January 2026 is shaping up to be a blockbuster month for television, offering a packed slate of high-stakes thrillers, beloved returning dramas, and fresh reality spin-offs.
Whether you are looking for the treacherous mind games of The Traitors (returning in both UK and US flavours), the return to Westeros with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, or the high-octane suspense of Idris Elba’s Hijack, there is truly something for every type of viewer.
From the medical drama of The Pitt and Best Medicine to the much-anticipated return of Bridgerton and The Night Manager, this month’s lineup ensures that your winter viewing schedule will be anything but dull.
Prepare for a month of non-stop premieres as major platforms like Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, and Crave roll out their heaviest hitters. You can dive into the gritty world of 1880s London in A Thousand Blows, join the next generation of Starfleet officers in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, or enjoy the comedic therapy sessions of Shrinking.
With a mix of international espionage, period romance, and intense reality competitions, January 2026 is set to be one of the most exciting months for TV fans in recent memory.
The Traitors (UK)
The highly anticipated fourth installment of UK hit The Traitors premieres this Thursday, January 1 on Crave in Canada and sees 22 people from across the UK descend on a Scottish Castle to try to win up to £120k. Expect even more twists, turns, secrets, epic missions, deception, banishments, and of course, murders aplenty.
Hosted by the marvellous Claudia Winkleman, the reality competition series will stream on Crave in Canada at the same time episodes air and drop on BBC and iPlayer in the UK. As of press time, the second episode will stream on January 2 and the third on January 3. Stay tuned to The TV Watercooler for additional showtimes. The fourth season of The Traitors (UK) is expected to conclude on January 24.
Run Away
A new Harlan Coben series for Netflix has Simon’s perfect life is shattered when daughter Paige runs away, later found strung out in a park. Simon’s search leads into a dangerous underworld where an act of violence rocks his life.
Run Away premieres on Thursday, January 1 and stars James Nesbitt, Ruth Jones, Minnie Driver, and Alfred Enoch.
The Copenhagen Test
A first-generation analyst realizes his brain’s hacked, allowing access to his senses. Stuck between the agency and hackers, he acts normal to reveal the culprits. All episodes of The Copenhagen Test drop on Thursday, January 1 on STACKTV. Episodes also air weekly on Showcase beginning Tuesday, January 6 at 9 p.m. ET.
Streaming in the US on Peacock, The Copenhagen Test stars Simu Liu, Melissa Barrera, and Mark O’Brien.
Amadeus
25-year-old Amadeus arrives in Vienna, unemployed after his father’s death. He allies with singer Constanze Weber, who helps bring him into the orbit of court composer Salieri, igniting a rivalry that defines their legacies.
Amadeus premieres Monday, January 5 at 9 p.m. ET on Showcase and also streams on STACKTV in Canada. The limited series stars Will Sharpe, Paul Bettany, and Gabrielle Creevy.
Best Medicine
Dr. Martin Best, a brilliant surgeon who abruptly leaves his illustrious career in Boston to become the general practitioner in a quaint East Coast fishing village where he spent summers as a child. Unfortunately, Martin’s blunt and borderline rude bedside manner rubs the quirky, needy locals the wrong way, and he quickly alienates the town, even though he’s all they’ve got.
Best Medicine premieres Tuesday, January 6 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and streams the next day on Crave. The series stars Josh Charles, Abigail Spencer, Annie Potts, and Josh Segarra.
The Pitt
The Pitt returns for a second season as the realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America, as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh.
The Noah Wyle-fronted series returns on Thursday, January 8 at 9 p.m. ET on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the US. The second season will consist of 15 episodes.
His & Hers
Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson star in His & Hers – a journalist investigates a murder in her hometown, clashing with a suspicious detective.
The Netflix series premieres on Thursday, January 8.
Girl Taken
Twin sisters’ lives change forever when Lily is kidnapped by their teacher. After years in captivity, she escapes-but freedom brings new struggles as she finds everything changed. Her family must heal while her captor remains at large.
Girl Taken stars Alfie Allen and all episodes will begin streaming on Thursday, January 8 on Paramount+.
The Traitors (US)
The US version of the nail-biting psychological adventure in which treachery and deceit are the name of the game. Some of the most competitive reality stars and famous faces play the ultimate murder mystery game as they work together to build a prize fund worth up to $250,000.
Hosted by Alan Cumming, the fourth season of The Traitors (US) will feature Colton Underwood, Donna Kelce, Dorinda Medley, Rob Cesternino, Lisa Rinna, Michael Rapaport, Ron Funches, and Stephen Colletti. Returns on Thursday, January 8 on Crave in Canada.
The Valley: Persian Style
A spin-off of The Valley featuring Shahs of Sunsetstars Reza Farahan, Mercedes “MJ” Javid, and Golnesa “GG” Gharachedaghi as they navigate suburban life in the San Fernando Valley with their Persian-American friends, focusing on their lives, families, and traditions.
The Valley: Persian Style premieres Thursday, January 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo and also streams on Hayu.
A Thousand Blows
Inspired by the true-life stories of a group of characters battling for survival in the brutal East End of London in the 1880s, A Thousand Blows returns for a second season on Friday, January 9 on Disney+.
One year later. Hezekiah Moscow (Mlachi Kirby) is a shadow of the man he once was whilst Sugar Goodson (Stephen Graham) is estranged from his family and drinking himself to death. Just as Wapping is about to sigh its last breath, Mary Carr (Erin Doherty) bursts back into town with her loyal second, Alice Diamond (Darci Shaw).
Tehran
Finally returning for its third season is Apple TV’s Tehran on Friday, January 9.
After going rogue at the end of season two and reeling from the loss of her closest allies, Tamar (Niv Sultan) must find a way to reinvent herself and win back the Mossad’s support if she is to survive. Hugh Laurie joins the cast for season three.
The Night Manager
Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) thought he’d buried his past. Now living as Alex Goodwin – a low-level MI6 officer running a quiet surveillance unit in London – his life is comfortingly uneventful. Then one night a chance sighting of an old Roper mercenary prompts a call to action and leads Pine to a violent encounter with a new player: Colombian businessman Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva).
The Night Manager premieres its second season on Sunday, January 11 on Prime Video in Canada.
Industry
At the top of their game and living the lives they set out to have as Pierpoint grads, Harper (Myha’la) and Yasmin (Marisa Abela) are drawn into a high-stakes, globetrotting cat-and-mouse game when a splashy fintech darling bursts onto the London scene. As Yasmin navigates her relationship with tech founder Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington) and Harper is pulled into the orbit of enigmatic executive Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella), their twisted friendship begins to warp and ignite under the pressure of money, power, and the desire to be on top.
The fourth season of Industry premieres on Sunday, January 11 at 9 p.m. ET on Crave. Season four will consist of eight episodes.
Tell Me Lies
Tell Me Lies season three follows Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White) as they’ve rekindled their tumultuous romance in time for spring semester at Baird College. hile they promise things will be different this time, past indiscretions hinder their best intentions, and Lucy finds herself embroiled in a controversy with which she wants nothing to do. Meanwhile, the disastrous repercussions from the previous year also force Lucy and Stephen’s friends to face their own destructive behaviors. As scandalous secrets fester around campus, vicious consequences threaten Lucy and everyone in her circle.
Tell Me Lies returns on Tuesday, January 13 on Disney+.
Hijack
In the thrilling second season of “Hijack,” a Berlin underground train and its commuters are taken hostage, while authorities scramble to save hundreds of lives. Sam Nelson (Idris Elba) is at the heart of the crisis on board, where one wrong decision could spell disaster.
The second season of Hijack premieres on Wednesday, January 14 on Apple TV.
Riot Women
Set in Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, Riot Women centres around five women who come together to create a makeshift punk-rock band to enter a local talent contest. But when it comes to writing their first song, the women soon discover they have a lot more to say than they first thought. As they juggle life’s struggles, demanding jobs, grown-up children, aging parents, ex-husbands and relationships, the band becomes a catalyst for change in all of their lives, and the ripple effect is seemingly never-ending. With each episode, a long-buried secret begins to surface, entangling the women in an unlikely and complex web that threatens to tear everything, including the band, apart.
Riot Women premieres on Wednesday, January 14 on BritBox.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.
The series premieres on Thursday, January 15 on Paramount+ and stars Holly Hunter as the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy. The Starfleet cadets are played by Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins and Belle Shepard. Zoë Steiner, Tig Notaro, and Robert Picardo also star. Guest Stars include Oded Fehr, mary Wiseman, Gina Yashere, and Paul Giamatti.
Ponies
Two secretaries at the American embassy in 1970s Moscow become CIA operatives after their husbands are killed, uncovering a Cold War conspiracy behind the tragedy.
Ponies stars Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson and premieres on Thursday, January 15 at 9 p.m. ET on Showcase and also streams on STACKTV in Canada.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.
A Knight of the Sevon Kingdoms premieres on Sunday, January 18 at 10 p.m. ET on Crave and stars Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell, and Daniel Ings.
Steal
A contemporary, high-octane thriller about the heist of the century and the ordinary office worker who finds herself at the heart of it.
Steal premieres on Wednesday, January 21 on Prime Video and stars Sophie Turner, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, and Archie Medekwe.
Canada Shore
Ten young Canadians from across the country come together to share an unfiltered and unforgettable summer.
Canada Shore premieres on Thursday, January 22 on Paramount+.
Memory of a Killer
Patrick Dempsey stars as Angelo Doyle, a hitman leading a dangerous double life while hiding an even deadlier personal secret. Michael Imperioli stars opposite Dempsey as Dutch, Angelo’s oldest friend and an accomplished chef whose restaurant is a front for criminal enterprise.
Memory of a Killer premieres with a two-night premiere event on Sunday, January 25 at 10 p.m., and continues on Monday, January 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV. Streams the next day on Crave.
Wonder Man
Hollywood actor Simon Williams is thrust into the world of superheroes as he gets powers of his own, and becomes the new superhero Wonder Man.
Marvel Television’s Wonder Man premieres on Tuesday, January 27 on Disney+. The series stars Ben Kingsley and Demetrius Grosse.
Shrinking
Jason Segel stars as a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tells his clients what exactly he thinks.
The third season of Shrinking premieres on Wednesday, January 28 on Apple TV.
Bridgerton
The fourth season of Bridgerton turns its focus to bohemian second son Benedict (Luke Thompson). Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down — until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball.
The first part of Bridgerton’s fourth season premieres on Thursday, January 29 on Netflix.
