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1 of 25Apple TV
These are the most critically acclaimed TV series of the year so far
Everyone has an opinion on television, but maybe watching All’s Fair because that gas station cashier told that you HAVE to watch it wasn’t the best idea. Let’s leave the recommendations to the pros, which is why we’re keeping track of all the TV shows this year that are TV critic approved.
Using review aggregator Metacritic, we’ve compiled the best reviewed television shows of 2026, separating them from the tempting jumble of meh TV on our screens so you can watch something great
A few rules and notes on how this list was made:
- – Metacritic scores TV shows based on an aggregate of published reviews from trusted reviewers, assigns each review a score on a 1-100 scale — 100 being the best — and averages those scores for a total score called a metascore.
- – Metacritic does not assign metascores to shows with fewer than five reviews from Metacritic’s list of approved outlets.
- – We have set the threshold for TV shows making this list at a metascore of 80. These scores were taken at the time the show was released; it is possible that reviews added later could affect the scores after their release.
- – Metacritic notes that returning shows may trend toward having higher scores, as reviewers are more likely to review a show in its second season or later because they liked earlier seasons, while reviewers who didn’t like the show in early seasons are less likely to review the show.
Here’s which TV shows made the list
2 of 25Warrick Page/HBO Max
The Pitt Season 2 (HBO Max)
Metacritic score: 92
It’s no surprise that The Pitt, which came out of nowhere to become one of 2025’s most acclaimed TV series in its debut season, is already being touted as one of 2026’s best. Time‘s Judy Berman says, “[Co-creator Scott] Gemmill shows little interest in the kind of hysterical stake-raising that could easily turn a hospital drama absurd (see: Grey’s Anatomy). Instead, we get the subtler pleasures of observing how characters evolve and connect.”
Premiere date: Jan. 8
3 of 25Simon Ridgway/HBO
Industry Season 4 (HBO)
Metacritic score: 88
HBO’s finance drama has been steadily gaining popularity since it debuted in 2020, and Season 4 has its highest Metacritic score yet. “The thing about Industry is that it’s just really good television, and it will always win you back,” says TV Guide’s Allison Picurro. “If the series was forced to fend off inescapable comparisons to Succession when it first premiered in 2020, Season 4 makes it clear that this show has fully grown into its own very unique animal.”
Premiere date: Jan. 11
4 of 25Adult Swim
Primal Season 3 (Adult Swim)
Metacritic score: 85
As the brain behind Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and more, Genndy Tartakovsky is an animation legend, but his greatest triumph is Primal, a dialogue-free (well, 99% free) story about a caveman in a battle for survival with a violent world. Decider’s Johnny Loftus says, “Season 3 finds Spear, dead but not down, on a journey he doesn’t know the shape of, which only means more opportunity for this series’ already impressive animation and storytelling.”
Premiere date: Jan. 11
5 of 25BritBox
Riot Women Season 1 (BritBox)
Metacritic score: 81
The latest series from Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright is about a group of middle-aged women who form a punk band, and it rocks, according to critics. “Fierce, funny, and profound, the show … is a kaleidoscopic exploration of female rage, community, and the possibility of reinvention at a harrowing turning point in life,” writes The A.V. Club’s Jenna Scherer
Premiere date: Jan. 14
6 of 25Mel Brooks/HBO
Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (HBO)
Metacritic score: 85
The two-part docuseries about the life and influence of comedy great Mel Brooks was directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, and features interviews with Dave Chappelle, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, and basically every comedian who grew up watching Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. “That Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! is funny and well-sourced and thoughtfully composed isn’t surprising, but the emotional potency perhaps is,” says The Hollywood Reporter‘s Daniel Fienberg. “You’ll laugh at this two-part, nearly four-hour film; it’s also hard to avoid tears at multiple points, especially in the second part.”
Premiere date: Jan. 22
7 of 25Christopher Barr/Netflix
How to Get to Heaven From Belfast (Netflix)
Metacritic score: 81
Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee is behind this dark comedy and cheeky mystery about three friends who sense something is not right after their childhood friend dies. “It’s a gleeful and giddy joyride through the genres, one that feels appealingly idiosyncratic in a TV landscape filled with identikit slop that has been deliberately engineered to be watched with one eye on your phone,” says The Independent’s Katie Rosseinsky
Premiere date: Feb. 12
8 of 25Michael Moriatis/AMC
Dark Winds Season 4 (AMC)
Metacritic score: 86
The fourth season of the ’70s-set detective series about Navajo Tribal Police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) reiterates Dark Winds as one of TV’s best-kept secrets. RogerEbert.com’s Kaiya Shunyata says, “Season 4 allows each of its performers to deliver affecting and career-best work, proving that as long as the show’s writers continue to find meaningful cases that push its characters close to the brink, this series will continue to be a defining touchstone that withstands the test of time.”
Premiere date: Feb. 15
9 of 25Peacock
The Traitors U.K. Season 4 (Peacock)
Metacritic score: 85
Though the U.S. version didn’t make this list due to a lack of reviews (with only three write-ups, it didn’t qualify for a Metascore but it would have had an 84), the British version had more eyes on it from the press and received the second-best score of its run. “They’ve upped the ante and made the format even twistier. Episode 1, with its rapid, punchy reveals, leaves us and the players with plenty of threads to pull on — and exudes the producers’ confidence in the coming payoff,” says The Guardian‘s Elle Hunt.
Premiere date: Feb. 26
10 of 25Starz
Outlander Season 8 (Starz)
Metacritic score: 80
The final season of Starz’s time-traveling romance drama delivered a happy ending, at least for critics. Season 8 is the third season of Outlander to score 80 or higher. The A.V. Club’s Hunter Ingram says, “Season 8 succeeds (so far) by not cowering from the loftier questions about Claire and Jamie’s knotted place in the family tree of their past, present, and future.”
Premiere date: March 6
11 of 25Netflix
One Piece Season 2 (Netflix)
Metacritic score: 80
Anime fans had their doubts about a live-action version of the popular manga, and Season 1 surprised many on its way to a 67 Metascore. But Season 2 got even higher marks, showing Season 1 was no fluke. Collider’s David Caballero says, “Featuring more wacky characters, wild settings, incredibly goofy action, emotional moments galore, and the same endearing crew fans have come to know and love, One Piece: Into the Grand Line is further proof that this Netflix hit is the greatest live-action adaptation currently on television.”
Premiere date: March 10
12 of 25Erin Simkin/HBO
The Comeback Season 3 (HBO)
Metacritic score: 80
Lisa Kudrow’s comedy, which has aired one season in each decade since premiering in 2005, scored its best season yet as the adventures of Valerie Cherish continue. Rolling Stone‘s Jennifer Silverman writes, “Scene for scene, maybe not as laugh-out-loud as earlier seasons, but when the opportunities arrive, everyone brings their A-game.”
Premiere date: March 22
13 of 25Prime Video
Bait (Prime Video)
Metacritic score: 84
Riz Ahmed’s satirical look at the entertainment industry through the eyes of an up-and-coming actor who auditions to be the next James Bond is one of the best reviewed new shows of the year. The Los Angeles Times‘ Robert Lloyd states, “The series is at once satirical and celebratory; Bait feels abundant, both in its presentation of a culture, which has the ring of documentary truth, and as a beautifully realized work of art.”
Premiere date: March 25
14 of 25Apple TV
For All Mankind Season 5 (Apple TV)
Metacritic score: 83
While it’s worth noting that the user score for For All Mankind‘s penultimate season is middling, critics loved the alternate history drama’s examination of brewing tension between Mars and Earth. Empire‘s Helen O’Hara says, “The storytelling is smart and the worldbuilding world-beating, but it’s the characters’ deeply felt commitment to progress and each other that makes this come alive and soar to the stars.”
Premiere date: March 27
15 of 25HBO Max
Hacks Season 5 (HBO)
Metacritic score: 89
HBO’s comedy about comedy is getting another round of applause in its final season. All five seasons of Hacks have hit the 80 Metascore threshold, with the final three making the cut with ease. “The final curtain does fall on Hacks, and the last moments are simultaneously surprising and perfectly suited to the show as a whole — a miracle for a series finale,” says The Daily Beast’s Laura Wheatman Hill. “While each episode offers up different iterations of everything wrong with Hollywood, Hacks never loses the love of the game.”
Premiere date: April 9
16 of 25Netflix
This Is a Gardening Show (Netflix)
Metacritic score: 88
Comedian Zach Galifianakis gets a lot more than just a green thumb in this short form interview series that celebrates all things agrarian. The Guardian‘s Stuart Heritage says, “Part lesson, part lark, and part warning, the series’ six 15-minute episodes have such a deliriously light touch that it makes you want to run outside and plunge your hands into the soil.”
Premiere date: April 22
17 of 25Apple TV
Widow’s Bay (Apple TV)
Metacritic score: 81
Is Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay a mystery, horror, thriller, or comedy? Yes. The series about a potentially haunted island town and the ambitious mayor (Matthew Rhys) who is desperate to make it a tourist destination is also one of the best reviewed new shows of the year. AV Club’s Saloni Gajjar says, “Despite its mythological premise and frequent jump scares, it’s not straight fantasy or horror. … Widow’s Bay‘s humor is less sitcom-like or slapstick and more absurd.”
Premiere date: April 29
18 of 25Netflix
Lord of the Flies (Netflix)
Metacritic score: 83
The four-part miniseries was a hit with critics for its unique adaptation of William Golding’s novel about a group of boys stranded on an island. USA Today‘s Kelly Lawler writes, “In 2026, our modern age fueled by debates about boyhood and the ‘manosphere,’ reminders of the precariousness of democracy, the brutality and pointlessness of war, and the very nature of human decorum, there is no wonder [Lord of the Flies] is back and in living color.”
Premiere date: May 4
19 of 25James Pardon/BritBox
The Other Bennet Sister (BritBox)
Metacritic score: 80
The new series, an adaptation of Janice Hadlow’s 2020 novel, extends the Jane Austenverse by focusing on Pride and Prejudice middle sister Mary Bennet (Ella Bruccoleri) as she moves to London. Decider’s Meghan O’Keefe writes, “The Other Bennet Sister is hands down the best Austen-inspired series to hit television in years, if not decades, surpassing the likes of Masterpiece on PBS’s Sanditon.”
Premiere date: May 6
20 of 25Disney
Rivals Season 2 (Hulu)
Metacritic score: 87
Season 2 of the randy drama about scandalous behavior by British TV executives has drawn even better reviews than Season 1, which has an 84 Metascore. Variety‘s Aramide Tinubu says, “Guilty pleasures are one thing, but utterly delicious bits of television are something else entirely. Season 2 of Hulu’s Rivals, the 1980s-set dark comedy adapted from Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles novels, is exactly that.”
Premiere date: May 15
21 of 25Disney/Sandy Morris
Deli Boys Season 2 (Hulu)
Metacritic score: 81
The crime comedy about two bumbling Pakistani American brothers who inherit their dad’s drug-dealing empire is, according to the TV reviewing pros, improved even though it drops from 10 episodes in Season 1 to six episodes in Season 2. AV Club’s Saloni Gajjar writes, “Deli Boys barely wastes time upon its return, moving along at a brisk pace while advancing its story, developing its characters, and, best of all, churning out side-splitting humor.”
Premiere date: May 28
22 of 25Apple TV
Star City (Apple TV)
Metacritic score: 80
The spin-off of For All Mankind looks at the events of the alternate history drama from the perspective of the U.S.S.R., bringing a paranoid Cold War thriller into the franchise. TV Guide’s Gavia Baker-Whitelaw states, “Star City establishes itself as an ideal kind of spin-off, replicating the strengths of its predecessor while thriving as a standalone drama. Fans of For All Mankind‘s more technical side may balk at its emphasis on spycraft over science, but there’s an obvious reason for that storytelling choice.”
Premiere date: May 29
23 of 25Sophie Giraud/AMC
The Vampire Lestat (AMC)
Metacritic score: 88
The third season of Interview with the Vampire, officially titled The Vampire Lestat, brings the acclaimed franchise to the present day with a rock opera theme. ScreenRant’s Nick Bythrow says, “Filled with deep complexity, staggeringly emotional performances, and a protagonist who’s captivating in so many layered ways, this season of Interview with the Vampire is not only the show at its best, but one of the best seasons of TV in 2026 so far.”
Premiere date: June 7
24 of 25FX
The Bear (FX, Hulu)
Metacritic score: 81
The final dish The Bear is serving is the best reviewed season of the onetime Emmy hog since its lauded second season. The Playlist’s Rodrigo Perez says, “After a very wobbly Season 3 and a marginally more confident Season 4, Christopher Storer’s acclaimed series finally remembers what made it such an adrenalized, emotionally bruising experience in the first place: it is not just about genius, ambition, trauma, or culinary obsession. It is about a team.”
Premiere date: June 25
25 of 25Ben Blackall/Netflix
More great TV recommendations
More:
- The summer shows we’re looking forward to most
- All the new shows coming this summer
- The best reviewed TV shows of 2025
