New TV shows coming this month

01 January 2026

By Daibhid MacCann

Get strapped in because this month's new shows are next level and we can’t wait! Some brand-new shows and some new seasons! Here are our top picks of what to watch this month! So, keep reading...

BBC | ITV and STV | Channel 4 | 5 | U | WATCH FREE UK

New on BBC and iPlayer

The Traitors (Season 4)

BBC One and BBC iPlayer, from Thursday 1st January at 8pm

Promotional image from the fourth series of the British reality competition series The Traitors, showing host Claudia Winkleman standing in front of a large stone firepit with flames. Behind her is a grand castle surrounded by gardens, with two cloaked figures in the background. The scene is set at dusk with dramatic lighting.

Oh, we are soooooo back! The Traitors returns to the Highlands with trust in short supply and paranoia piled high. Claudia Winkleman is back in the castle, red cloak and all, as 22 hopefuls from across the UK scheme, swear and side-eye their way towards a £120k prize. With deadlier mind games, trickier missions and banishments that sting even more, expect secrets to spill and friendships to crumble at breakfast. Sharper, darker and deliciously cruel, this is the ultimate game of treachery. And what is this new red cloak all about?! Keep your wits about you.

The Night Manager (Season 2)

BBC One and BBC iPlayer, from Thursday 1st January at 9pm

A tropical-themed poster featuring two people in sharp suits standing in the foreground, with palm trees and a bright sky in the background. A third person in a red outfit is positioned between them.

The Night Manager slips back into the shadows with danger dialled all the way up. Tom Hiddleston returns as Jonathan Pine, lured once more into a slick, high-stakes web of espionage that drags him far from safety and deep into hostile territory. With Olivia Colman’s formidable Angela Burr pulling the strings and new players circling, including Diego Calva and Camila Morrone, loyalties blur and bullets fly across sun-scorched Colombia. Taut, glossy and ruthlessly tense, this is spy drama operating at full throttle.

Industry (Season 4)

BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, Monday 12th January at 10:40pm

A still image from season 4 of the US drama series Industry, showing a person in an ornate patterned robe leaning on a grand piano in a richly decorated room with dark wood panelling and a decorative vase in the foreground.

Industry storms back with money to burn and knives already out. Now living the glossy lives they once hustled for, Myha’la’s Harper and Marisa Abela’s Yasmin are pulled into a slick, high-stakes cat-and-mouse chase when a swaggering fintech wunderkind lands in London. As Yasmin circles Kit Harington’s seductive tech titan Sir Henry Muck and Harper falls under the spell of Max Minghella’s dangerously smooth power broker, old loyalties start to fray. Sharper suits, bigger swings and egos in overdrive, this is ambition at full throttle.

Can You Keep a Secret?

Watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Wednesday 7th January

Can You Keep a Secret? kicks off with a lie so big it barely fits in the loft. Dawn French stars as Debbie Fendon, a lawn-bowling granny with a talent for chaos, who convinces her very-much-alive husband Mark Heap to fake his own death and wait it out for the insurance payout. Cue rising panic for their tightly wound son Harry, played by Craig Roberts, who has just buried his dad, pocketed the money and married a local police officer, Mandip Gill’s ruthlessly sensible Neha. With secrets multiplying, nerves fraying and one pensioner refusing to stay dead, this is family life with a distinctly criminal edge.

What’s new on ITV and ITVX (STV and STV Player in Scotland)

The Hunting Wives

All episodes streaming now on ITVX and STV Player

Four women wearing dresses with two stood and two sat against a blue wall with two hunting rifles in the drama Hunting Wives

Get ready to enter a world where glamour and danger go hand in hand. When Sophie (Brittany Snow) moves to East Texas hoping for a fresh start, she’s instantly dazzled by the magnetic (and slightly dangerous) Margo and her ultra-exclusive clique of wealthy socialites. But these women don’t just sip cocktails and gossip… they’ve got a secret pastime that’s a whole lot wilder. As Sophie gets pulled deeper into their world of late-night parties, tangled desires, and high-stakes “games,” she realises she might be in way over her head. And when a shocking murder rocks the community, every friendship suddenly looks like a trap.

Red Eye (Season 2)

Watch on ITV1 and STV, from Thursday 1st January at 9pm

Promotional art from season 2 of the British drama series Red Eye, showing two suited figures in a sleek, brightly lit corridor with red overhead lights. Both are holding guns, and one is speaking on a mobile phone.

Red Eye is back on the runway for a second series and heading straight for trouble. Jing Lusi returns as DS Hana Li, knee-deep in chaos when a terrifying threat against a British government jet triggers a lockdown at the US Embassy. Forced into an uneasy reunion with Martin Compston’s blunt, battle-hardened security chief Clay Brody and under the icy gaze of Lesley Sharp’s MI5 boss, it’s secrets, suspects and stress levels cruising at altitude. Fast, fiendish and delightfully claustrophobic, keep your seatbelt firmly fastened!

Grantchester (Season 10)

New episodes on ITV1 and STV beginning on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th January at 9pm

Promotional image from series 10 of the British crime drama Grantchester, showing two people in formal attire standing in a dimly lit office filled with wooden desks, paperwork, and vintage lamps. One wears a pinstripe suit, and the other is dressed in a clerical collar with a dark suit.

Grantchester returns for its tenth and penultimate chapter with faith tested, friendships strengthened and another body disturbing the village calm. Robson Green and Rishi Nair are back as DI Geordie Keating and Reverend Alphy Kottaram, now firmly in step as partners as a suspicious death during the Easter festivities pulls them into fresh intrigue. Against the postcard prettiness of Grantchester, the pair navigate shifting times, family strains and secrets best left buried. Gentle, gripping and quietly emotional, this is a series that knows exactly where to apply the pressure.

What’s new on Channel 4

Patience (Season 2)

Watch on Channel 4, from Tuesday 2nd December at 9pm

Promotional art from season 2 of the British drama series Patience, showing two people standing in a narrow brick alleyway with leafy branches overhead and a large historic building in the background. One is wearing a red suit, and the other is dressed in a pink cardigan with a blue backpack.

Patience returns with bigger brains, bolder cases and a few more spanners in the works. Ella Maisy Purvis is back as Patience Evans, now a vital cog in York’s criminal records department, cracking complex crimes with her brilliantly unconventional insight. Stirring things up is Jessica Hynes as DI Frankie Monroe, a new boss whose very different leadership style sends shockwaves through the station. Throw in workplace romance, a glossy PR makeover and murders in iconic York locations including York Minster, and this second series proves that keeping calm is far harder than cracking the case.

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins (Season 8)

Watch on Channel 4 from January 4th at 9pm

Promotional image from the eighth series of the British reality competition Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, showing a line of contestants in grey long-sleeved tops and camouflage trousers standing outdoors in a jungle setting. They wear black gloves and numbered armbands, and one person holds a green water bottle.

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins returns tougher, louder and positively spoiling for a scrap. DS Foxy and Billy Billingham crank the pressure to breaking point as UK and Australian celebs go head to head in the brutal heat of North Africa. With familiar faces like Dani Dyer and Troy Deeney facing off against Team Australia’s Jessika Power and Mack Horton, expect shattered egos, screaming muscles and orders barked with zero sympathy. Eight episodes in, this is SAS selection with jet lag, rivalry and absolutely no mercy. Brace yourself!

What’s new on 5

The Good Ship Murder (Season 3)

The first episode of Season 3 is streaming on 5 now, the rest of the series will continue from Tuesday 6th of January at 9pm

Promotional image from series 3 of the British crime drama The Good Ship Murder, showing two people standing on a ship’s deck at sunset. One is wearing a cruise uniform, and the other is dressed in a light blue shirt holding sunglasses. Around them are suitcases wrapped in yellow crime scene tape, with lifebuoys and the sea in the background.

The Good Ship Murder sets sail again for its third outing, trading sleigh bells for sea spray as a festive Christmas case kicks off another run of onboard intrigue. Shayne Ward returns as Jack Grayling, the crooner with a detective’s instincts, alongside Catherine Tyldesley’s razor-sharp First Officer Kate Woods, as murder once more threatens to spoil the cruise. From Cannes to Istanbul and Ibiza to Crete, each port brings postcard views and deadly secrets. Sun-soaked, slyly suspenseful and delightfully escapist, this is crime-solving with a cocktail in hand.

What's new on U?

NCIS: New Orleans (Season 7)

Coming soon to U and U&Drama

Promotional image from season 7 of the US crime drama series NCIS: New Orleans, showing a group of people standing together on a dock at sunset. The background features a calm sea, a boat, and a warm orange sky with scattered clouds. Some individuals are wearing casual clothing, while one has an NCIS cap and jacket.

NCIS: New Orleans returns for its seventh and final chapter with the city under siege and the stakes painfully real. Scott Bakula leads the team as Dwayne Pride, tackling murder and corruption amid lockdowns, PPE shortages and a chilling case aboard a quarantined ship. As cases collide with personal reckonings for Vanessa Ferlito, Necar Zadegan and CCH Pounder, long-running bonds are tested and hard-won truths finally surface. Gritty, grounded and unexpectedly tender, this farewell season closes the book with heart, bite and a deep sense of family.

New on WATCH FREE UK

Judge Judy

Stream now on WATCH FREE UK

Judge Judy storms into the courtroom with the gavel already swinging. Judge Judy Sheindlin presides over hundreds of classic cases, slicing through excuses, emotional blow-ups and bare-faced nonsense with trademark speed and steel. With WATCH FREE UK offering over 500 iconic episodes to stream for free, there’s no shortage of family feuds, neighbourly fallouts and brutal truths. Punchy, addictive and gloriously no-nonsense, this is justice served fast and with zero patience for fools.