Stranger Things Season 5: The Finale
It feels a bit like cheating to add this one to the list, since it’s out on New Year’s Eve in the US – yet it’s available in the UK at 1am, officially making this the first must-see show of 2026. The Duffer Brothers still have a lot of loose ends to tie up: there’s the monstrous Vecna to defeat, Will suddenly has superpowers and the US military is also on the run. There is a reasonable chance that at least one of the twelve main cast members will die.
Netflix, January 1 at 1am
The Night Manager Season 2
Nearly a decade after the first Night Manager took Britain by storm, it’s finally back for a second season – which presumably means more guns, more sex and more quasi-James Bond exploits. Tom Hiddleston returns (albeit with a receding hairline) as Jonathan Pine, the hotel night manager from the first season who also managed to take down international arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie). And while we don’t know much about the new threat he’ll face, Olivia Colman’s eminently capable Angela Burr is back to run things from the State Department.
(Ian West/PA)
PA wire
Has Claudia Winkleman already achieved National Treasure status? She’s certainly most of the way there – Celebrity Traitors was a huge hit, and the BBC is following that up on New Year’s Day with the first episode of season four. It’s only Joe Public competing for the cash prize this time, but then again they’ll be willing to play dirtier than the celebrities. The perfect way to start 2026.
BBC One, January 1 at 8pm
Is Industry the most underrated show on television? It’s entirely possible, which means now is the perfect time to binge a few seasons before the final airings. Now that they’re both free of Pierpont, things aren’t much better for enemies Yasmin (Marisa Abela) and Harper (Myha’la): Yasmin is stuck in a miserable marriage to Lord Henry Muck (Kit Harington) and Harper is dragged into the orbit of a splashy fintech darling. The end result? Explosive.
A knight of the seven kingdoms
While the decision to adapt one of George RR Martin’s novellas into a feature film series may seem a bit like barrel-scraping, there’s no denying that it will be a joy to dive back into the Game of Thrones universe. While previous shows have focused on the important subject of kingship (and the battle for that kingship), this one promises to be much lighter in tone – telling the story of hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall () and his squire Ei () as they attempt to seek glory in a joust.
HBO/Sky Atlantic, January 18
How to get to heaven from Belfast?
Christopher Barr/Netflix
Lisa McGee from Derry Girls is working on a TV series again – which of course means we’re in the extreme. The premise of this is still somewhat vague, but it stars Roisin Gallagher, Sinéad Keenan and Caoilfhionn Dunne as three old school friends who attend an old classmate’s wake, only to discover a dark mystery. Although not too dark: because this is McGee, there is undoubtedly a lot of wry humor woven into it as well.
The Boys has alternately entertained and horrified us since season one dropped in 2019; now the roller coaster ride is finally coming to an end. But before that happens, expect blobs of madness to be thrown in our faces like pieces of an exploded body. In this trailer alone, we see Homelander shooting his laser eyes into space, the Vought/fascism machine in full swing, and an unexpected Supernatural reunion as Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki return to the small screen together. In other words, fasten those seat belts.
Channel 4
Put Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West together in a show and it turns out the combination is dynamite. That’s certainly the case for Big Mood, which starred the pair of long-term (if somewhat toxic) friends Maggie and Eddie, who have stuck together through thick and thin. Until Maggie’s bipolar disorder starts to affect her behavior: crazy slapstick and heartbreaking sadness. And now it’s back for season two.
Channel 4
Bella Ramsey is obviously excellent at everything they do, which makes tuning in to this new show a necessity. They play Maya, who, along with mother Anna (Daisy Haggard), is forced to flee into witness protection, leaving Anna’s parents abandoned for a life in Scotland. Unfortunately, danger still lurks in their path: two hitmen follow them, while the charming and terrifying Bobby (Tobias Menzies) also seems to be closing in. The synopsis promises this will be “darkly comedic”: it doesn’t sound like it, but we’re sold anyway.
Prime Video
Who could turn down the chance to see Catherine Zeta Jones in what feels like her first leading role in years? The answer is: no one, especially when she’s in that role as a former international drug smuggler turned glamorous art dealer. She’s left her life of crime behind (obviously), but trouble resurfaces when a team of the world’s most fearsome assassins, the Seven Demons, mark her as their next victim. The first images promise us something ultra-shiny and ultra-dumb: perfect for bingeing.
BBC/Eleven/J Redza
A prospect that haunts the dreams of anyone who had to study this for GCSE English (hello). But at least it looks like it will be good: prolific writer Jack Thorne has written the script, the first images promise plenty of grimness and the whole thing was apparently shot in Malaysia. For those who can handle a return to William Golding’s world of castaways gone wild, this is one for you.
ITV
What if James Bond was married and had to go to couples therapy? Is the premise of ITV’s upcoming thriller series. Shaun Evans is the blandly named John Hughes, an MI5 officer struggling to balance the demands of his job with those of his personal life – namely marriage to Romola Garai’s partner Clare, who struggles to trust her highly secretive partner. Add to that a new spy plot and things start to fall apart.
Sky / small door
Time for a good old dose of Welsh noir. Sky’s upcoming crime drama takes us to a remote coastal community that hides a lot of heartache beneath the surface – such as a three-year-old cold case that is unexpectedly reopened by former buyer Jackie Ellis (Kelly Reilly) after she makes a new discovery. Her original investigation cost her both her family and her career, but she soon reunites with former partner Eric Bull (Rafe Spall) to solve it once and for all.
BBC/Lefteroever
Didn’t get a chance to see James Graham’s hit football drama on stage? Good news: it has been made into a four-part TV series starring Joseph Fiennes and Jodie Whittaker. For those unfamiliar, it takes us through England’s sad years in the wilderness as a lost national team. But what is this? Enter Gareth Southgate, himself a former England player, who has a chip on his shoulder and a mission in his heart. Can he put an end to all those years of pain? Spoiler alert: no, he can’t (that’s the women’s team’s job), but he does manage to get them to the semi-finals of Euro 2024, and if the show is anything like a play, it will be heartwarming to watch.
We didn’t ask for a Legally Blonde prequel, but we’re getting one anyway. Leave the downright awful sequel and straight-to-DVD threequel out of your mind; this is a glossy, high-end production funded by Amazon and fronted by the original Elle Woods, Reese Witherspoon herself. We don’t know much yet, but we do know that this is a glimpse into Elle’s high school life, and the first images tease Lexi Minetree as the titular blonde, dressed in all pink. Naturally.
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