We’re up to the long holiday weekend, and we’re getting a flood of new series to kick of 2026. With winter weather and maybe some holidays, you might be ready to dive into a new series. But which of these new series is worth your time to check out? Let this weekly post be your guide as I review the pilot and second episode of new series this winter. Don’t see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Mondays:
The Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins, Mondays at 8:30 p.m. on NBC (Premiered January 18)
About: This new comedy comes from the creators of 30 Rock and featured Tracy Morgan as a disgraced football player looking to rehab his image. This series, which will join the Monday night airwaves in February, got a premier jumpstart behind the playoff football game. This one features Daniel Radcliffe—yes Harry Potter himself—as a documentary filmmaker trying to make a movie. His vision is at odds with Reggie (Morgan), who is trying to rehab his image after a scandal saw him banned from football for life. There’s plenty of room for comedy here, and I enjoyed the cast. But the pilot was more than a little stiff, and now it’s more than a month layoff before the series picks back up. Neither of those things is helpful here.
Pilot Grade: C-

Tuesdays:
Best Medicine, Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on FOX (Premiered January 4)
About: In this new FOX series Josh Charles plays a big city surgeon who, after losing a patient, retreats to be a small-town doctor. But he’s not fond of small-town people or small-town gossip, which creates some friction with the residents in his new town. Can he find a way to marry his brilliant mind with the demands of a small-town position? That’s the challenge here in this new series, which includes a cast that features Annie Potts and Abigail Spencer. I enjoyed the pace and the world here. This feels like a familiar small-town series and boasts a solid cast. The medical mystery part of the first two episodes works, too. It’s a nice pairing with Doc to create a solid Tuesday night lineup for FOX.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C+

Wednesdays:
Harlan Coben’s Final Twist, Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on CBS (Premiered January 7)
About: This new reality series features famed author Harlan Coben introducing audiences to intriguing real crime stories. The episodes themselves play out like a mini true crime documentary, with Coben offering thoughts and introductions to the case. The rest of it includes recreations, interviews, and file footage. Your mileage will vary with these stories depending on how you feel about true crime. There are good production values, and Coben is an interesting enough host, but this lacks some of the pop that I thought we might get. It almost feels like an elevated episode of Dateline.
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: C-

Thursdays:
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Streaming Thursdays on Paramount+ (Premiered January 15)
About: The latest series in the Star Trek universe picks up where its first original series, Discovery, leaves off. With the Federation rebuilding after The Burn, it’s time to return to Starfleet Academy. Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter), who retired after a tough tour-of-duty, is tapped by Admiral Vance (Oded Fehr) to lead the new academy and its first group of recruits. She’s drawn back by Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta), whom she felt she failed previously. Now, she convinces him to join Starfleet Academy to and search for his mother (Tatiana Maslany). The first two episodes dropped Thursday, with subsequent episodes dropping weekly. This is a different kind of Star Trek series, one that has some loose connections and cameos from people in the Discovery world. It feels like it has some potential, but it also feels like something that is aiming at a more teen soap opera crowd than those who have come to know and love Star Trek. I enjoyed parts of the first two episodes, but I’m not sure yet how this is going to work.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C

Fridays:
Cold Water, Streaming Fridays on Paramount+ (Premiered January 9)
About: This new series features Andrew Lincoln as a man who is struggling with confidence and identity. He’s moved to a new, small town in Scotland and he’s gotten in over his head. He turns to the local priest (Ewen Bremner) for help, which only pulls him in deeper. This is a weird series. The pilot had a weird structure and weird vibes. I like the cast, but it’s not clear what the point of this is and where it’s heading. The second episode did little to make me feel better about that. It’s just a six-episode series, each episode between 45 minutes and an hour, making it a short commitment. But it’s not one that stands out in an increasingly crowded TV landscape.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

The Nowhere Man, Streaming Fridays on Starz (Premiered January 16)
About: This new series for Starz is an action series that is imported from overseas. It’s set in South Africa, where an ex-soldier (Bonko Khoza), is pulled back into a world of violence when he stumbles on a home invasion and feels drawn to help the woman inside. She’s the victim of a violent husband who, though in prison, is determined to exact his revenge. It’s up to our hero to stop it. This one has plenty of action and violence, with a one-man wrecking crew kind of set up. It’s mostly in English, a benefit to domestic audience, and features some decent action sequences. The cast won’t be familiar here, but the basic gist of the story will work for those looking for a good old-fashioned shoot ‘em up kind of series.
Pilot Grade: C

Sundays:
Bookish, Sundays at 10 p.m. on PBS (Premiered January 11)
About: This new Masterpiece Mystery finds Mark Gatiss as a rare book owner who dabbles as a sleuth in London. It’s a six-episode series, with each new case running two episodes. The episodes run an hour, making it a short commitment. The pilot introduced Gatiss’ character, Gabriel Book, and his world in the post-World War II landscape. The second episode, which aired Sunday, closed the book, so to speak, on the first case. It’s decent for a masterpiece mystery, and likely will appeal to those who enjoy a good PBS mystery.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Sundays at 10 p.m. on HBO (Premiered January 18)
About: The latest from the world of Game of Thrones is a different kind of series. It’s based on the novella series Tale of Dunk and Egg, and features six half-hour episodes for the season. The series being an anthology, there is room for other short stories from the history of the world in the future. But this one focuses on a hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), dubbed Dunk, and his squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), who is a Targaryen prince. Of course, you don’t learn a lot about Egg in the premier. The episodes are shorter and it’s clear that the series is going for something a little different. Maybe a little lighter? The novella upon which its based is supposed to be fun and popular, but I’ve not read it. What we get in the pilot is a show trying to build a world, introduce characters, and do it with a bit of humor. It’s uneven at best, but there is promise in the framework. It’s a short commitment, too, and probably a must-watch for Game of Thrones fans. But the first episode didn’t impress me.
Pilot Grade: C-

Streaming Series:
Ponies, Now Streaming on NBC (Premiered January 15)
About: This new series for Peacock is a spy thriller, set in Moscow in 1977. It follows a pair of secretaries, Beatrice (Emilia Clarke) and Twila (Haley Lu Richardson), who get pulled into active CIA operations after their spy husbands are killed. It’s an interesting premise and one that lends itself to drama and comedy. The cast, which also includes Adrian Lester as their handler, among others is solid. What sells this premise and this series is Clarke and Richardson, who make for a dynamic pair. They are out of their depth, but committed because they want answers about what happened. The series comes from creator Susanna Fogel, who wrote and directed several episodes in the first season’s eight-episode run. The episodes each run between 45 and 55 minutes, and all are now available to stream. It makes for a short, quick binge, and the content itself will have you wanting to see what happens next. Peacock has kicked off the new year with a couple series set in the world of espionage, and both have their merits. But I enjoyed these first two episodes, and I could see this becoming a fun ongoing series.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: B-

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered January 15)
About: Agatha Christie was prolific in writing crime novels. Many of her classic stories have been turned into series and films over the past few decades. That’s the case with Seven Dials, which was previously adapted as a feature film in 1981. Now, it’s getting the limited series treatment—with a three-episode version on Netflix starring Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman, among others. The episodes move at a decent pace. It’s a quick series and a quick viewing commitment. Agatha Christie novels remain popular because of their style, and this one has its moments. But it feels a bit dry and maybe even a bit drawn out. I was actually more interested in the tag at the end, but that’s for a different book and series, maybe. This one is OK, but far from compelling.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.