22 hidden gem TV shows you might’ve missed at the start of 2026

You wait ages for a great TV show, and then a load of absolute belters drop all at once. The end of 2025 and the start of 2026 have been flooded with so much quality, that it’s easy to miss a few gems – especially when so many of us were hooked on the finale of Stranger Things and are now glued to The Traitors.

So, with the cold weather making us averse to going outside for the foreseeable, cosy up on the sofa with 22 hidden gems that only recently hit our screens and discover what you’ve been missing.

Stream it now in Apps > Channel 4

A decade on from his death, David Bowie is venerated as one of the most inventive and groundbreaking musicians in recent history but that wasn’t always the case while he was alive, as Jonathan Stiasny’s documentary makes clear. With a surprising focus on the lows of a wildly varied music career, the film-maker takes a close look at how Bowie responded to severe criticism, often by taking his creative output to new heights. While this is a riveting two-hour review of the icon’s entire oeuvre, it’s at its best when uncovering the truth behind Bowie’s swansong Blackstar, the album recorded during the final months of his incredible life.

Stream all episodes now in Apps > BBC iPlayer

Dawn French leading a new sitcom is a cause for balloons. But the fact Can You Keep A Secret? is so funny, it’s from the producer of This Country and the director of Ghosts and also stars Mark Heap – frankly one of British comedy’s MVPs – should really be celebrated. French stars as a recently widowed woman who confesses to her adult son Harry (Craig Roberts) that his dad (Heap) isn’t really dead – it was simply to claim a tidy sum from the life insurance. Shaped by writer Simon Mayhew-Archer’s own experience with his dad’s Parkinson’s, it’s a joy.

Stream season 2 now in Apps > Prime Video with new episodes released weekly on Wednesdays. Season 1 also available

Christmas is often a time when we stick with traditional TV, so you might have missed a few biggies on the streamers, including the return of Prime Video’s colossal post-apocalyptic sci-fi show based on one of the world’s biggest video game properties. This time we’re following Lucy (Ella Purnell) and Ghoul (Walton Goggins), now effectively an odd couple, who have teamed up to pursue her father (Kyle MacLachlan) for reasons we won’t spoil here, if you’ve missed season 1. Its sophomore season adds guest stars like Macaulay Culkin and Kumail Nanjiani while balancing the horror with the hilarious.

Stream all episodes now in Apps > Netflix

In what’s now a regular New Year treat enjoyed by millions worldwide, January brings a new Harlan Coben adaptation on Netflix: following Fool Me Once, Missing You et al, Run Away is another tense, absorbing domestic drama. James Nesbitt, who previously starred in the Coben series Stay Close, plays a man searching for his missing daughter but as soon as he finds her, things go wrong, with shootings, murders and comas galore. The scripts – written by Brassic’s Danny Brocklehurst and Coben’s daughter Charlotte, among others – are typically zippy and the fab cast includes Minnie Driver, Ruth Jones, Jon Pointing, Amy Gledhill and Alfred Enoch. 

Stream season 2 now in Sky Witness on demand with new episodes released weekly on Wednesdays. Season 1 also available

The second season of Kathy Bates’ US legal drama had the slight misfortune of premiering just after a particularly seismic episode of The Traitors – which meant we were all busy rocking in a darkened cupboard by the time the opening credits rolled. But while it’s a big deal in the US, with more than 13 millions viewers across platforms, it still feels like a hidden gem over here, and one that demands watching. Bates is once again at her rip-roaring best as she sticks it to the smirking white-collar ne’er-do-wells ruining society, this time targeting the pharmaceutical industry.

Stream all episodes of series 2 now in Apps > Channel 4. Series 1 also available

The first series of Patience, which aired in early 2025, was Channel 4’s biggest drama of the year. Patience (Ella Maisy Purvis), the autistic archivist who helps the police with their investigations is thrown out of her comfort zone in this second series as a new DI (Jessica Hynes) roars into town to lead the team. Hynes is a great addition to the show, and she immediately shakes things up by threatening Patience’s role in the team. But it gives Ella Maisy Purvis the opportunity to once again shine and remind us why we fell in love with this character in the first place.

Stream all episodes of series 3 now in Apps > U or in U&W on demand. Series 1-2 and the Christmas special also available

Sometimes you want a complex, tightly scripted drama. Sometimes you want a revelatory documentary. Sometimes you want to laugh out loud. And sometimes you just want to watch one of Britain’s most adorable TV personalities hang out with a bunch of equally adorable dogs as they make their way from Dogs Trust facilities to (hopefully) their forever homes. This delightful show started in 2025 and it’s already on its third series; we’re not surprised because frankly we could watch it all year round.

Stream all episodes of series 2 now in Apps > ITVX. Series 1 also available

To be honest, we’ve only just recovered from the first series of this high-altitude thriller series, whose characters whizzed back and forth between the UK and China in a blur of mysterious deaths, furtive spies and conspiracies at the highest level – but it was so twisty and gripping that we’re hungry for more. The terrific Jing Lusi and Lesley Sharp return in their lead roles and, bonus, they’re now joined by Line Of Duty’s Martin Compston as a fellow officer of the law, hot on the heels of an enigmatic assassin known as Fox.  

Stream both episodes now in Apps > Channel 4. Series 1-20 and specials also available

The joy of Taskmaster, even as it approaches its 21st series this year, is that every series or special is a jumping on point. Even if you’ve never seen an episode, everyone can appreciate funny people doing silly things. That’s especially true of the show’s non-comedian specials, which have now been elongated to two episodes. This two-parter stars chef to the stars Big Zuu, former Lioness Jill Scott, Eurovision hero Sam Ryder, Countdown corner-ist Susie Dent and soap and Strictly star Rose Ayling-Ellis. The latter, especially, has Alex Horne in stitches.

Stream it now in Sky Arts on demand

Dame Judi was inescapable over Christmas – and blissfully so. They repeated her gorgeous episode of Countryfile, Channel 4 showed a charming film, Judi Dench: Shakespeare, My Family and Me in which she recounted her connection to the Bard, and there was also this sweet sitdown over tea with Sir Kenneth Branagh. If this is a pilot for a future series or podcast, we’re all in, because it’s all just so lovely. Two friends who clearly have a lot of affection for each other, and so switched on to the conversation, is a real antidote to boring celeb interviews.

Stream it now in Apps > ITVX

While this list contains prestige drama and documentaries, it might be The Hunting Wives that most people sit down to watch immediately. It’s a wild ride, as Sophie (Brittany Snow) moves to Texas (for a quite jaw-dropping reason) and soon becomes captivated with the wife of her husband’s boss (played by Malin Åkerman) and her elite clique. It just spirals from there in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine. If you want an extra reason to tune in, The Guardian called The Hunting Wives “the most perfect trash possibly ever.” Season 2 has already been commissioned.

Stream series 2 now in Apps > BBC iPlayer with new episodes released weekly on Sundays. Series 1 also available

This one really only makes the list because episode 1 dropped on New Year’s Day, episode 2 dropped three days later on Sunday and then we had to wait a whole WEEK for episode 3. It’s that kind of scheduling that means some people will wait for the whole season to be available, and then forget about it. But don’t. While we do miss Hugh Laurie’s Richard Roper from series 1, Tom Hiddleston is in outstanding form, now as an MI6 officer, as he races to expose a conspiracy designed to destabilise a nation. With betrayal at every turn, and plenty of wanderlust (and regular lust), it’s perfect Jan TV.

Stream series 4 now in Apps > BBC iPlayer with new episodes on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Series 1-3 and The Celebrity Traitors also available

Can you really call one of the most popular shows on TV a “hidden gem”? Well, if you haven’t seen it – and you’ve somehow managed to avoid spoilers – then this is your sign to start watching it. The show’s trump card is that it never rests on its laurels – something it could be forgiven for doing with its ratings and popularity – and this series has thrown some particularly devilish twists that has truly moved the game in a new and tantalising direction. One thing is for certain: this group of Faithfuls would have had Alan Carr out in episode 1…

Stream all episodes now in Apps > BBC iPlayer

This one dropped around Christmas, and you’d be forgiven for swerving it amid all the celebrations – both the revelry and the tiny wrapped chocolates. After all, a four-part docu-drama about the most famous shipping disaster of all time screams “mood killer”. But it is edge-of-your-seat stuff, as actors play the role of Titanic survivors, recounting their stories in their own words. It’s also done in real time, adding further tension to proceedings. Experts fill in the gaps, explaining why what happened happened, but it’s the real voices that truly make this unmissable TV.

Stream series 1 now in Apps > 5, with new episodes released weekly on Fridays

After finishing runner-up on I’m A Celebrity, it seemed as if Celebs Go Dating favourite Tom Read Wilson had the world at his feet. He took that concept literally, as he jumped aboard the well-worn celebrity travelogue bandwagon. But his new show makes this list because it’s a charming piece of TV and Tom comes across as a fully engaged host, exhibiting plenty of wit and warmth as he retraces the rite of passage once undertaken by aristocrats on their Grand Tours of Europe, from Paris to Rome. Some great 2026 holiday inspiration amid the January gloom.

Stream it now in Apps > ITVX

This documentary is timely, as we’re now to call them Dame Jayne Torvill and Sir Christopher Dean after the recent New Year Honours list. But even without the honours, the pair have been ice skating royalty for more than 40 years since they first rose to prominence with their Bolero routine at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics that bagged them gold (and perfect scores). This insightful and tender film tracks the lifelong friends – now in their late 60s – as they prepare for their final tour following their decision to hang up their skates for good.

Stream all episodes now in Apps > BBC iPlayer

This six-episode series from Dennis Kelly, whose CV includes the seminal comedy Pulling, the powerful lockdown couple drama Together and the ambitious and stylish conspiracy thriller Utopia, is simply mesmerising. Dan (Josh Finan) is a philosopher who begins teaching a class in prison but begins to unearth his own buried trauma, causing him to obsessively worry that he belongs behind bars, just like his father. We’re so early in 2026, but we’d be floored if this isn’t scooping the awards it so clearly deserves.

Stream it now in Apps > BBC iPlayer

A new Sir David Attenborough is to be cherished. But after the frankly traumatic Kingdom – which felt like watching a particularly bloody season of Game Of Thrones – this is a far more gentle, yet no less compelling documentary that celebrates wildlife in London. Even though it reveals there are snakes in the capital and a pigeon-murdering seagull in Hyde Park (erm…), it’s rich in childlike wonder and shows how nature can adapt in one of the busiest and most populated cities in the world. It even features a pigeon who takes the Tube, so…

Stream all episodes of series 2 now in Apps > BBC iPlayer. Series 1 also available

The first series of this oddball comedy won its creator/star Lucia Keskin (Big Boys’ Kelly) a Royal Television Society award and a BAFTA Craft gong for best emerging talent, so it’s no surprise that it’s back for a second instalment, with all episodes now streaming on BBC iPlayer. Clueless Chi (Keskin) is still working her way through the list of life goals left by her parents, and still not adulting with any kind of success. A big bonus in the new episodes is the appearance of Bridget Christie as an unhinged and thoroughly unprofessional grief counsellor.

Stream all episodes now in Apps > BBC iPlayer

Jack the Ripper gets all the headlines but the Thames Torso Murders, which were perpetrated around the same time, are just as fascinating. Lucy Worsley is the person we want investigating this cold case and the BBC obviously agrees, because they’ve given TV’s quirkiest historian three episodes and a team of experts to uncover the truth behind the gruesome homicides. After re-examining old leads and uncovering new ones, Worsley presents a convincing case. Better late than never.

Stream all episodes now in Apps > BBC iPlayer

Unbelievably, it’s 17 years since the BBC’s previous adaptation of Elizabeth George’s rural crime novels was last on telly, so it’s more than ripe for a reboot and what a fun one this is. Sofia Barclay (Ted Lasso) is spirited working-class copper Barbara Havers, who’s unwillingly teamed with cut-glass Oxford detective Tommy Lynley (Leo Suter, Vikings: Valhalla). The two inevitably rub each other up the wrong way – but will they just as inevitably develop a grudging respect for each other in a way that Gets Crimes Solved? You bet, and it’s hugely enjoyable to watch, with a backdrop of dramatic East Anglian landscapes.

Stream all episodes of series 2 now in Apps > BBC iPlayer. Series 1 also available

Despite the inexorable rise of the streamers, you know where to go for the best British comedies – good old Auntie Beeb, and the return of this riotous crime sitcom cements its place in the list of 21st-century classics. With two brilliant leads in Gbemisola Ikumelo (also the co-creator, and soon to be seen in season 2 of Prime Video’s Last One Laughing) and Hammed Animashaun, it’s the perfect blend of witty dialogue and outrageous physical comedy, and Dom and Kay’s relocation from the Met to MI5 brings a whole new world of ludicrous possibilities.

Explore our amazing TV deals and never miss a moment of entertainment.