Usually, summer nights are for beer gardens and festivals, but with the desert-storm scorcher still raging on, it’s tempting to lie against a cold hard floor, fans on full, and shelter in front of the telly with a crisp glass of pinot. Plus, while this year is already bursting with fantastic shows to catch up on, there are still plenty to get ready for come autumn, with a range of follow-up seasons and brand-new premieres waiting in the wings. Here are the ten best TV shows of 2026.

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Amandaland

In our humble opinion, the second season of Amandaland was even better than the first dose, having started life as a spinoff of the BBC’s brutally honest and utterly hilarious Motherland. The show follows leading lady Amanda, who, despite representing everything that is wrong with the world in 2026, you can’t help but root for, as she gets herself into a series of awkward, bum-clenching scrapes that will genuinely have you digging your nails into the side of your leg while stifling a squeal. Get into the So-Ha spirit (that would be South Harlesden, rebranded for socials), as actor Lucy Punch nails every single scene with equal parts glamour and gall.

Amandaland is available on BBC iPlayer

Dutton Ranch

Never has a TV series seen so many spinoffs as the seriously ‘ranchy’ Yellowstone. While Marshals (also released on Paramount+ this year, following Kayce and his teammates as they join an elite unit of US Marshals) didn’t quite fill the Big Sky Montana void, Dutton Ranch had a little more kick. Find your way back to Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton (the best character to come out of Yellowstone, without question) as they gamble everything on a new life in South Texas and stand their ground against a rival ranch that will stop at nothing to consolidate its empire. Luckily for the Duttons, this isn’t their first rodeo.

Dutton Ranch is available on Paramount+

The Night Manager

Quite a departure from its first season success story, which aired a whole decade ago, the widely anticipated second helping largely lived up to the hype. Set across a series of stunning locations, it picks up years after the events of the original, with Jonathan Pine (played by Tom Hiddleston) no longer a hotel night porter, but a slick, stylish and surreptitious member of a remote Foreign Office surveillance squad. Mostly set in Colombia, the crux of the plot centres around taking down a prolific arms dealer, while dealing with larger themes of power, corruption, trafficking, and turning a blind eye. Get ready for some surprise reappearances, too.

The Night Manager is available on Prime Video and BBC iPlayer

Legends

This seriously good six-episode crime miniseries reaffirms everything that is brilliant about British TV. Created by Neil Forsyth (The Gold), it stars Tom Burke and Steve Coogan in an epic dramatisation of a remarkable true story. The plot follows a group of ordinary UK Customs investigators who go undercover to infiltrate global drug cartels in the 1990s. Edge-of-your-seat good without being too shouty; every moment is based on extensive research and interviews with those involved in the original top-secret operation. A patriotic triumph all round.

Legends is available on Netflix

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Set 100 years before the gory, gruesome and enthralling events of the iconic mega-series Game of Thrones, this seriously hyped prequel sees two unlikely heroes wandering Westeros. An adaptation of George R R Martin's novella The Hedge Knight, a young courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg, head to a dangerous tournament. While the fearsome Targaryens clutch tightly to the Iron Throne, and many remember with fear the images of the last remaining dragon, watch as the great powers come together in a series of blazing battles and political posturing. All with a touch of cinematic magic.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is available on Prime Video

Mark your calendar

Reacher

Even with so much great telly on this summer, Reacher fans will be waiting with bated breath for the fourth season of the mega-hit to drop in August. The opening episode will see Reacher (played by Alan Ritchson) on a subway train in New York, where he suddenly becomes wary of a fellow passenger he thinks could be involved in a serious terrorist threat. His enquiry into her potential connection pulls him into a treacherous shadow war involving a terrorist cell and a conspiracy, landing him in grave danger. Fun fact: if you’re just catching up, the character was originally played by Tom Cruise in the feature films Jack Reacher (2012) and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016).

Reacher will stream from 12 August on Prime Video

Slow Horses

Based on Mick Herron's widely lauded novels, the incredible Slow Horses will return for a sixth season this September. The hit show follows a crew of dysfunctional MI5 agents and their insufferable boss, the infamous Jackson Lamb, as they pilot their way through smoke and mirrors in an ever-changing landscape of espionage, politics and power. Starring Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden and Kristin Scott Thomas, season six is based on Herron’s sixth and seventh novels, Joe Country and Slough House, and will see MI5 boss Diana Taverner embroil the Slow Horses in a ‘fatally high-stakes game of retaliation and revenge’, resulting in them having to go on the run.

Slow Horses will stream from 16 September on Apple TV

Pride and Prejudice

Yes, it’s another adaptation of the Jane Austen book, but this time, by Dolly Alderton! The six-part series (I think we all know the plot by now) features Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet and Jack Lowden as Mr Darcy, alongside Olivia Colman and Rufus Sewell as Mr and Mrs Bennet. As Netflix states on its website, ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that each generation deserves its own adaptation of Pride and Prejudice,’ and we couldn’t agree more. A story of love, societal pressure, and family politics, this classic tale will be ever relevant and entertaining in the zeitgeist. Get ready for the next Mr Darcy crush.

Pride and Prejudice streams this autumn on Netflix

Rivals

A fantastically entertaining show full of bouncy blow dries, bosoms, and excruciating innuendo, the second half of the brilliant second season of Rivals will premiere in November. The follow-up drop will consist of six additional episodes, succeeding the dramatic and shocking mid-season finale, which left the residents of Rutshire reeling from a tragic, fatal accident. The upcoming episodes are expected to drive home the hostile television franchise battle between Tony Baddingham and Declan O'Hara, as personal and business rivalries come to a crescendo. Fans can also expect some gritty new characters, including Aramenta Peton and Alejandro Mendoza, who are sure to stir up even more drama in the countryside.

Rivals streams from November on Disney+

Mobland

With a top-tier returning cast including Tom Hardy as Harry Da Souza, Pierce Brosnan as Conrad Harrigan, and Helen Mirren as Maeve Harrigan (who will also be joined by new series regulars Johnny Flynn and Ophelia Lovibond), the 10-episode second season will continue its deep dive into the ruthless criminal kingpins of the Harrigan family. The new teaser trailer promises ‘chaos and carnage’ as the notorious crime family fractures under pressure. The tagline says it all: "Prepare for uncivil war, the Harrigans are bloody back."

Mobland will stream from 18 September on Paramount+

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