The best TV shows of 2026 so far
The top 3 according to 17 votes from people: The Pitt (season 2) · Bait · Hacks (final season). (Updated Aug 10, 2026.)
The series critics loved most in the first half of 2026, from The Pitt's second season to Riz Ahmed's Bait (Variety, Rolling Stone, Metacritic, Empire).
Top 12
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1
The Pitt (season 2)
Noah Wyle's emergency room drama, one shift per season, keeps raising the bar.
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2
Bait
Riz Ahmed as a struggling actor who gets the chance to audition for James Bond. Metacritic's best new show of the first half.
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3
Hacks (final season)
Deborah and Ava's last round of jokes and fights.
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4
Wonder Man
Marvel's offbeat series about an actor with superpowers trying to make it in Hollywood.
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5
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Based on George R. R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas, a lighter tale of Westeros.
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6
Widow's Bay
One of Variety's top picks of the year, a horror-comedy set on a small island.
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7
Beef (season 2)
The anthology returns with a new couple and a new feud.
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8
The Comeback (season 3)
Lisa Kudrow's Valerie Cherish returns, a master class in self-delusion.
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9
Silo (season 3)
The underground sci-fi drama keeps expanding its world.
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10
Star City
The For All Mankind spin-off about the Soviet side of the space race.
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11
The Bear (season 5)
The final season goes back to the original recipe of family and kitchen chaos.
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12
Industry (season 4)
The finance drama keeps getting sharper.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (1)
The Pitt season 2 is even better than the first one.