2 Brand-New Shows I'm Obsessed with (and 2 Others I'm Abandoning After the First Episode)

When it comes to brand-new streaming options, 2026 has started off with a bang. January has brought us must-watch movies to be sure, but the new show options have been particularly strong. In addition to amazing returning series like The Pitt and The Boyfriend, January has delivered plenty of debuts, such as The Beauty, PONIES, Steal and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

I decided to give each of those four options a shot (what else are snow days for if not binging TV?!). I found two of them to be so good that I immediately dove into subsequent episodes. The other two? Not so much...

First up on my must-watch list? PONIES on Peacock.

No need for a double-take if the stars of PONIES look familiar. They're none other than Daenerys Targaryen herself, Emilia Clarke, and The White Lotus season two's Haley Lu Richardson. The duo play unlikely spies trying to uncover a huge conspiracy in this surprisingly funny thriller set in 1970s Russia.

This show is wildly bingeable (I flew through three episodes in a single sitting). Clarke and Richardson are fabulous as an "odd couple" pairing—Clarke is uptight and reserved, while Richardson is a free spirit (and a loose canon). They play off of each other extremely well, injecting humor into what could otherwise be a very tense situation. Think The Americans, but funny.

PONIES is jam-packed with twists and high stakes, making it one of my favorites of the year so far.

Speaking of twists and high stakes, allow me to also recommend Steal on Prime Video.

Another Game of Thrones alum (Sansa Stark herself, Sophie Turner) stars in this heist thriller show. The limited series may have fewer dragons than GoT, but it grips you from the get-go.

No spoilers here, but episode one jumps right into a major heist where bad guys with guns take over an office in an effort to steal billions of dollars. One of the office workers who they need in order to execute their plan? Sophie Turner.

The first episode is so action-packed and fun that it's hard to believe there will be five more episodes to follow. But the twist at the end of the premiere is so good, you'll immediately want to dive into the next episode like I did.

Ryan Murphy is back (as if he ever went anywhere) with a new thriller/horror series about a massive beauty conspiracy. This one stars Ashton Kutcher and Bella Hadid. I'm sure I'm not the only one who went into this praying it's more Nip/Tuck and less All's Fair.

In defense of the show, it's not bad a la All's Fair. The first sequence of the first episode is bonkers with a capital "B." The premise is an interesting one (even if it does seem to be an awful lot like that of The Substance...). But the grotesque nature of the show is so extreme so early that it's frankly just not for me.

With a number highly disturbing (and graphic) sequences presented one after another, I have to question where else the show has left to even go? If we're starting at a ten, I can only imagine where the series will end. (If every other Murphy show is an indication, the plane will land somewhere out in left field.) Alas, I personally will never find out for sure.

This series is a prequel to the OG Game of Thrones and is inspired by several George R.R. Martin novellas. (How about we skip any more novellas and finish those GoT books, George?!)

I will say that I appreciate that the series takes a much more human approach, relying on story and personality over big-budget effects involving dragons and white walkers. However, episode one is...kinda boring. Things get off to a very slow start. And while I enjoyed the moments of levity, I couldn't help but wonder...do we all still care about Game of Thrones?

It's been nearly seven years since Daenerys went mad (and fans got mad at the showrunners). And while I've enjoyed dabbling with House of the Dragon, I think I've hit my quota when it comes to Westeros-inspired content.

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