'Harry Potter' and 12 more must-see shows this fall

The irony of the 2026 fall TV season is that the most anticipated new series of the fall season doesn't even debut in the fall, but four days later. On Christmas Day.

That's the winter, as you are probably aware. So what gives?

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" arrives Dec. 25, but the TV industry has long considered all of December part of the fall, or fall/holiday season. (The winter TV season? That starts in January.)

As confusing as this may seem, the TV industry may just be acknowledging what everybody who consumes TV for leisure already knows: Seasons no longer matter. They're dates on the calendar, or the solstice, and the equinox, when Earth tilts closest to the sun or farthest away. What in heaven's name does any of this have to do with TV anyway?

In truth, pretty much nothing, or certainly nothing any longer. ABC and Fox will launch exactly zero scripted series this fall (a first). To pay for those monumental contracts — $100 billion for the 2023-33 cycle — the NFL has crept deeper and deeper into broadcast prime time and streaming. Maybe the better term now for "fall TV season" is "football TV season?"

Burdened with their own extraordinary fixed costs — some dating back a few years to when they were first trying to get attention — the streamers will still have some important launches during the next three months, but just a lot fewer.

In fact, there is almost nothing during these next three months that will demand your immediate attention. Catch up with "East of Eden" (Oct. 1) or Dig" (Peacock, Nov. 23) the next day, or the following week, or whenever you've got a precious half hour that you haven't already devoted to some other TV show you're catching up on.

Do enough catching up, and seasons run into seasons — spring to summer to fall — which has become the familiar ritual of TV viewers everywhere. So think of the 2026 TV fall season as just a part of 2026 TV winterspringsummerfall. There's a lot of great stuff to watch, but good luck finding the time to watch it all. 

Except that "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" just may be the exception.

Even for a big budget streaming series, this behemoth is a mashup of superlatives. The most expensive TV series ever ($100 million per episode, or nearly $1 billion for the first season alone) follows one of the most successful film series ever — nearly $8 billion in box office for the eight films, from 2001 to 2011. 

So, yes, this could be the one absolute must-see coming up. Hits still matter on TV, after all, no matter the season. Here are 13 highlights.

East of Eden

Oct. 1, Netflix

Over seven parts, Netflix takes a big swing at the 1952 John Steinbeck multigenerational epic, about brothers Cal (Joseph Zada) and Aron (Joe Anders), who live in California's Salinas valley at the turn of the last century, and their complicated/difficult/ruthless mother Cathy Ames (Florence Pugh).

Netflix must have liked the full-circle element to this production, because Zoe Kazan — granddaughter of Elia Kazan, who first directed this in 1955 with James Dean as the rebellious Cal — is the showrunner. With its many biblical analogs (Cal/Aron = Cain/Abel), "Eden" explores plenty of resonant themes: generational guilt, and the Hebrew word "timshel" ("thou may") about how individuals have a choice between goodness and sin.

War

9 p.m. Oct. 1, HBO

Film star Carla Duval (Sienna Miller) sets up her wayward husband and tech social media titan Morgan Henderson (Dominic West) with a one-night stand to entrap him. Next stop, the law firms, as this London power couple battle to the end, or at least until Duval secures most of his fortune. This anthology series from George Kay ("Lupin") feels like a blend of "Billions" and "The Good Wife" — big money, big law, big egos and lots of gloss — all set in a London that's caught in a vortex of wealth and power. The POV here is mostly that of a young lawyer on the make, Johnny Warren (Archie Renaux, "Alien: Romulus").

Tip Toe

Oct. 2, Starz

Three celebrated U.K. stars — onscreen and off — are attached to this five-parter about an escalating domestic spat between Manchester neighbors, due in part to some toxic online behavior, and the electrician's closeted son. (The title "Tip Toe" refers to how prejudices have a way of creeping back into public and private discourse.) This was created by acclaimed British TV writer Russell T Davies — "Queer as Folk," "A Very English Scandal" and "Doctor Who" — and has already aired in the U.K. where the reviews were good, but also noted just how bleak this was. Starring David Morrissey and Alan Cumming.

NCIS: New York

Oct. 6, 9 p.m. on CBS

Just to answer the immediate question, yes, this latest "NCIS" extension does shoot in New York, and not on some cavernous soundstage in L.A. Or, according to Paramount, "New York City itself will play a major role in the show." All sorts of locations will appear in future episodes, from Brooklyn Heights, to the Queensboro Bridge, to Central Park. In the show, LL Cool J is back as Special Agent Sam Hanna of "NCIS: LA" (which wrapped three years ago). New York native Hanna's got a new partner, special agent Nick Schaeffer (Scott Caan) and boss, assistant special agent-in-charge Robyn Wells (Jennifer Beals)

Carrie

Oct. 7, Prime

Stephen King's classic 1974 novel hardly needs an introduction, but just in case: Bullied high school teen with telekinetic powers (Summer H. Powell) gets back at bullies after a prom prank, and by "get back" we mean burning down the gym and everyone one in it. Straightforward enough story, but perhaps the intrigue here is the director, Mike Flanagan, who doesn't always stick to a straight adaption of the source material ("The Haunting of Hill House") but still manages to create something original and horrifying ("The Haunting of Hill House"). All eight episodes drop in one day.

Small Prophets

Oct. 7, Apple TV

An eccentric widower, Michael (Pearce Quigley) has been mourning his long-gone lover who vanished years earlier, and is now consumed by just one question: Will he ever see her again? Aware of this obsession, his father (Michael Palin) gives him an alchemy recipe, and Michael sets about creating "homunculi" — tiny spirits that predict the future. This six-part dramedy has already aired in the U.K., where it got rapturous reviews — perhaps the reason this is the rare series Apple actually bought. "Small Prophets" comes from Mackenzie Crook, whom you've seen in many movies (the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise) and perhaps one esteemed series, "Detectorists" (a couple of guys looking for their fortune with metal detectors).

Cupertino

Oct. 8, 10 p.m. on CBS

This David vs. Goliath Silicon Valley-set legal drama is about a co-founder of a tech firm (Mike Colter) who gets dumped and cheated out of his stock options. He gets together with another lawyer (Rachel Keller) and it's on. Expect this procedural to explore many of our current obsessions, like Big Tech and A.I. But perhaps the biggest draw is behind the camera — Robert and Michelle King, who have produced so many addictive series over the years, from "The Good Wife" to "Elsbeth."

VisionQuest

Oct. 14 on Disney+

This latest from the Marvelverse is the final leg of the trilogy that began back with "WandaVision" and continued with "Agatha After All." Vision — who you probably remember from "WandaVision," with Paul Bettany continuing in the role — has an unusually complicated backstory, even for a Marvel hero, but his movie/TV trajectory is a little simpler: He was the AI assistant for Tony Stark, then became a full-fledged character in 2015's "Avengers: Age of Ultron." He got his close-up in 2021's hugely inventive "WandaVision," a sendup of television itself. The tone of "VisionQuest" sounds more somber, contemplative and current, as in: Just how human (or inhuman) can artificial intelligence become? The eight episodes will stream weekly.

The Good Daughter

Nov. 12, Peacock

Two sisters, Sam (Rose Byrne) and Charlotte, or "Charlie" (Meghann Fahy) are attorneys — the latter in New York, the former in their Georgia hometown — with a traumatic past, a traumatic present and their difficult father, Rusty, also a lawyer (Brendan Gleeson) who doesn't much help their trauma. This six-parter is based on the 2017 bestseller from Karin Slaughter, who is also showrunner.

The Altruists

Nov. 19, Netflix 

This is the Sam Bankman-Fried eight-part biopic you may have heard of — about the "effective altruism" FTX fraudster who helped build a huge crypto firm that collapsed into a rubble heap. (in 2024, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in a federal pen.) Julia Garner plays his girlfriend, and co-CEO Caroline Ellison, while Anthony Boyle is Bankman Fried. Perhaps the more interesting casting choices are Paul Reiser and Robin Weigert as his parents..

Dig

Nov. 23, Peacock

This 10-parter starring Amy Poehler as an archaeologist and Hugh Laurie as her mentor is about a "dig" at an archaeological site in Greece, where artifacts go missing, leading to an international conspiracy. Sounds like a lot, but also like a lot of fun: This workplace dramedy, based on Kate Myers' 2023 bestseller, "Excavations," was created by Mike Schur, of "The Good Place" and "Parks and Recreation."

Blade Runner 2099

Nov. 25, Prime

"Blade Runner" returns to Los Angeles 50 years after the events of Denis Villeneuve's film "Blade Runner 2049" (2017) which itself followed Ridley Scott's classic from 1982. And no — the future did not improve exactly, unless you are replicant. In this eight-parter, Olwen (Michelle Yeoh) is a veteran replicant Blade runner (a cop that hunts down rogue replicants) partnered with a human, Cora (Hunter Schafer) who pretends to be a replicant to survive.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Dec. 25, HBO Max

Harry's origin story tracks his escape from the Dursleys to Hogwarts, along with all the crowd favorites from that early book (and film), like spellcraft, Quidditch matches and iconic characters, from Severus Snape (Paapa Essiedu) to Albus Dumbledore (John Lithgow). (The big trio, largely newcomers, are Dominic McLaughlin as Harry, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley.) Season one runs eight episodes, with Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod, both of "Succession," writing and directing.