2026: 13 Must-Watch TV Shows & Series
If these streamed series and recent season releases somehow slipped past your radar, consider this your nudge. Mostly debuting within the last couple of years, these are the shows, both limited series and ongoing hits, that deserve a spot at the top of your watch queue. Streaming across Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, Max, and Prime Video, they stand out for sharp storytelling, standout performances, and the rare kind of buzz that actually feels earned.
These are not background shows. They’re the ones that keep you watching one more episode, spark opinions, and inevitably come up in conversation with friends or family who are also deep in their own queues. Some are limited series, others are familiar favorites hitting their stride, and a few are unexpected standouts that quietly became must-watches.
Below is our most recent list of must-stream TV and limited series worth your time, where to stream them, and why we loved them. Let us know if you agree!
#1 ▶️The Pitt
Streaming on: Max (HBO)
Season 1 premiered: 2025
Current season: Season 1 (Limited / ongoing)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Status: Ongoing
Synopsis: Set over the course of a single relentless day in a Pittsburgh emergency room, The Pitt follows doctors, nurses, and patients navigating life-or-death decisions in real time.
Why we loved it: The idea of another ER drama feels exhausting on paper, but this one earns its place. Noah Wyle returns to the hospital setting as a seasoned attending physician, bringing gravity and restraint. The real-time structure raises the stakes and keeps the pacing tight, resulting in something that’s both heart‑wrenching and deeply rewarding. Season 2 releases Jan 8, 2026.
Photo Courtesy of max
#2 ▶️Adolescence
Streaming on: Netflix
Season 1 premiered: 2025
Current season: Season 1 (Limited series)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Status: Complete
Synopsis: A tense and emotionally layered drama examining teenage identity, peer pressure, and moral gray areas through a single life‑altering incident.
Why we loved it: This series doesn’t shy away from hard truths. It is uncomfortable in all the right ways, showing the messy, painful reality of growing up and the ripple effects on everyone involved. You can’t help but feel empathy for both sides, along with deep frustration, as the reality of the multi-layered consequences unfold unforgivingly. The message stays with you long after an episode ends and serves as a reminder of how important it is to keep communicating with your children and with each other.
Photo Courtesy of Netflix
#3 ▶️White Lotus
Streaming on: max
Season 1 premiered:
Current season: Season 3
Rotten Tomatoes:
Status: Renewed or finished?
Streaming on: Max
Season 1 premiered: July 11, 2021
Current season: Season 3 (2025)
Rotten Tomatoes:
Season 1: 90%+
Season 2: 90%+
Season 3: mid 80% range
Status: Season 3 released, future seasons not yet announced
Synopsis:
The White Lotus follows different groups of guests and staff at luxury resort locations each season. What starts as a dream vacation slowly turns into a mix of drama, secrets, power plays, and sometimes crime.
Season 1 is set in Hawaii and focuses on class, entitlement, and the tension between guests and employees.
Season 2 moves to Sicily and leans into relationships, betrayal, and desire, with a mystery threaded through the season.
Season 3 takes place in Thailand and looks more at identity, purpose, and personal reinvention, while still keeping that dark, uncomfortable humor the show does so well.
Each season can be watched on its own, but I really recommend watching in order since there are small links and shared themes that make the whole series more rewarding.
Why we loved it:
Just pure brilliance. Season 2 is my favorite because the writing is so clever with each story so tightly woven together. A lot of people felt Season 3 was slower, but I loved it and for totally different reasons than the first two. Each season hits in its own way. It looks at human nature, greed, money, lust, and all the good and bad parts of humanity in a way that feels sharp and honest. I also loved Parker Posey in Season 3. Being a southerner, Posey nailed not just the accent but the whole personality. A yes to all 3 seasons!
Courtesy of max
#4 Pluribus
Streaming on: Apple TV+
Season 1 premiered: 2025
Current season: Season 1 (Limited series)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Status: Complete
Synopsis: A cerebral sci‑fi drama exploring power, governance, and collective identity in a near‑future society.
Why we loved it: Coming from Vince Gilligan, the creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, this series feels intentional right out of the gate. Gilligan wrote the role specifically with Rhea Seehorn in mind, and her performance is nothing short of spectacular. Set against a chilling hive-mind premise, Pluribus is deeply thought-provoking, asking big questions about individuality, control, and what it means to resist when conformity is the norm. Though it's a bit out there and odd at first watch, the series is smart, unsettling, and interesting. Bring on Season 2!
#5 Fallout
Streaming on: Prime Video (Amazon)
Season 1 premiered: 2024
Current season: Season 1
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Status: Renewed
Synopsis: Based on the iconic video game franchise, Fallout explores a post‑apocalyptic world where survival, power, and morality collide decades after nuclear devastation.
Why we loved it: Even non‑gamers can jump right in. The production value is huge, the world‑building is immersive, and the tone balances dark humor with real emotional
#6 The Bear
Streaming on: Hulu
Season 1 premiered: 2022
Current season: Season 3 (Released 2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Status: Final season released
Synopsis: A gifted chef returns home to run his family’s chaotic sandwich shop, confronting grief, ambition, and burnout.
Why we loved it: Season three feels like a culmination. The millennial anxiety is palpable, the music hits hard, and Gen X will especially appreciate the soundtrack. The pacing is unconventional but deeply compelling. Start at season one. It can be frustrating at times to watch, but it is undeniably brilliant. The performances are a huge part of what makes it work. Jeremy Allen White anchors the series with mesmerizing intensity, and the entire cast elevates the material, making The Bear as much a masterclass in acting as it is in storytelling.
Photo by Chuck Hodes - © 2023, FX Networks. All Rights Reserved.
#7 Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Streaming on: Netflix
Season 1 premiered: 2024
Current season: Season 1 (Limited series)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Status: Complete
Synopsis: A dramatized retelling of the infamous Menendez brothers' case, examining family dynamics, trauma, and public perception.
Even if you lived through the real story, this series adds nuance and depth. It challenges assumptions and shows another side to the story. This should not be confused with the documentary featuring the Menendez brothers. Monster(s) part of Netflix’s Monster anthology franchise, following Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story as the second installment. Speaking of the Dahmer series, I initially hesitated to watch this one as well, but it proved just as compelling once it became clear that the most graphic realities of the murders were largely left off-screen. If you are a true-crime fanatic, you'll zip through these.
#8 Dexter: Resurrection
Streaming on: Paramount+ with Showtime
Season 1 premiered: 2024
Current season: Season 1
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Status: Ongoing
Synopsis: A continuation of the Dexter universe, revisiting familiar darkness while introducing new moral conflicts.
Why we loved it: It redeems the franchise with tighter storytelling and a more thoughtful, intentional approach to Dexter’s legacy. The series leans into character over shock value, restoring the tension and moral complexity that made the original compelling. It feels more confident, more focused, and ultimately more respectful of both the character and longtime fans.
#9 Severance
Streaming on: Apple TV+
Season 1 premiered: 2022
Current season: Season 2 (Released 2025)
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Status: Ongoing
Synopsis: Employees undergo a procedure that separates work memories from personal life, with unsettling consequences.
Why we loved it: It takes a moment for everything to click, and there are definitely weird parts I still don’t fully understand, but I found myself rooting for the Innies—or is it the Outies? The struggle is real. This is not a multitasking show. It’s mind‑bending, meticulous, and deeply unsettling in the best way. Ben Stiller’s direction is exceptional, guiding every twist with precision and dark humor.
Photo Courtesy of Apple TV
#10 Hacks
Streaming on: Max (HBO)
Season 1 premiered: 2021
Current season: Season 3 (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 99%
Status: Ongoing
Synopsis: A legendary comedian and a young writer form an unlikely mentorship.
Why we loved it: Sharp, funny, and emotionally honest. Jean Smart continues to deliver one of the best performances on television.
#11 Reacher
Streaming on: Prime Video (Amazon)
Season 1 premiered: 2022
Current season: Season 2 (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Status: Renewed
Synopsis: A former military investigator drifts into dangerous situations and never backs down.
Why we loved it: Straightforward, satisfying, and refreshingly confident. It knows exactly what it is and delivers.
📸 Image placement
#12 Better Call Saul
Streaming on: Netflix
Season 1 premiered: 2015
Final season: Season 6 (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Status: Complete
Synopsis: The origin story of Saul Goodman before Breaking Bad.
Why we loved it: I was hesitant to jump into a six‑season series of Better Call Saul, thinking I already knew Saul. I definitely did not. Every episode builds momentum, and Rhea Seehorn and Bob Odenkirk are exceptional. The show somehow keeps getting better until the very end, and I hated for the series to finish.
📸 Image placement
#13 The Last of Us
Streaming on: Max (HBO)
Season 1 premiered: 2023
Current season: Season 2 (2025)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Status: Ongoing
Synopsis:
Set decades after a fungal pandemic collapses civilization, The Last of Us follows a hardened survivor tasked with escorting a teenage girl across a dangerous, post-apocalyptic America — a journey that becomes as emotional as it is brutal.
Why we loved it:
If you are going to adapt a video game to a TV show, this is how you it. The Last of Us balances haunting world-building with deeply human storytelling, never losing sight of its emotional core. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey deliver performances that elevate the series beyond genre TV, turning it into a meditation on grief, love, and the cost of survival. It’s intense, devastating, and unforgettable. I only became aware of this series when the second season released and was attached right away. I normally don't go for the fugus/zombie-virus themed shows, but this one broke the mold. Not to be missed!
Photo Courtesy of max
13 Must-Watch TV & Limited Series (with Rotten Tomatoes Links)
💡Tip: On each Rotten Tomatoes page, you’ll see both Critics Score and Audience Score which is a great combo for getting a balanced feel for whether a show might be worth your time. Start here: Check Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes!
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The Pitt
▶️ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_pitt -
Adolescence
▶️ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/adolescence -
The White Lotus (series)
▶️ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_white_lotus -
Pluribus
▶️ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/pluribus -
The Bear
▶️ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_bear -
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
▶️ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/monsters_the_lyle_and_erik_menendez_stor -
Dexter: Resurrection
▶️ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/dexter_resurrection -
Severance
▶️ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/severance -
Better Call Saul
▶️ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/better_call_saul -
The Last of Us
▶️ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_last_of_us
Final takeaway: If your watch list has felt stale, these series are proof that great storytelling is alive and well across streaming. From prestige drama to unexpected surprises, there’s something here worth pressing play on.
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