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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