The 15 Must-Watch Sci-Fi And Fantasy TV Shows Of 2026

2025 was a huge year for TV, from the long-awaited return of Severance at the beginning of the year to the even longer-awaited Stranger Things final season towards the end. It’s the year that brought us the end of Andor, but also the beginning of Pluribus. But what is lurking in the year ahead?

There’s the return of shows absent for years, the end of full franchises and spinoffs of others, plus some brand-new stories that could become powerhouses of their own. Here’s everything you need to know about the TV of 2026, including when you can mark your calendar — and there’s plenty only in January.

15. The Night Manager Season 2

The first season of The Night Manager, a full decade ago, saw mild-mannered hotel employee Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) as he got himself embroiled in a conspiracy involving arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie). Now, nine years have passed, and Jonathan is living under a new name in London. But everything changes when he stumbles on an old friend of Roper, which brings him on a brand-new adventure in Colombia.

While it doesn’t look like there will be many returning cast members from Season 1, the star power of Tom Hiddleston is sure to make this a fascinating return to a hidden gem of the conspiracy thriller genre.

Release Date: January 11, 2026, on Prime Video.

14. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

The biggest swing for the Star Trek franchise, possibly, ever. Set in the same 32nd Century far-future canon that Discovery existed in since 2020, Starfleet Acadmey isn’t going back to the old days of Kirk and Spock, or even Picard and Sisko. Instead, this is a brand new batch of a reimagined version of the famous space school, now back in San Fransciso, where it all began. The twist? Starfleet Academy itself also exists on a starship, the USS Athena, which blends a big space opera adventure with a grounded show at the same time.

The series embodies various tones all at once, and presents a cast of young, new characters who, if they’re lucky, will eventually become the future of Starfleet.

Release Date: January 15, 2026, on Paramount+.

13. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

We’re living in a post-Game-of-Thrones world, and that means the Iron Throne now belongs to the spinoffs. House of the Dragon took the action back to 150 years before Daenerys Targaryen was born, and now A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is filling in the gap. But don’t expect vast wars and dragon fights: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on the Dunk and Egg novellas by George R. R. Martin, smaller-scale stories of a wandering “hedge knight” and his young bald squire who — spoiler alert — may secretly be more important than he first appears.

This series is a bit of a risk for the Game of Thrones franchise, but seeing how Dunk and Egg are beloved by book fans, it’s sure to be equally popular for those just meeting them for the first time onscreen.

Release Date: January 16, 2026, on HBO Max.

12. Wonder Man

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars in this ultra-meta MCU series about an actor cast in the remake of a classic superhero series who ends up with superpowers himself. The series comes from Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton, who is directing the next Spider-Man movie, and while Simon Williams may not be a pivotal part of Avengers: Doomsday, there are multiple ties to the greater MCU already evident.

Ben Kingsley returns as Trevor Slattery, the artist formerly known as The Mandarin, who appeared previously in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi, and Succession alum Arian Moayed returns as a Department of Damage Control agent after his appearances in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Ms. Marvel.

Release Date: January 27, 2026, on Disney+.

11. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2

The tangled family drama of Monarch returns, and this time, as the finale of Season 1 promised, King Kong is here. In a sense, as a midquel to the various new Monsterverse movies (Season 1 took place in 2015), Monarch delivers a slightly more serious tone than something like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. If you’re looking for a monster adventure vibe grounded in the humans that deal with these monsters, then Monarch is one of the most unique sci-fi shows ever. Hopefully, Season 2 will deliver some more answers and also give us just enough Kong, but not too much Kong.

Release Date: February 27, 2026, on Apple TV.

10. Daredevil: Born Again Season 2

Daredevil: Born Again breathed new life into the Marvel series from the Netflix era. While there were some distinctly MCU elements like the return of the Swordsman, the blood-and-guts grittiness of the series remained. Even though he was more alone than ever before (R.I.P. Foggy Nelson), Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) was once again facing off against Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), and he was more powerful than ever as mayor.

Season 2 brings Matt back together with his old ally Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), who had her own Netflix Marvel series. Could this be the rise of a new age for the Defenders?

Release Date: March 4, 2026, on Disney+.

9. The Boys Season 5

The Boys was supposed to be a parody of superhero franchises like the DC Universe and the MCU, but now it’s basically a superhero franchise of the same size, complete with spinoffs like Gen V. However, all good things come to an end, and the upcoming Season 5 will be the main show’s last. Homelander (Antony Starr) is now more powerful than ever, but Hughie (Jack Quaid) and Annie January (Erin Moriarty) are assembling a team for one final showdown, and this time, a clear winner will rise.

Release Date: April 8, 2026, on Prime Video.

8. Dune: Prophecy Season 2

HBO has found much success with TV spinoffs of big Warner Bros. films, like The Penguin or It: Welcome to Derry. But the most underappreciated of these, Dune: Prophecy, is the first to return for a second season. The series follows the founding of the Bene Gesserit thousands of years before the events of Dune, and stars Emily Watson as Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen as she navigates a mysterious prophesied enemy. After all, they measure their plans in centuries.

Release Date: 2026 on HBO Max.

7. VisionQuest

The last time we saw Vision, he was facing off against his own self, contemplating the Ship of Theseus. Now, White Vision is the sole Vision remaining, but without Westview, what’s left for him? Fellow AIs, apparently. Under the supervision of Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas, Vision is reunited with his creator Ultron (James Spader), E.D.I.T.H. (Emily Hampshire), F.R.I.D.A.Y (Orla Brady), and J.A.R.V.I.S. (James D’Arcy). Matalas has also brought along 12 Monkeys and Picard fan favorite, Todd Stashwick, as Paladin.

WandaVision is proving to be one of the MCU’s most inspiring works, as it established Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Agatha All Along, and now this series. Could there be more ahead? With Matalas running the show and this great cast, it seems like this one will be a hit with hardcore MCU fans and casual viewers alike.

Release Date: 2026 on Disney+.

6. Lanterns

We’re now fully in James Gunn’s vision of the DCU, and it’s full of big swings like Superman and Peacemaker Season 2. However, one of the biggest swings may actually be the smallest story: Lanterns, a DC Universe series following Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) on a True-Detective-inspired journey as they investigate a murder in Nebraska. True Detective is many things, but it’s very far from a superhero series. It’ll be interesting to see how it meshes into this new age for the DC Universe.

Release Date: 2026 on HBO Max.

5. Spider-Noir

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduced a slew of interesting Spider-variants, but one seemed far more intriguing than the rest: Spider-Noir, the black-and-white hardboiled detective with the voice of Nicolas Cage. Now, he’s getting his own moment in the spotlight in brilliant live-action, playing Ben Reilly, an aging superhero in 1930s New York. Cage returns as Spider-Noir, and Lamorne Morris appears as Robbie Robertson, a comics character played by Bill Nunn in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies.

Release Date: 2026 on Amazon Prime Video.

4. Maul: Shadow Lord

Darth Maul is one of the most intriguing characters in all of Star Wars, but most of his story is told through animation. Now, that continues with Maul: Shadow Lord, following Maul in the years after the Clone Wars as he slowly builds a crime syndicate, presumedly the Crimson Dawn, since he had a cameo discussing it in Solo. Sam Witwer returns as Maul, but we don’t know anything else about who appears, just that he’ll take a Twi’lek as an apprentice.

Release Date: 2026 on Disney+.

3. Vought Rising

The Boys may be ending, but Vought is seemingly eternal. In 2024, Amazon Prime Video announced Vought Rising, a prequel series focusing on the mid-century heroes who would go on to appear in the present day. Jensen Ackles stars as Soldier Boy, alongside Aya Cash as Stormfront. Unlike The Boys’ full-force action thriller, Vought Rising is a period murder mystery, but this is still a Boys show, so there will probably be just as many gory moments.

Release Date: TBD on Amazon Prime Video.

2. The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Season 3

At the end of Rings of Power Season 2, it finally felt like the show was giving longtime Tolkien-heads what we wanted all along. The titular Rings of Power finally exist, and the Elves are finally in Rivendell. Is there enough original Tolkien lore to make Season 3 the best yet? Will there be massive time jumps? No matter what you think of Rings of Power, this fantasy series is always surprising, complex, and leaves everyone with plenty to talk about.

Release Date: TBD on Amazon Prime Video.

1. X-Men ‘97

X-Men ‘97 was the anomaly of MCU TV shows. Not only did it feature the classic X-Men team from the ‘90s cartoon who hadn’t been properly introduced into the MCU, but it also featured the 2D animation that’s sadly become rarer and rarer in recent years. The X-Men will return in live-action in a major way in Avengers: Doomsday, but if you prefer the old look, you can catch the second season of this nostalgic series.

Release Date: 2026 on Disney+.