Euphoria, Blade Runner, and the TV shows dominating 2026

The Independent

2026 is already shaping up to be a huge year for the small screen. From the long-awaited return of Euphoria to a live-action Blade Runner series, there’s no shortage of ambitious TV on the horizon. This week on Streamline, we break down which shows are worth adding to your watchlist this year, including the long-awaited return of Bridgerton, Hulu’s Handmaid’s Tale sequel The Testaments, and Prime Video’s Legally Blonde prequel Elle. Consider this your essential guide to the TV everyone will be talking about this year.

Transcript

00:00If your New Year's resolution was to finally tackle that endless watchlist, well, let me

00:04ruin that for you.

00:062026 is already shaping up to be a huge year for the small screen, so here's the lowdown

00:11on the most hyped shows coming this year, before everyone else starts talking about

00:15them.

00:16If it feels like you've been waiting in age for the third season of Euphoria, that's

00:19because you have.

00:20The long wait for season 3 stems from a combination of the 2023 writers' strike, the tragic passing

00:25of actor Angus Cloud, and shifting storylines, which meant multiple script rewrites.

00:31Now of all the releases coming this year, this is the one that I am most excited for.

00:35Bitch, you better be joking.

00:36It's been four long years since that huge Fezco ash cliffhanger, and the question remains

00:41how the show's going to handle Fezco's fate this season.

00:44I mean, a lot has happened since Euphoria was last on our screens.

00:47Zendaya got engaged, Sydney Sweeney became the most polarising person in Hollywood, and Sam

00:52Levinson gave us what will truly go down as the grossest sex scene in all of TV history.

00:59So season 3 jumps forward five years, focusing on the characters navigating adulthood and out

01:04of the safety net of high school, which let's be honest, was never really that safe.

01:09It premieres on HBO in April 2026, and really, whether it's good is beside the point.

01:14We just need to see it, and to know if Cassie can pull off rhinestone eyeliner in the suburbs.

01:19You walk up into my house, and you don't even introduce yourself.

01:24If you can't wait until the summer for your House of the Dragon season 3 fix, fear not.

01:29HBO is giving us our Westeros fix with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

01:33Set after House of the Dragon, but before Game of Thrones, the series follows Sir Duncan the

01:37Tall and his squire, a young Aegon Targaryen known as Egg.

01:41Every knight needs a squire, and you look like you need one more than most.

01:45Now this is a much lighter take on Westeros than what we've previously had, so expect

01:50a lot more comedy, warmth, and a surprisingly fun buddy chemistry between Knight and Squire.

01:56Ahead of its premiere, HBO already renewed it for a second season, which is a pretty

02:00solid vote of confidence.

02:02And while there will undoubtedly be House of the Dragon easter eggs,

02:05the show doesn't punish you for not knowing every detail of Westeros history.

02:09This premieres on the 18th of January, with new episodes dropping every week.

02:14It's like a knight, but sadder.

02:16I consider Shonda Rhimes to be

02:18The bane of my existence, and the object of all my desires.

02:22Because Bridgerton is finally back for season 4.

02:25I mean, a two year wait, plus splitting the season into two parts.

02:29Really testing the ton's patience here.

02:32Based on the third novel in Julia Quinn's series,

02:34it explores the romance between hedonistic Benedict Bridgerton,

02:38and the level headed maid Sophie Beck, whose arc follows the classic Cinderella story.

02:42He does not want to find me.

02:44He wants to find the lady in the silver gown, and she is not real.

02:48Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married,

02:51Benedict is loath to settle down, until he meets a captivating woman at a masquerade ball.

02:58Expect some familiar faces this season, with Nicola Coughlin, Simone Ashley,

03:02and Jonathan Bailey all returning.

03:04Part 1 drops on Netflix on the 29th of January, and Part 2 on the 26th of February.

03:09Expect enough salacious gossip and string quartet covers of Pitbull to steam up your carriage.

03:16Hulu isn't done milking the Margaret Atwood universe just yet.

03:19The Testaments is a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, set 15 years later and told from the perspective

03:24of Aunt Lydia, and two young women growing up inside the Gilead regime, Agnes and Daisy.

03:30The final season of The Handmaid's Tale wrapped last year, and if this left a very specific and

03:35unsettling hole in your watchlist, then The Testaments is very much designed to scratch the

03:39same itch.

03:40Ann Dowd returns as the twisted Aunt Lydia, and while it's unclear if Elizabeth Moss will reprise

03:45her role as June, she's back as an executive producer, which should keep the show's original

03:50creative vision intact. The Testaments will drop on Hulu and Disney Plus in April,

03:55which means your spring just got a whole lot bleaker.

03:58It's kind of amazing that the Blade Runner universe, having already spawned comic books,

04:04video games, novels and an animated TV series, have never made a live action TV series.

04:11Until now.

04:11Enter Blade Runner 2099.

04:14Set, you guessed it, 50 years after Blade Runner 2049, this cyber-noir miniseries follows Korra,

04:21played by Hunter Schafer, a fugitive replicant on the run.

04:24Prime wields a lot of power with a franchise this universally loved, so fingers crossed they

04:30don't pull the rings of power.

04:34Also coming to Prime this year is the legally blonde prequel series Elle, because apparently

04:39the nostalgia chokehold Hollywood has us in is not loosening any time soon.

04:45The show takes us back to Elle Wood's high school years.

04:48And look, the challenge here is obvious.

04:51Prequels are risky, especially when you're dealing with a character as iconic as Elle Wood's.

04:56Personally, I would much rather watch Elle 20 years later with Reese Witherspoon,

05:01like killing it as a lawyer, than dig into her backstory.

05:05Because really, there's only so much that character can develop in the show

05:08before we just get to the first scene of Legally Blonde.

05:11That said, this is produced by Reese Witherspoon's company Hello Sunshine,

05:14which was behind incredible projects like Big Little Lies and Gone Girl.

05:19Lexi Meintree is stepping into Elle Wood's iconic pink heels,

05:23and she got the official Witherspoon seal of approval

05:26in a casting video that even I will admit was adorable.

05:32There's no release date yet, but Elle is expected to drop on Prime video at some point in 2026.

05:37So whether this ends up being a smart expansion of the Legally Blonde world,

05:42or just pure millennial rage bait, I'll be watching it.

05:45What are you looking forward to watching this year? Let us know in the comments below,

05:49and we'll be back with more recommendations next week.

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