The 5 Best Shows of January, Hands-Down

Snowpocalypse has come and gone (though I'm sure there will be another one soon enough). Thankfully, there's plenty of great streaming content to keep us occupied for four more snowpocalypses.

January 2026 has brought us some stellar shows—The Pitt, Steal, The Traitors. It's also given us some misses—anyone else think The Beauty is a little too gross and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is, well, kinda boring?

Here, the five best shows of January, hands-down, plus where to stream them. (I even included a few runners-up, so don't get too mad at me if your fave didn't make the top five.)

Season two of The Pitt is phenomenal. I binged the first three episodes in a single sitting, and I was sad I had to wait for Thursday for the next episode to arrive.

Noah Wyle is at his award-winning best in the sophomore season. Our favorite faces are back—Katherine LaNasa continues to steal every scene she's in—and we've got a few new faces for added conflict—I'm already loving Sepideh Moafi as Dr. Robby's sabatical replacement.

And, as with any good medical show, every patient whose face you kinda recognize inevitably gets a multi-episode arc involving a twist/surprise diagnosis.

My favorite new show of 2026? PONIES, without question. Emilia Clarke (hey, Daenerys) and Haley Lu Richardson (hey, Portia) play an odd couple in this quirky spy thriller set in '70s Russia.

When tragedy strikes early in episode one, these spy wives try to figure out exactly what happened by, you guessed it, becoming spies themselves. Clarke's prudish Bea finds it difficult to get her hands dirty, while Richardson's wild Twila is too much of a loose cannon. But together? Solid television casting!

This is another highly bingeable option that fans of The Americans will love.

Steal doesn't waste any time jumping into the action. The premiere episode surrounds a dramatic heist, with Sophie Turner's office worker Zara stuck in the middle of it.

It's hard not to be drawn in instantly to this thriller—the pace is fast from the get-go, and the first episode ends on a major cliffhanger. Turner is fabulous in a role that is far from her Sansa Stark or Jean Grey days—her "normal person" character is layered and fascinating.

No spoilers here, but I did gasp pretty loudly during one particularly juicy twist. You'll know when it happens.

The theme of my top five list must be binge-ability and twists, because I flew through every episode of this twist-filled whodunnit in a single weekend.

Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal play an estranged married couple who are separately out to solve a violent, small-town murder. The big problem? They each suspect the other might be involved.

Like any good murder mystery, this limited series presents a slew of suspects. And as someone who always figures out who the killer is before I reach the end (yes, that's a humble brag), I was shocked to find I was quite wrong when I reached the final final twist (yes, there are way more than one).

It should come as no surprise that this reality TV phenom has made the top five shows list—it's the ultimate in water cooler convo fodder, even if we don't talk around water coolers anymore.

Alan Cumming is back as host, with his fashion and hair color choices as eye-catching as ever. But the best choice of all? The selection of traitors this time around. No spoilers if you have yet to watch, but they've provided plenty of drama (and meme-able moments).

And while the onscreen fireworks have been intense, the offscreen drama has been high as well. In fact, the official Traitors team had to issue a statement to fans asking them to calm down.

Looking for other great shows to watch? January also delivered with these solid selects:

• The Hunting Party season two on NBC/Hulu
• Hijack season two on Apple TV
• The Boyfriend season two on Netflix
• High Potential season two on ABC/Hulu
• RuPaul's Drag Race season 18 on MTV

If these January selects aren't enough for you (I get it, I don't leave my couch in the winter either), check out our top picks from 2025—plus one must-watch option that didn't make our list.

Happy streaming!

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