TV Shows That Will Blow You Away In 2026

In the streaming era, it can take a long time for new TV episodes to get filmed. "Euphoria" has infamously had a rough time trying to get Season 3 off the ground, and "Severance" Season 2 will have nearly three years between it and the first. People can still tune into cable TV if they want regularly scheduled programming, but for anything else, fans better be prepared for the long haul. 

While it's easy to become annoyed at modern TV practices, it ultimately just means there's plenty to look forward to in the years to come. Many shows from some of the biggest franchises around have already been announced to come out in 2026. Some have just begun production while others are still in the planning phases, meaning there's not much in the way of firm release dates just yet. But all of these are worth keeping an eye on as they'll surely be some of the biggest hit shows of that year. 

Bear in mind: While these shows are planned to come out in 2026, anything can happen between now and then. It's possible for delays to occur or for something to get pushed into 2025 if production rolls smoothly. For the time being, these are some of the most anticipated TV shows coming in 2026.

The "Harry Potter" franchise was nothing short of a phenomenon. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" first cast its spell in 1997, with the film adaptation coming in 2001. Over the next decade, new books would get released alongside films, giving fans a constant stream of magical wonder. Since the movies ended, the franchise has struggled. It tried to spin things off in a new direction with the "Fantastic Beasts" films, taking audiences back in time to see what wizards were like decades previously. Now, Max will take the franchise back to its roots with a new TV series that will adapt the "Harry Potter" books once more.

Current reports suggest the "Harry Potter" series is due to come out in 2026, although a specific time frame is unknown at the time of writing. "The Menu" director Mark Mylod will executive produce and direct some episodes, with John Lithgow, Nick Frost, and more Hollywood heavyweights taking on the roles of Albus Dumbledore, Hagrid, etc. The three main characters, Harry, Hermione, and Ron, have also been cast, with Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout, respectively, taking on the roles. The plan is to adapt all seven novels with one season per book. However, it's unclear if there will be seven seasons or more, as there have been statements the show could run for 10 consecutive years. Either way, Max and Warner Bros. are clearly confident this show will be a hit. 

Whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen. "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling has drawn ire in recent years for her anti-trans statements, raising the question if a wide audience will give this show a chance. Some would argue the "Harry Potter" Max series needs to be expelled, but it remains to be seen whether Max's big bet will pay off. 

2011's "Green Lantern" movie remains a joke over a decade after the fact, no doubt aided by star Ryan Reynolds continuing to poke fun at it. However, the rebooted DC Universe, spearheaded by James Gunn and Peter Safran, is set to include a new take on the Green Lantern mythos, and there's already plenty to get excited about. 

Max's "Lanterns" show will reportedly have a plot in the vein of "True Detective," involving the lead space cops coming to Earth for a case. As far as the cast is concerned, Kyle Chandler will play Hal Jordan, while Aaron Pierre has been cast as John Stewart. Nathan Fillion will portray fellow Green Lantern Guy Gardner in James Gunn's 2025 "Superman" and will reprise the role in the HBO Max series. Jason Ritter, Garrett Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, and Ulrich Thomsen are also part of the series' growing cast, with Thomsen set to play Sinestro, a former Green Lantern who later became Hal Jordan's greatest enemy and wields a yellow power ring fueled by fear.

With the "Green Lantern" film still regularly mocked, the character is due for some much-needed rehabilitation. An HBO Max series that allows the writers to really dig deep within this side of DC's mythos should be perfect. We're still short on information regarding a film date and possible release, although all signs point to it coming out in 2026. Hopefully, 2025's "Superman" sets this new iteration of DC on the right path, as 2026 is also the year we can expect "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" to hit theaters. 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a rough few years. The once-infallible franchise now has projects underperforming at the box office or getting heavily criticized, but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic leading up to "Avengers: Secret Wars." 2025 has been packed for Marvel Studios, with "Captain America: Brave New World," "Thunderbolts*," and "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" all coming out. 2026 is poised to be a big year too, especially with "Avengers: Doomsday" coming out on the film side of things, and that should also be the year when we can expect the return of Vision in a new Disney+ series, "Vision Quest."

"WandaVision" ended with a new, white Vision flying off, so one would assume the show will follow him as he grapples with the idea of being a mere copy. Paul Bettany will return to play Vision, with James Spader reportedly reprising his role as Ultron and T'Nia Miller debuting as Jocasta, an android created by Ultron to be his bride, though she eventually joins the Avengers. Bettany spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about "Vision Quest," teasing, "We're cooking up something that I'm really excited about."

Vision's return will be a long time coming, seeing as we last left off with him back in 2021 when "WandaVision" came out. However, "Vision Quest" highlights a major Marvel problem in that there are too many ideas getting thrown at the wall, with a lot getting teased without a ton in the way of fulfillment. Hopefully, the show winds up being worth the wait.

While the prospect of another "Star Trek" film remains elusive, things are moving along swimmingly for the franchise on television. In fact, a new series is already planned to come out in 2026, if not late 2025; it's called "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy," and it promises to push the franchise into a bold, new frontier. 

For starters, reports indicate "Starfleet Academy" will be more Young Adult-centric and take place largely in San Francisco in the 32nd century. The story's set to follow a group of enterprising future Federation members as they deal with an increasingly inert supply of dilithium, which is essential for proper warp drive operation. The series will focus on new cadets trying to rebuild and set the stage for further space exploration. Alex Kurtzman, showrunner and executive producer for the series, told The Los Angeles Times about the relevancy of such a show. "As the father of a 17-year-old boy, I see what my son is feeling as he looks at the world and to his future," he said. "I see him recognizing he's inheriting an enormous mess to clean up and it's going to be on his generation to figure out how to do that, and that's a lot to ask of a kid."

"Starfleet Academy" will boast a young cast, but there's plenty of experienced talent to fill out the ranks. Oscar winner Holly Hunter is going to play the Academy's chancellor, and Paul Giamatti will portray an antagonist connected to one of the new cadets. Tig Notaro will reprise her "Star Trek: Discovery" role as Jett Reno, and "ST: Voyager" star Robert Picardo returns as the Emergency Medical Hologram known as The Doctor.

The ending of "House of the Dragon" Season 2 didn't have much in the way of epic battles. If anything, it merely sets the stage for what's to come in Season 3, and anyone who's read George R.R. Martin's "Fire & Blood" knows that things are just heating up within this war between the rivaling factions of House Targaryen. And if Season 2 felt like an escalation, Season 3 should see the pot boil over and finally see more frequent fights break out. In addition to that, showrunner Ryan Condal recently teased what he referred to as a "conceptual episode" on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, though he didn't go into any details beyond it being character-driven.

"House of the Dragon" is naturally a very effects-heavy show, and since it took two years between Season 1 and 2, fans should expect a similar timeframe for Season 3, which will likely come out in 2026. Things appear to be moving along nicely to hit that date, as the show reportedly began shooting in early 2025. Additionally, there's a clear endgame in sight, with the show expected to last four seasons total.

Another prequel, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," based on the Hedge Knight from "The Tales of Dunk and Egg" novellas, is in production and is expected to debut in early 2026, likely ahead of "House of the Dragon's" third season. Other "Game of Thrones" spinoffs are in early development or under consideration, so even as "House of the Dragon" barrels toward its conclusion, there could be plenty more within this franchise coming to HBO Max very soon.

The real reason "The Boys" is ending with Season 5 is largely due to series creator Eric Kripke not wanting the show to overstay its welcome. "The Boys" series has proven to be one of the most essential pieces of superhero media in recent years, skewering both the genre, the entertainment industry as a whole, and modern American politics. Anyone who watched Season 4 can clearly see how it was the beginning of the end, as Homelander (Antony Starr) has become a de facto ruler of the United States and many of the titular Boys have now been apprehended.

Fans will have to wait a bit before seeing how all of this ends. Billy Butcher actor Karl Urban hinted as much in a July 2024 Instagram post, "See you in ...2 years (wish it was sooner) for the final season." Since then, Jensen Ackles has said filming for Season 5 should finish in mid-July 2025, so an early-2026 season premiere isn't an unreasonable expectation.

In mid-2024, Kripke revealed to GamesRadar+ that there are big plans for the series finale. "There's no guarantee who's going to survive because you don't have to keep [the cast] for another season," he explained. "So you can have really shocking, big things happen all the time. The writers, as we're starting to cook it up, we're really enjoying that." The show has already taken major liberties from the comics. Therefore, even those who know how the comic story plays out should be in for some surprises going into the last batch of episodes. 

"Futurama" is the sitcom that'll never die. It's bounced from Fox to Comedy Central to its current home at Hulu where it's been for the last two seasons, and it's going to remain there for the foreseeable future. "Futurama" Season 12 ended in September 2024 with the episode, "Otherwise," which could've been a viable series finale in its own right, with different versions of Fry (Billy West) and Leela (Katey Sagal) getting married before an explosion seemingly kills them all. Fortunately, another Fry and Leela have been safe in an alternate reality, leaving the door open for many more adventures. 

The show was picked up for another two seasons back in November 2023, giving the team plenty of time to get to work on more episodes to keep the saga going. Exact release dates aren't known yet, but with the early renewal, it would make sense for "Futurama" Season 13 to come out at some point in 2025. That means Season 14 could easily stick to a yearly release schedule with a 2026 drop date. 

While "Futurama" has some continuity, most episodes stand on their own. It's a chance to skewer modern technology, trends, and politics in a futuristic setting, with Season 12 mocking everything from NFTs to fast fashion. The question remains: Will "Futurama" Season 14 be the end yet again, or will "Futurama" continue until it reaches the 31st century?

2026 is poised to be an incredible year for fantasy fans. In addition to the debut of the "Harry Potter" series and probably a new season of "House of the Dragon," there should also be a new season of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" to make for one magical year. 

In February 2024, a press release stated that "Rings of Power" showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay signed a new three-year deal with Prime Video, which should see them through Season 3 and a little after. The current plan is for the fantasy series to have five seasons total, and things have been steadily building to something truly epic. McKay told The Hollywood Reporter, "I would just say we are enormously proud of Season 2 and the work that all these amazing actors did and all our incredible collaborators did ... We think the show is just hitting its stride, and we anticipate that Season 3 will be onward and upward." 

"The Rings of Power" Season 3, which will show Sauron creating the One Ring, doesn't have a release date yet, but given the two years between Season 1 and 2, it would make sense for the same pattern to follow for these new episodes. The show began shooting its third season in February 2025, which means a 2026 premiere is entirely possible even taking into account the considerable VFX the series requires.