The Best TV Series of 2026 (So Far) — ‘Widow’s Bay,’ ‘Vampire Lestat’

It’s 2026, so a baseline of anxiety is now standard fare for anyone with a heartbeat. Open social media, any social media — even the disingenuously named, eager-to-judge Bluesky — and you’ll be confronted with a new reason to fret. Even if it’s as relatively harmless as your favorite show getting canceled, these days, there’s often a need to double-check the rationale: Was it just bad ratings, or was there something more nefarious at play?

The point being, worry is so ingrained in our lives, it’s no wonder the Safdie brothers’ brand of distress-driven thrills, where peculiar characters hop from one teetering tower to the next until the slide comes before the fall, is getting trendy. You can feel it in “Beef,” “Big Mistakes,” and “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.” “Industry” has its tense, world-tilting trades as well as its imaginative, stomach-churning traders. Even “The Pitt” is built on a house of cards threatening to crash at any moment.

But what’s striking about the best shows of 2026 (so far) is how many are taking that anxiety and channeling it into art. No, I don’t mean the creators are spinning out and writing shows to cope (although I’m sure that’s happening, too); I mean the narratives of their shows are built around people whose fears are expressed and relieved through artistic expression.

There’s Sally Wainwright’s “Riot Women,” in which five middle-aged women funnel their collective frustrations over feeling forgotten and dismissed into music for a rock band. There’s Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest’s “Wonder Man,” ostensibly an MCU superhero series, but in actuality a buddy-comedy about saving yourself through acting. There’s Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow’s “The Comeback,” where artificial intelligence threatens to upend an entire industry (on the iconic studio lot that’s on the precipice of being sold for parts, no less) and Valerie Cherish fights back by proving you can’t make great art, even lowbrow art, without human innovation.

Toss in “The Vampire Lestat” (rewriting a broken heart through rock ‘n roll), “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” (storytelling that breaks down barriers — and rakes in cash), and, of course, “Hacks” (lending new meaning to “laughter is the best medicine”), and so many of the year’s best series are confronting what it’s like to be alive right now while also providing layered relief to our shared condition. Their stories justify their own existence, sure, but they also help free the audience to find our own healthy outlets for all our nervous energy.

Sometimes all we need is a break, and a good show can provide that. Sometimes we need to feel seen — like we’re not alone in a world that’s already off its axis and only seems to be spinning faster — and good shows can provide that, too. Sometimes we need a little more; we need inspiration or a fresh new perspective, escape or insight, connections within and beyond the screen. Great TV can do all that and more, and there’s already been plenty of great TV in 2026. So dig in. I hope you find what you need.