It’s been a stellar year for TV so far, with lots of hot contenders for the best show of 2026 already – and we’re about to enter autumn, traditionally a brilliant time for new dramas to premiere, and for beloved shows to make their way back onto our screens.
This year is shaping up to be no different, so we’ve hand-picked the TV premieres and highly-anticipated returns still to come in 2026 that you won’t want to miss.
BBC
The Split Up
Excitement has been building for a long time about this spinoff of the beloved legal drama The Split, which is expected to arrive to the BBC this autumn. Based on the original series, created by Abi Morgan (who now returns as an executive producer), The Split Up centres on a new family firm with a host of new characters in Manchester, and has been created by Ursula Rani Sarma.
The cast is led by Ritu Arya (The Umbrella Academy) as Aria Kishan, described as a fast-rising star within the company, and Unforgotten’s Sanjeev Bhaskar, as her father Dhruv. Aria is on track to take the mantle, until a shock announcement and the arrival of a former flame throws everything into question.
Peter Marley/BBC/Two Cities Television
Blue Lights, season 4
The BBC’s gritty police procedural has proven to be a breakout hit, with some even branding it “better than Line of Duty”, and the highly-anticipated fourth season will finally arrive in September.
Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, season four is set to focus on the central characters of Grace, Tommy, and Annie, who are three years into their jobs as response officers and “facing a new threat on the streets that the police can barely control”.
ITV
The Blame
ITV’s new police drama will welcome Michelle Keegan (Fool Me Once) back to our screens, this time playing the character of DI Emma Crane who, alongside Douglas Booth’s DI Tom Radley, will be digging into a tragic death that has shocked their quiet town.
Based on the novel by Charlotte Langley, The Blame is written by Emmy Award-nominee Megan Gallagher, and has been described as “part propulsive mystery, part social commentary, part love story”.
ITV
Adultery
Dominic Cooper and Romola Garai star in ITV’s brand-new romance drama from Danny Brocklehurst (Brassic, Fool Me Once), which has promised to take a “different” approach to a story of infidelity.
“You’ve got the couple who are having the affair, but in addition to that, they are also connected because their teenagers are also in a relationship with each other, so there’s lots of these overlapping relationships and it means it goes further and deeper,” Garai previously teased of what viewers can expect.
ITV
The Party
Adapted from Elizabeth Day’s book of the same name, ITV’s The Party centres on life-long friends Martin Gilmour (Luke Evans), a working-class journalist, and wealthy politician Ben Fitzmaurice (Tom Cullen), as their decades-long bond gets tested.
Billed by the broadcaster as being “unmissable”, the new drama’s exciting ensemble cast also features Joanna Scanlan (Slow Horses), Lindsay Duncan (Mint), and Lydia Leonard (A Woman of Substance).
Channel 4
Hunting Alice Bell
Channel 4’s new psychological thriller has been presented as a whodunnit that has “shades of family drama and social satire” thrown in.
Created by David Baddiel and Peter Bradshaw, the drama tells the story of a former nurse who is the lover and accomplice of a notorious serial killer, and now living under a secret identity.
The cast includes Lazarus’ Alex Roach, Death in Paradise’s Ralf Little, MobLand’s Emily Barber, The Split’s Rudi Dharmalingam, and Sherlock’s Amanda Abbington.
Channel 4
I Am Helen
Nicola Coughlan takes the lead in the latest drama to come from the BAFTA-winning I Am… anthology, which has previously starred the likes of Kate Winslet, Lesley Manville, and Gemma Chan.
I Am Helen – which this time was developed by Nicola Coughlan, along with the filmmaker Dominic Savage – centres the pressures and expectations that are placed on women, while confronting toxic masculinity and exploring the damage it can create in modern relationships.
Channel 4
Careless
Described by Channel 4 as a “gripping and provocative thriller”, Careless follows Scottish backpacker Robbie (played by Solly McLeod) who finds himself in Sydney and becomes determined to become a live-in carer for a notorious rock legend. But as Robbie grows closer to the music star and his wife, it seems that there could be something from Robbie’s own past that could spell danger…
The cast also features Robyn Malcolm (After The Party), Katie Leung (Bridgerton), and Richard Roxburgh (Rake, The Crown).
Netflix
Nobody Wants This
Netflix’s popular romantic-comedy hit, which stars Adam Brody and Kristen Bell as the central lovestruck couple of Noah and Joanne, will be back for another helping, and has been confirmed to be returning to our screens at some point this year.
While no official release date has been revealed just yet, last year’s season-two instalment dropped in October, so fans will be hoping for a similar autumnal window.
Ludovic Robert//Netflix
Pride and Prejudice
Netflix’s exciting new take on this beloved Jane Austen classic is also expected on our screens at some point in 2026, with a first-look teaser already giving us a glimpse at Emma Corrin’s Elizabeth Bennet and Jack Lowden’s Mr Darcy.
The stellar cast also features Olivia Colman and Rufus Sewell as Mr and Mrs Bennet, and has been described as being a “faithful” adaptation that will speak to both long-standing and new fans.
Prime Video
Kill Jackie
This star-studded new revenge thriller boasts Oscar-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones in the titular role as a wealthy art dealer who has been trying to escape a dangerous past. When Jackie learns that a squad of hit men have been hired to take her down, she must tap into old instincts and embark on a plan to take them down first.
Coming to Prime Video, the impressive cast also includes The Gentlemen’s Daniel Ings, A Thousand Blows’ Darci Shaw, and Masters of The Air’s Raff Law.
Apple TV
Slow Horses, season 6
Adapted from the sixth and seventh novels in Mick Herron’s popular book series, season six of Apple TV’s critically-acclaimed spy thriller will arrive in September – with the dysfunctional Slough House gang on the run.
Oscar-winner Gary Oldman will of course be back as the grumpy Jackson Lamb, while other returning fan-favourites will include Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, Christopher Chung, Rosalind Eleazar, and Joanna Scanlan.
Ana Blumenkron//Getty Images
Rivals
Following a split-release schedule for its second outing, fans have been desperately waiting to return to Rutshire ever since that shocking episode six ending was released back in June.
Thankfully, the second batch will arrive in November – but how will Tony Baddingham cope with his tragedy, will Declan O’Hara finally find out about Tony’s affair with his wife, and will Rupert Campbell-Black ever confess his true feelings to Taggie?
Sky
War
Sky’s brand-new legal drama, starring Sienna Miller and Dominic West, tells the story of a a high profile couple who are going through an “explosive” divorce.
Set to be a major release, the stacked cast also includes Celia Imrie, Nick Mohammed, James McArdle, and Nina Sosanya.
Prime Video
Carrie
Marking the very first time that Stephen King’s horror classic novel has been adapted for television, this eight-part series has Mike Flanagan – who was behind Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House – at the helm as showrunner.
Promising to be a “a bold, timely, and surprising reinvention” of the well-established coming-of-age story, it stars Summer Howell in the titular role and is set in the present day, with themes of online bullying in a high school.
Prime Video
Neagley
A spinoff from Prime Video’s hit Reacher, currently airings its fourth season, this time Maria Sten’s popular character Frances Neagley takes centre stage.
The private investigator and former military protégée of Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson), the new series will follow her on the pursuit of justice after she learns that a beloved friend from her past has been killed in a suspicious accident.
Prime Video
The Assassin, season 2
Keeley Hawes returns as assassin Julie Green in this action-packed thriller, but she’s got more than that on her plate as Julie is still having issues with her relationship with her son (played by Freddie Highmore).
There’s some new characters in the mix this time too, with newly-announced cast members including Natalia Tena (Riot Women), Arnaud Binard (Emily in Paris), and Boris Van Severen (Baptiste).
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TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK’s biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world’s oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).