The 5 Best New TV Shows of 2026 So Far — From 'Widow's Bay' to 'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed'

2026 has been a weird year for entertainment. Movies? Honestly, nothing has blown the roof off yet — not even Toy Story 5 or Disclosure Day, despite the hype. But TV? TV is absolutely eating this year. If you've been sleeping on the small screen, it's time to wake up. Here are the five best new TV shows of 2026 so far, and where to stream them.

5. 'DTF St. Louis' (HBO Max)

A murder mystery involving kinky sex, betrayal, and male loneliness — yeah, it's exactly as wild as it sounds. Jason Bateman plays Clark, a skeevy TV weatherman, while David Harbour steals the show as Floyd, his American Sign Language interpreter. Linda Cardellini plays Harbour's wife Carol. When Clark suggests a dating site to spice up stale marriages, things go sideways fast — Floyd ends up dead, and the whole thing spirals into something way weirder than you'd expect. Harbour is genuinely incredible here.

4. 'Rooster' (HBO Max)

Steve Carell plays Greg Russo, a famous author who takes a college job to keep an eye on his daughter (Charly Clive), whose husband (Phil Dunster) left her for a grad student (Lauren Tsai). Danielle Deadwyler becomes a friend-without-benefits professor, and John C. McGinley brings absolute strangeness as the college president. Created by Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Shrinking), it's the lowest-stakes show on this list, but it's endlessly rewatchable comfort TV that gets better every time.

3. 'Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen' (Netflix)

Haley Z. Boston's horror series lives up to its menacing title. Camila Morrone (so good in Daisy Jones and the Six) plays Rachell, who visits her fiancé Nicky's (Adam DiMarco) family in a creepy mansion in the snowy woods. Ted Levine and Jennifer Jason Leigh play the ominous parents, but Gus Birney absolutely steals it as the loopy sister Portia. Genuine twists that change the entire direction of the series — bonkers, in the best way.

2. 'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed' (Apple TV+)

Tatiana Maslany has finally found a role worthy of her Orphan Black glory days. She plays Paula, a lonely fact-checker separated from her husband (Jake Johnson), raising their daughter Hazel (Nola Wallace). When a camboy session goes sideways, Paula puts her fact-checking skills to urgent, desperate use. Maslany is funny, sad, and fiercely loyal — it's a genuinely great performance that reminds you why she won that Emmy.

1. 'Widow's Bay' (Apple TV+) — The Best Show of 2026

This is it. The best thing on TV in 2026, period. Matthew Rhys plays a mayor desperate to bring tourists to his cursed — literally cursed — island. Think The X-Files meets small-town horror: monster-of-the-week episodes with an overarching mythology. The supporting cast is stacked: Stephen Root, Jeff Hiller, Dale Dickey. But Kate O'Flynn as Patricia, the mayor's assistant, delivers the single best performance on TV right now. Whether she's inadvertently casting spells or fending off a slasher, she does no wrong. Genuinely scary, laugh-out-loud funny, and already renewed for Season 2. Stream it immediately.

The Verdict

If you only watch one show from this list, make it Widow's Bay. If you want something lighter, Rooster on HBO Max is pure comfort viewing. And if you're in the mood for something intense, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen on Netflix will keep you up at night. 2026 might not be the year of great movies, but it's absolutely the year of great TV. The second half of the year has a lot to live up to.