You’re staring at the home screen. The Netflix "tudum" sound has played three times. You've scrolled past the same five posters on Max, and honestly, everything looks like a mid-tier movie stretched into eight hours of "content." We've all been there. Finding a show that actually respects your time is getting harder because the sheer volume of stuff being made is, frankly, exhausting.
If you're asking what are good tv shows right now, you aren't just looking for something to have on in the background while you fold laundry. You want that feeling of being totally locked in. You want the kind of writing that makes you ignore your phone for forty-five minutes straight.
The reality of television in 2026 is that the "Peak TV" bubble didn't exactly pop; it just got weirder and more fragmented. We aren't all watching the same thing at the same time anymore. But the good stuff? It’s still there, often hiding behind a mediocre algorithm.
The 2026 Power Players: Why "The Pitt" and "Pluribus" Changed the Game
Most people think "good" means big budgets and dragons. That's a mistake. Some of the best TV right now is actually moving back toward tight, character-driven storytelling. Take The Pitt on Max. On paper, it’s a medical procedural. You’ve seen a thousand of those. But with Noah Wyle at the helm, it somehow feels like the first time we’ve actually seen a hospital on screen in a decade. It’s gritty, it’s fast, and it just swept the Critics Choice Awards for a reason.
Then you have the weird stuff.
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Vince Gilligan—the guy who gave us Breaking Bad—dropped Pluribus on Apple TV+. People expected another drug drama. Instead, they got a sci-fi thought experiment starring Rhea Seehorn. It’s about a world where peace suddenly breaks out because of an alien virus, and Seehorn plays the only person who can’t feel the "vibe." It’s basically a masterclass in how to do sci-fi without a single laser beam.
What Actually Makes a Show "Good" Lately?
It isn't about the genre. It's about the "showrunner's voice." In the past, we watched "Law & Order" because we liked the format. Now, we watch shows because we like the creator's brain.
- Sterlin Harjo's The Lowdown: If you liked Reservation Dogs, this urban noir set in Tulsa is essential. It features Ethan Hawke as a "truthstorian," which is a fancy word for a journalist who is probably in over his head.
- Adolescence on Netflix: This one is heavy. It's a limited series about masculinity and the internet, and it basically dominated the awards circuit this year. It’s the kind of show that stays in your head for a week after you finish it.
- The Studio: Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire. It’s cringe comedy, but it’s actually smart about how movies get made—or don't get made—in the era of corporate mergers.
What Are Good TV Shows if You’re Sick of Serious Dramas?
Sometimes you just want to laugh without feeling like the world is ending. The comedy landscape has shifted away from the traditional sitcom toward what people are calling "stress-coms" or "dramedies."
Hacks is still the gold standard here. Season 4 just landed, and the chemistry between Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder is still the most electric thing on TV. They’ve moved into the world of late-night television, and the biting satire of the industry is arguably better than it’s ever been.
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If you want something lighter, Running Point on Netflix is basically the new Ted Lasso. Kate Hudson plays the president of a fictional LA basketball team. It’s breezy. It’s fun. It doesn’t try to be "prestige," and honestly, that’s a relief. There’s also Nobody Wants This, which proved that people still actually want to watch a well-made romantic comedy series if the leads have actual chemistry.
The Streaming Fatigue Factor
We have to talk about the "middle-of-the-road" problem. You’ve probably noticed that a lot of shows start strong and then just... wander. This is usually the result of a "limited series" being stretched into three seasons because the first one was a hit.
When you're looking for what are good tv shows, look for the ones that feel finished. Dying for Sex (FX on Hulu) is a perfect example. It tells a specific, heartbreaking, and surprisingly hilarious story about a woman with a terminal diagnosis. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It doesn’t leave the door open for a prequel. That kind of narrative confidence is rare.
Don't Sleep on the Returning Giants
It’s easy to get distracted by the "New" tab, but 2026 is the year of the massive return. Stranger Things 5 is finally here, and regardless of how you feel about the wait, the scale of it is unlike anything else. It feels more like a series of five movies than a TV season.
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Then there’s Andor Season 2. For the "I don't like Star Wars" crowd, this is the show that changes minds. Tony Gilroy’s writing is basically a political thriller that happens to have TIE fighters in the background. It’s cold, calculated, and probably the best-written show on Disney+ by a long shot.
Quick Guide to Where to Look
- Apple TV+: The home of "expensive-looking" shows that are actually smart (Severance, Pluribus, The Studio).
- HBO/Max: Still the king of the "Sunday Night" feeling (The Pitt, The Last of Us, Task).
- Netflix: The place for the "global watercooler" moments (Squid Game, Adolescence, Stranger Things).
- Hulu/FX: Where the best "vibe" shows live (The Bear, Paradise, Dying for Sex).
Actionable Steps to Finding Your Next Obsession
Don't just trust the "Top 10" list on the app. Those are often driven by what the platform wants you to watch, not necessarily what's best.
- Follow the Showrunner, Not the Actor: If you loved a show, look up who wrote it. If you liked Succession, you should be looking for whatever Jesse Armstrong does next, even if the cast is totally different.
- Use Metacritic User Scores: Critics sometimes get blinded by the "importance" of a show. User scores (if you filter out the review-bombing) often give a better sense of whether a show is actually entertaining or just "good for you."
- The Three-Episode Rule: In the era of slow-burn TV, the first episode isn't always enough. Give a show three episodes. If you aren't curious about what happens next by the end of hour three, bail. Life is too short for mediocre television.
- Check the "Original Source": Many of the best shows right now, like Dept. Q or The Narrow Road to the Deep North, are based on acclaimed novels. If the source material is strong, the show usually has a better roadmap.
The definition of what are good tv shows is personal, but the baseline should always be whether the story feels necessary. Whether it's the high-stakes hospital drama of The Pitt or the weird, quiet sci-fi of Pluribus, the best TV right now is the stuff that isn't trying to be everything to everyone. It's the stuff that picks a lane and drives fast.
Go check your watchlists for these titles and stop scrolling. The good stuff is actually there.