The Best Reviewed TV Shows of 2026, According to Metacritic

Everyone has an opinion on television, but maybe watching All's Fair because that gas station cashier told that you HAVE to watch it wasn't the best idea. Let's leave the recommendations to the pros, which is why we're keeping track of all the TV shows this year that are TV critic approved. 

Using review aggregator Metacritic, we've compiled the best reviewed television shows of 2026, separating them from the tempting jumble of meh TV on our screens so you can watch something great.

A few rules and notes on how this list was made: 

• – Metacritic scores TV shows based on an aggregate of published reviews from trusted reviewers, assigns each review a score on a 1-100 scale — 100 being the best — and averages those scores for a total score called a metascore. 
• – Metacritic does not assign metascores to shows with fewer than five reviews from Metacritic's list of approved outlets. 
• – We have set the threshold for TV shows making this list at a metascore of 80. These scores were taken at the time the show was released; it is possible that reviews added later could affect the scores after their release.
• – Metacritic notes that returning shows may trend toward having higher scores, as reviewers are more likely to review a show in its second season or later because they liked earlier seasons, while reviewers who didn't like the show in early seasons are less likely to review the show. 

Here's which TV shows made the list.

Metacritic score: 92

It's no surprise that The Pitt, which came out of nowhere to become one of 2025's most acclaimed TV series in its debut season, is already being touted as one of 2026's best. Time's Judy Berman says, "[Co-creator Scott] Gemmill shows little interest in the kind of hysterical stake-raising that could easily turn a hospital drama absurd (see: Grey's Anatomy). Instead, we get the subtler pleasures of observing how characters evolve and connect."

Premiere date: Jan. 8

Metacritic score: 88

HBO's finance drama has been steadily gaining popularity since it debuted in 2020, and Season 4 has its highest Metacritic score yet. "The thing about Industry is that it's just really good television, and it will always win you back," says TV Guide's Allison Picurro. "If the series was forced to fend off inescapable comparisons to Succession when it first premiered in 2020, Season 4 makes it clear that this show has fully grown into its own very unique animal."

Premiere date: Jan. 11

Metacritic score: 85

As the brain behind Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and more, Genndy Tartakovsky is an animation legend, but his greatest triumph is Primal, a dialogue-free (well, 99% free) story about a caveman in a battle for survival with a violent world. Decider's Johnny Loftus says, "Season 3 finds Spear, dead but not down, on a journey he doesn't know the shape of, which only means more opportunity for this series' already impressive animation and storytelling."

Premiere date: Jan. 11

Metacritic score: 81

The latest series from Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright is about a group of middle-aged women who form a punk band, and it rocks, according to critics. "Fierce, funny, and profound, the show ... is a kaleidoscopic exploration of female rage, community, and the possibility of reinvention at a harrowing turning point in life," writes The A.V. Club's Jenna Scherer.

Premiere date: Jan. 14

Metacritic score: 85

The two-part docuseries about the life and influence of comedy great Mel Brooks was directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, and features interviews with Dave Chappelle, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, and basically every comedian who grew up watching Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. "That Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! is funny and well-sourced and thoughtfully composed isn't surprising, but the emotional potency perhaps is," says The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg. "You'll laugh at this two-part, nearly four-hour film; it's also hard to avoid tears at multiple points, especially in the second part."

Premiere date: Jan. 22

Metacritic score: 81

Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee is behind this dark comedy and cheeky mystery about three friends who sense something is not right after their childhood friend dies. "It's a gleeful and giddy joyride through the genres, one that feels appealingly idiosyncratic in a TV landscape filled with identikit slop that has been deliberately engineered to be watched with one eye on your phone," says The Independent's Katie Rosseinsky.

Premiere date: Feb. 12

Metacritic score: 86

The fourth season of the '70s-set detective series about Navajo Tribal Police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) reiterates Dark Winds as one of TV's best-kept secrets. RogerEbert.com's Kaiya Shunyata says, "Season 4 allows each of its performers to deliver affecting and career-best work, proving that as long as the show's writers continue to find meaningful cases that push its characters close to the brink, this series will continue to be a defining touchstone that withstands the test of time." 

Premiere date: Feb. 15

Metacritic score: 85

Though the U.S. version didn't make this list due to a lack of reviews (with only three write-ups, it didn't qualify for a Metascore but it would have had an 84), the British version had more eyes on it from the press and received the second-best score of its run. "They've upped the ante and made the format even twistier. Episode 1, with its rapid, punchy reveals, leaves us and the players with plenty of threads to pull on — and exudes the producers' confidence in the coming payoff," says The Guardian's Elle Hunt. 

Premiere date: Feb. 26

Metacritic score: 80

The final season of Starz's time-traveling romance drama delivered a happy ending, at least for critics. Season 8 is the third season of Outlander to score 80 or higher. The A.V. Club's Hunter Ingram says, "Season 8 succeeds (so far) by not cowering from the loftier questions about Claire and Jamie's knotted place in the family tree of their past, present, and future." 

Premiere date: March 6

Metacritic score: 80

Anime fans had their doubts about a live-action version of the popular manga, and Season 1 surprised many on its way to a 67 Metascore. But Season 2 got even higher marks, showing Season 1 was no fluke. Collider's David Caballero says, "Featuring more wacky characters, wild settings, incredibly goofy action, emotional moments galore, and the same endearing crew fans have come to know and love, One Piece: Into the Grand Line is further proof that this Netflix hit is the greatest live-action adaptation currently on television."

Premiere date: March 10

Metacritic score: 80

Lisa Kudrow's comedy, which has aired one season in each decade since premiering in 2005, scored its best season yet as the adventures of Valerie Cherish continue. Rolling Stone's Jennifer Silverman writes, "Scene for scene, maybe not as laugh-out-loud as earlier seasons, but when the opportunities arrive, everyone brings their A-game."

Premiere date: March 22

Metacritic score: 84

Riz Ahmed's satirical look at the entertainment industry through the eyes of an up-and-coming actor who auditions to be the next James Bond is one of the best reviewed new shows of the year. The Los Angeles Times' Robert Lloyd states, "The series is at once satirical and celebratory; Bait feels abundant, both in its presentation of a culture, which has the ring of documentary truth, and as a beautifully realized work of art."

Premiere date: March 25

Metacritic score: 83

While it's worth noting that the user score for For All Mankind's penultimate season is middling, critics loved the alternate history drama's examination of brewing tension between Mars and Earth. Empire's Helen O'Hara says, "The storytelling is smart and the worldbuilding world-beating, but it's the characters' deeply felt commitment to progress and each other that makes this come alive and soar to the stars."

Premiere date: March 27

Metacritic score: 89

HBO's comedy about comedy is getting another round of applause in its final season. All five seasons of Hacks have hit the 80 Metascore threshold, with the final three making the cut with ease. "The final curtain does fall on Hacks, and the last moments are simultaneously surprising and perfectly suited to the show as a whole — a miracle for a series finale," says The Daily Beast's Laura Wheatman Hill. "While each episode offers up different iterations of everything wrong with Hollywood, Hacks never loses the love of the game." 

Premiere date: April 9

More: 

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• The best reviewed TV shows of 2025