The best TV of 2026 so far has been nothing short of spectacular, offering a diverse range of genres from fantasy to comedy, drama to documentary. Here are our favourite shows of the year that have captivated audiences worldwide.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Departing from the doom and gloom of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, this lighter, funnier Westeros spin-off was infinitely more enjoyable from the off. Ser Dunk and Egg are a duo worth rooting for as they prepare for the tourney, with Dunk chasing his dream of becoming a knight. Of course, the series isn't without gore – and the Targaryen twist sent things into a blood-soaked spiral. But its simpler storytelling and mostly sweet characters made us excited to be back in George RR Martin's world.
Amandaland
Lucy Punch has created one of the best TV antiheroes in years. Insufferable? Yes. But the divorced middle-class mum, influencer, and kitchen shop worker Amanda cracks us up so much that, by this second series, we just want her dream of moving into a bigger house in SoHa to come true. With Philippa Dunne as her longsuffering friend and dogsbody Anne, and Joanna Lumley on board as Amanda's overbearing mother, this really is a celebration of some of the best women in comedy.
Bait
Patrick Stewart as the voice of a dead pig's head. Guz Khan as an entrepreneur trying to disrupt the taxi market with Muber – the Muslim Uber. An attempt to pursue a thief in a London pedicab pumping out UK garage classics. Riz Ahmed's semi-autobiographical story of an actor striving to become the next James Bond sounds like a straight-up comedy. But it plays out as the woozy tale of a borderline breakdown induced by the pressures of fitting into the mainstream while staying true to the community you come from. How does a British actor of Pakistani heritage justify taking the role of a white neocolonialist icon? "If I played Bond, he wouldn't be white!" protests Ahmed. "Yeah, but you would be," comes the response. Surely the most wry, witty, and brilliant look at cultural identity we'll watch this year.
Children of the Blitz
Given that anyone who can actually recall the Blitz is now at least pushing 90, television of this kind goes beyond mere documentary-making and enters the realm of historical record-building. This 90-minute film spoke to Blitz survivors from all corners of the British Isles and was enlightening and deeply touching. There was testimony that reminded viewers that childhood trauma often lasts a lifetime, but also stories of resilience and redemption. The death of the wonderful Patsy Moneypenny between filming and broadcast was a poignant reminder that, in terms of preserving these memories, time is running out. Essential viewing.
Heated Rivalry
"I'm coming to the cottage." It's the sexy, squeal-worthy hockey romance that has taken the world by storm and unleashed the sheer star power of Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. Based on Rachel Reid's novels, the story of pro hockey players Ilya and Shane who pretend to loathe each other but have secret trysts and then fall for each other hard is a gorgeous queer love story in the butch world of pucks and padding. It's pumped full of sex, sure, but it's also packed with beautiful moments, from Storrie's soul-bearing monologue in Russian to their blissful days together in that lake house. It's such a global smash that there are now Heated Rivalry raves.
Industry
Industry is no longer the show it started as; long gone are the slanging matches on the brutal Pierpoint trading floor. But that is no bad thing: the fourth season was outrageously scandalous. Harper (Myha'la) and Yasmin (Marisa Abela) are the only original finance grads left standing now, trying to straddle friendship with rivalry. But this is about way more than big money. Overdosing journalists, bloody bust-ups, claims of incest at a Marie Antoinette party – the writers even sent Yasmin off on a Ghislaine Maxwell trajectory. The next season has been confirmed as the last, and while this feels right, the nightmares we have witnessed suggest it will end with the bang of all bangs.
Last One Laughing UK
So stellar was the lineup of this brilliantly daffy gameshow's first outing, it was easy to be blindsided into thinking it would be impossible to replicate. Thankfully, it was no such thing, with another starry bunch of comics being sublimely silly as they attempt to spend six hours without cracking a smile. Sam Campbell dressed in a giant cockatoo costume, David Mitchell putting on the most committed – and tuneless – musical theatre performance ever seen on TV, Alan Carr trying to operate a sausage-making machine live on stage. Here's to another 1,000 series.
Making Life on Earth: Attenborough's Greatest Adventure
Who'd have guessed that the 100th year of the broadcasting legend's life would see some of his greatest work? Anyone who's ever watched his shows. Alongside Wild London's delightful look at the UK capital's nature – he's giddy about pigeons – and Secret Garden's take on the wildlife found by suburban homes, he also greeted his centenary with some stunning retrospectives. Chief among them was this raucously entertaining tale of how he created his first masterwork, Life on Earth. From tales of donkey allergies and dodging political coups to being terrorised by giant tortoises, it's a hugely entertaining watch. It also covers the story of his encounter with Rwandan gorillas, with whom he also reunited this year in Netflix's A Gorilla Story. But it's this BBC show's relentless stream of fantastic yarns that make it the standout in a year of phenomenal Attenborough shows.
Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair
It really shouldn't have worked. Some of the cast hadn't acted in decades. Even the show's creator was sceptical about reviving the 00s family sitcom. And yet, this four-episode special catching up with the titular Malcolm in adulthood, as he attempts to weasel out of his parents' 40th wedding anniversary, is absolutely glorious television. The cast's chemistry is as effervescent as ever, the zingers just as sharp, and it remains the best TV portrayal of how it's possible to both love your family and find them a source of meltdown-inducing rage. It's all driven by Bryan Cranston's ludicrously committed turn as dad Hal, in which he necks dangerous amounts of hallucinogens and has a reckless dalliance with glitter. His OTT makeup in the final scene has to be seen to be believed. It's one of the funniest moments of the year – if not the funniest.
Margo's Got Money Troubles
This clever, charming comedy drama stars Elle Fanning as Margo, a bright, working-class teen whose English tutor is convinced she's Harvard material. Sadly, he proceeds to use this to flatter her into bed – and when she becomes pregnant, he leaves her holding the baby. Cue the end of Margo's Harvard ambitions but the beginning of a new kind of creativity, involving an OnlyFans account. It could easily descend into boilerplate bleakness but instead, it's a soulful journey about found family and female solidarity. The performances are excellent, most notably Michelle Pfeiffer as Margo's tough-as-teak mother Shyanne.
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed
The title is certainly clickbait, but thankfully, this thriller about a divorced mum who gets embroiled in a blackmail scam – or is it? – with a gorgeous camboy called Trevor lives up to its own hype. Tatiana Maslany is incredible as Paula, the hockey stick-wielding mum who witnesses Trevor being attacked during one of their sexy sessions, then ends up taking matters into her own hands when the police won't help. The cast is ace, from Jake Johnson (Nick to New Girl fans) as Paula's conniving ex to the always welcome return of Murray Bartlett to our screens as the show's big bad. Every episode has a cracking cliffhanger, and it has some of the wildest injury and death scenes in TV memory (tins of tuna, expanding foam in the mouth). Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed hooks you in straight away then never lets up. Strap in.
Rivals
Jilly Cooper's 80s bonkbuster was ludicrously fun when it first titillated us in 2024; the second season holds up even stronger than a can of Elnett hairspray. As the rivalry between Rupert Campbell-Black and Tony Baddingham intensifies, elsewhere there are endless love affairs and even a beautiful teary moment or two. Pool sex, helicopter chases, the great storm of '87, a Tory MP still winning his seat after being nationally shamed – OK, so it's not all as escapist as it feels, but each scene is like taking a sip of chilled chardonnay on a scorching hot day. Naughty, dizzying, and absolutely vital. Plus, the yearning between Lizzie and Freddie alone is enough to keep us glued.
Saturday Night Live UK
It's probably fair to say that hopes weren't high for this UK spin-off of the US comedy staple. But we should have had more faith: the show's mixture of sketches, banter, and music turned out very well. Highlights included George Fouracres' consistently fun impressions, the dangerously Undérage skincare treatment, and the spot-on Traitors spoof. This show definitely has legs – which is more than can be said for several of the visitors to the terrifying immersive Paddington Bear experience with an actual hungry bear.
Scrubs
This revival of the hit medical sitcom could easily have flatlined. Luckily, the series instantly came to life simply by doing everything it used to do so well. Wacky daydreams, daft jokes, brutal putdowns – it was good to be back at Sacred Heart. Most of the original cast were there, including John C McGinley as the inimitable, now retired Dr Cox. Is it slightly unnerving that they all look exactly the same as they did 20 years ago? Sure. But that's the only distraction from this brilliant reboot.
Small Prophets
The long-awaited new sitcom from Detectorists creator Mackenzie Crook was hardly likely to be big, brash, and in-yer-face. But it's still remarkable what a low-key joy it is to watch this melancholy-tinged tale of Mancunian retail worker Michael's search for his missing girlfriend – and his unexpected foray into the supernatural. Gentle, charming, funny – and featuring a long-overdue return to TV comedy for Michael Palin as the lead's father. It could hardly get more lovable.
Star City
This counterfactual spin-off from For All Mankind offers a parallel Soviet take on the space race. It's a much darker affair than its parent show but every bit as gripping. The glory of Mother Russia – and the extreme peril facing anyone who fails to serve her – is the focus. Rhys Ifans stars as the frustrated but dutiful Chief Designer (appropriately, we never learn his name) on whose shoulders progress rests, while Anna Maxwell Martin is magnificently chilling as KGB functionary Lyudmilla. It's a ferocious study of the crushing weight (and inherent absurdity) of totalitarianism, possibly best compared to HBO's meltdown masterpiece Chernobyl.
The Assembly
Since its first outing in 2024, this celebrity interview show has never failed to make our annual best-of list – and with good reason. It's far and away the most revealing interview with a famous person on TV, as their encounter with a room full of neurodivergent interviewers unlocks something that no chummy chatshow sofa seems able to. Guests variously sit down with a genuine look of nervousness (Lenny Henry, Stephen Fry), find themselves stunned by the emotive power of questions (Nicola Sturgeon), or get giddy with delight at the frankness of the interviewers (Anna Maxwell Martin). It's a total joy – and that's before you consider the tear-inducing singalong that ends each episode.
The Cage
Another TV triumph from Tony Schumacher, whose first ever show was The Responder. No one writes unforgettable state of the nation stories about desperate characters quite like him – and this proves he is no one-trick pony. Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha are extraordinary as Leanne and Matty, the harried casino worker pals who discover they're both skimming off the takings to get themselves out of a pinch. The moment Leanne's ex gets into her house and robs the shoebox stuffed with all 34,000 pounds of her house savings is up there with the most heart-rending moments of the year. Five relentlessly stressful and thrilling hours culminate in Matty's heroic act of selflessness for his best, or to be honest only, mate. And let's hear it for that devastating 80s soundtrack which gives the show a wonderful payoff too.
The Other Bennet Sister
Another Pride and Prejudice drama? Even the biggest Jane Austen fan is sceptical at this point. But this gorgeous, funny show offered a spirited new take: the overlooked sister, Mary, telling the classic story from her perspective. Ella Bruccoleri was superbly cast as the misunderstood "spinster" who goes on to carve her own path and fall into a love triangle of her own. A perfect period drama.
The Pitt
It's no mean feat to serve up two seasons of spotless TV that makes you feel like someone's applied superglue to your sofa. But the Noah Wyle-starring hit medical drama from the creators of ER is yet to make an hour of TV that isn't utterly captivating. It's an excellent, faultlessly realistic tale of life in a Pittsburgh hospital's emergency department with the emotional range to leave viewers chuckling, weeping, or seething with righteous anger – sometimes in the course of one episode. As its stunningly acted characters battle their way through mass shootings, cyber-attacks, and nuns with gonorrhea, it's hard not to marvel anew at the incredible humanity of doctors and nurses.
The Testaments
Despite becoming way too bleak to watch in parts, last year's powerful final series of The Handmaid's Tale proved it was a truly fine adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel. That same quality is found here in the sequel, which picks up the story some years later in Gilead, where life seems a little more relaxed for the next generation of women – including June's biological daughter Agnes/Hannah, who is still there and celebrating her first period. But don't be fooled! As the true horrors of this world are revealed, the show's pastel hues, soft filters, and catchy covers of pop hits only make everything feel more sinister. When June sends in an undercover teenage girl to befriend Agnes and Aunt Lydia, it's tense edge-of-your-seat stuff at every turn. Even if you've read the book, there are still shock twists – plus a cameo from Atwood herself.
The Traitors
What an absolute rollercoaster. At points, this year's hooded assassins were so brutal it threatened to tip over into the kind of high drama reality TV it had always defined itself in opposition to. But throughout the run, this show revealed that it had far more going for it than the fights Fiona started, Harriet's weirdly aggro breakfast antics, or Rachel's machiavellian ways. It became a tale of the trust and loyalty between Rachel and Stephen. And, in the end, it really didn't disappoint. After that finale, consider our faith in humanity restored.
This Is a Gardening Show
Each episode of Zach Galifianakis's offbeat look at horticulture is only 15 minutes, but they pack in more smiles and laugh-out-loud moments than some sitcoms deliver in an entire series. As he visits farms and sings the virtues of the agrarian lifestyle, he never fails to goof around – from using watering equipment to fake urinate, to nearly crashing a corn farmer's tractor. Probably the highlight, though, are the interviews with kids about vegetables: each one is a totally unpredictable watch where they might sit silently and glower, crack ludicrously surreal jokes, or – as one kid does – claim to have fathered an entire family. Absolutely joyful.
Waiting for the Out
We knew he was great in The Responder, but Josh Finan is absolutely staggering in this brilliant BBC drama about Dan, a man who teaches philosophy in a prison while reckoning with his own demons. Based on Andy West's memoir The Life Inside, creator Dennis Kelly masterfully brings Dan to life as a man tormented by the fact that his dad and brother have both done time – and living in mortal dread that he might be fated to follow them. Watching Dan try to hold his life together while he descends into a full-blown OCD nightmare, taking countless photos of his gas stove to check it's not on, is sheer agony. We'll never look at a hob the same way again.
Widow's Bay
The oddball, off-the-wall horror comedy we are totally obsessed with. The exceptional cast, from Matthew Rhys (as put-upon mayor of the eponymous cursed island, Tom Loftis) to a revelatory Kate O'Flynn and Somebody Somewhere's Jeff Hiller, bring the eccentric place to life beautifully – and keep it firmly on the right side of weird. There are plenty of laughs and jump scares too, plus it's been likened to Twin Peaks. If that won't make you watch, nothing will.
Wonder Man
For anyone suffering MCU fatigue (that's most of us, right?), Wonder Man is the Marvel TV show that actually feels nothing like a Marvel TV show. Instead, it is set in a world that frowns upon superhero powers, and gives us a story about the unlikely friendship between enigmatic aspiring actor Simon (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and eccentric has-been actor Trevor (Ben Kingsley). Except! Trevor has actually been tasked with secretly investigating Simon's unusual strength. Abdul-Mateen II and Kingsley are fantastic as this chalk-and-cheese pairing, and as well as some genuinely poignant moments, there are loads of laugh-out-loud scenes to have fun with.
The Zero Line
Ben Steele's chilling documentary about life inside Putin's war is the kind of TV that will always stick with you. He gained remarkable access to men who reluctantly joined the Russian army and/or showed resistance, and their accounts of what that was really like are harrowing. They talk of military torture, "meat storms" (a tactic of throwing a swarm of soldiers at points across the line), and summary executions – or "zeroing" – that they regularly witnessed. You can't help but still fear for the men, who have escaped and speak on camera, which makes it all the more powerful and terrifying to watch.
