This popular sci-fi show began with Lucy (Ella Purnell) leaving her home in the fallout shelter Vault 33 to rescue her father (Kyle MacLachlan) from marauders. While exploring the post-nuclear wasteland on the surface, she meets Maximus (Aaron Moten), a soldier from the Brotherhood of Steel, and the Ghoul (Walter Goggins), a mutated gunslinger.

Since discovering the dark truth about her father and the war that ravaged her world, Lucy has embarked on a new journey with the Ghoul to New Vegas. As their adventure continues in season 2, we see our heroes face off against more vicious survivors and monsters as war and secrets break out.

Stream Fallout season 2 on Prime Video.

This new sci-fi series from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan just launched with more viewers than Severance season 2 on Apple TV, quickly becoming one of the most popular shows of 2025. Pluribus sees the human race infected by an alien pathogen that makes them part of a “benevolent” hive mind, with only 13 people being immune to infection.

Though the hive-minded “Others” tries to give her nothing but happiness, one of the immunes, author Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), tries to find a way to turn everyone back to normal. However, she struggles to live under the weight of her loneliness and develops romantic feelings for Zosia (Karolina Wydra), one of the Others.

Stream Pluribus season 1 on Apple TV.

In the first season of this hit fantasy series, we saw the titular teenager (Walker Scobell) learn that his father is the ocean god Poseidon (Toby Stephens), all while being framed for stealing Zeus’s (Lance Reddick) master lightning bolt. After facing off against several threats straight out of Greek mythology, Percy brought order back to Mount Olympus by retrieving and returning Zeus’s bolt.

During Percy’s second summer at Camp Half-Blood, he sees his arch-nemesis, Luke (Charlie Bushnell), try to destroy the magic barrier protecting the other demigods there. Percy then embarks on another epic adventure to restore the barrier by recovering the Golden Fleece from the Sea of Monsters.

Stream Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 on Hulu or on Disney+.

Created by Critical Role, the minds behind The Legend of Vox Machina, The Mighty Nein follows six misfits in the fantasy realm of Exandria who must team up to save their world after a magic artifact is stolen, bringing two neighboring kingdoms to the brink of war.

There’s the chaotic tiefling Jester (Laura Bailey), the monk Beau (Marisha Ray), the tarot card reader Molly (Taliesin), the wizard Caleb (Liam O’Brien), the half-orc warlock Fjord (Travis Willingham), and the alcoholic goblin Nott (Sam Riegel). This lineup of quirky, layered characters brings the right amount of heart and humor to this series, making it a worthy follow-up to The Legend of Vox Machina.

Stream The Mighty Nein season 1 on Prime Video.

This Alien prequel series shows the spaceship Maginot crash-landing on Earth, carrying some of the universe’s most dangerous and terrifying species. Not only is there the iconic Xenomorph, but also a tentacled eye that can control creatures’ minds and a giant fly that sprays acid.

At the same time, Alien: Earth follows the Prodigy Corporation as they develop the “hybrids,” a new type of synthetic android housing the minds of a few terminally ill children. These hybrids become the series’ main protagonists as they attempt to capture the wild aliens on board the Maginot and eventually rebel against Prodigy on their island of Neverland.

Stream Alien: Earth season 1 on Hulu.

Michael Schur, who created Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and The Good Place, has returned with this hit new sitcom starring Ted Danson. A Man on the Inside follows Charles (Danson), a retired professor who is hired by a private investigator (Lilah Richcreek Estrada) to go undercover in a retirement home to find a missing necklace.

In the show’s second season, Charles goes undercover at a school to find a missing laptop worth millions of dollars. However, he soon finds himself infatuated with one of the suspects in this new case.

Stream A Man on the Inside season 2 on Netflix.

Set in the 1960s, this prequel series follows a handful of Derry residents as they face the wrath of Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård) before the events of 2017’s It. Adapting more material from Stephen King’s novel, It: Welcome to Derry offers a worthy expansion of the iconic horror saga, connecting it to other classic King stories like The Shining and The Shawshank Redemption.

In the show’s first episode, we see the Hanlon family moving to Derry, and a group of children have some unforgettable encounters with Pennywise. With the killer clown at his most chaotic, the show proves from the beginning that nobody is safe from Its wrath. The series also reveals more secrets behind Derry’s history with It and how the shapeshifting predator came to be known as Pennywise.

Stream It: Welcome to Derry season 1 on HBO Max.

The first season of The Pitt follows the workers at a chaotic Pittsburgh hospital, with each episode depicting an hour in everyone’s first 15-hour shift together. This creative approach immersed audiences in a realistic and heart-pounding medical drama unlike any other.

Season 2, which premiered on January 9, follows the cast during their shift on the 4th of July weekend, months after the end of season 1. With this new season, The Pitt introduces new cases, new patients, and a whole new set of problems.

Stream The Pitt on HBO Max.

Created by Dan Erickson, Severance follows the employees of a shadowy Lumon Industries, where their work memories are separated from their non-work memories. While employee Mark (Adam Scott) tries to learn the truth about his mysterious employers, his work half tries to escape to the outside world with his friends/coworkers.

In season 2, Mark tries to find his deceased wife, Gemma (Dichen Lachman), who is revealed to be alive and held captive by Lumon. At the same time, he discovers many other dark secrets about his employers and their plans for Lumon and the world entire, making for one of the most unusual and enthralling sci-fi shows out there.

Stream Severance on Apple TV.

In this Seth Rogen comedy series, Hollywood film executive Matt Remick (Rogen) struggles to manage the daily chaos in his new job as the head of Continental Studios. Though he wants to produce original, artistic films, he also tries to appease his corporate overlords and make profitable movies.

Despite his best efforts to please everyone, Remick manages to anger just about everyone in Hollywood, including icons like Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, and Ice Cube. With strong writing, performances, and cinematography, this award-winning series captures the madness and absurdity of modern Hollywood, making it appealing to comedy fans and film buffs.

Stream The Studio on Apple TV.

Sylvester Stallone continues to build his empire in Oklahoma in Tulsa King season 3. After 25 years in prison, mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Stallone) is sent to Tulsa to establish criminal operations. Dwight has built an impressive empire over the two seasons. Now, he must protect what he created against the powerful and wealthy Dumire family.

Season 3 marks the arrival of Samuel L. Jackson, whose Russell Lee Washington Jr. will be the subject of the spinoff NOLA King. Tulsa King has been renewed for a fourth season.

Stream Tulsa King season 3 on Paramount+.

If you miss The Office, then The Paper is the show for you. The Peacock mockumentary series is a follow-up and spinoff to The Office. Greg Daniels, who created The Office, is the co-creator and co-showrunner of The Paper.

The documentary crew that filmed Dunder Mifflin has found their new subjects: the staff of the Toledo Truth-Teller, a declining Midwestern newspaper. Looking to turn things around is the ambitious new editor, Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson). All episodes of the first season are now available.

Stream The Paper season 1 on Peacock.

The podcasting trio with an affinity for true crime has returned for a fifth season of Only Murders in the Building. Wherever Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) go, death follows. This time, it comes for their beloved doorman (Teddy Coluca).

Refusing to believe it’s an accident, the trio begins their investigation, which leads them to three of the richest people in the world (Renée Zellweger, Logan Lerman, and Christoph Waltz).

Stream Only Murders in the Building season 5 on Hulu.

Adolescence sees a 13-year-old Jamie (Owen Cooper) arrested after one of his female classmates (Emilia Holliday) is murdered. The authorities explore the events leading up to the murder to understand how young Owen turned to a life of hate and violence, which has also destroyed the lives of his family and friends.

This award-winning miniseries grabs audiences by the throat and pulls them into a harrowing tale about toxic masculinity, cyberbullying, public shaming, and the harmful influence of social media on modern youth. Adolescence is elevated by the cast’s incredible performances, particularly Cooper’s, and how each episode captures the drama in a single long take.

Stream Adolescence on Netflix.