The Best New Shows on Streaming This Week

A fresh week is here, bringing with it brand new TV series and the return of favorite shows on both television and streaming platforms.

Need a new show to watch alone, with your partner, or with friends? Or are you curious if any of your current favorites are returning with new seasons or episodes? We can help you find out!

Look, I love a good movie, but sometimes you want something you can really sink your teeth into, right? That’s where TV shows and streaming series come in. They ask for a little more of your time, but often reward you with a much richer experience. This week, there’s a ton of new content dropping, whether you’re searching for your next binge-worthy obsession or just something to have on while you’re doing chores. There’s definitely something for everyone.

New TV Shows, New Seasons & New Streaming Series Out This Week

This week offers a variety of new shows, including a darkly humorous horror series from Ryan Murphy on FX, a two-part documentary about a beloved comedian, and a thrilling heist story on Amazon Prime.

Grab your remotes or get your streaming devices set up and start watching these new TV shows! You can also find last week’s new releases here.

Star Search

The popular talent show Star Search is back after a 20-year hiatus, now streaming on Netflix! The reboot will showcase talented performers in music, comedy, dance, magic, and other areas, competing live each week. Anthony Anderson will host, and Chrissy Teigen, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Jelly Roll will serve as judges. Viewers at home will get to vote for their favorite contestants, deciding who advances in the competition.

You can watch new episodes of Star Search on Netflix starting January 20th. They’ll be released every Tuesday and Wednesday at 9 PM Eastern Time, and the series will run for five weeks.

The Beauty

Ryan Murphy’s new horror series, The Beauty, explores themes of science fiction, body horror, and societal issues. The story centers around a sexually transmitted virus that makes people incredibly attractive, but also has dangerous and potentially fatal consequences. The series, based on the comic book of the same name, stars Ashton Kutcher, Rebecca Hall, Bella Hadid, Evan Peters, and others.

You can watch the first three episodes of The Beauty on FX and Hulu starting January 21st at 9 PM Eastern Time. New episodes will then air every Wednesday at the same time.

Steal

In the thriller Steal, a regular employee at a pension fund (played by Sophie Turner) is forced to help a group of dangerous thieves steal billions of dollars. But as a detective investigates, they uncover a much larger and more complicated plot behind the robbery.

You can watch all six episodes of Steal starting January 21, only on Amazon Prime Video.

Finding Her Edge

In the story Finding Her Edge, a teenage figure skater from a famous skating family has to fake a relationship with her new partner to secure a sponsorship. But things get complicated because she still has feelings for her previous skating partner.

Where to watch Finding Her Edge: All episodes premiere exclusively on Netflix on January 22.

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!

This two-part documentary, created by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, takes a warm and funny look at the life and career of comedy icon Mel Brooks. Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! explores his most famous films, including Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, and Young Frankenstein, and celebrates his enduring humor.

The first part of the two-part series Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! will premiere on HBO January 22nd at 8 PM Eastern Time, followed by the second part the next day at the same time. Both parts will also be available to stream on HBO Max starting January 22nd.

The 10 Most Offensive Reality TV Shows Ever

Are You Hot?

We’ve always been preoccupied with physical appearance, even if we don’t admit it. But back in the early 2000s, one show took this obsession to the extreme. Are You Hot?, which aired briefly in 2003, brought together people from across the country who considered themselves attractive and then judged their confidence. The show divided the US into four regions and selected contestants from thousands of applicants to compete. It was a pretty awful show – those deemed unattractive were publicly humiliated, often leaving the stage in tears. Lorenzo Lamas was a judge, and a very muscular man named Sean Cassidy became a surprising fan favorite. You can actually find the entire first episode online on YouTube.

Benefits Street

American reality TV can be shocking, but some British shows take it to another level. Between 2014 and 2015, Channel 4 aired two seasons of Benefits Street, a program that followed the lives of people in Birmingham who were receiving government benefits and struggling with issues like crime, shoplifting, and unemployment. The show reinforced negative stereotypes about people on welfare, suggesting they are lazy and don’t contribute to society, and did little to challenge those ideas. It immediately sparked controversy, with participants receiving death threats and critics accusing the network of exploiting poverty for entertainment.

Black. White.

The 2006 show Black. White. explored what would happen if two families – one white and one Black – switched races for six weeks. Using special effects makeup, each family lived as the other, as a social experiment. While the show initially received some positive feedback, it also faced criticism for reinforcing racial stereotypes and using offensive language. Surprisingly, it was produced by Ice Cube, and while likely intended to be thought-provoking, it’s shocking the concept was ever considered.

Born in the Wild

As a lifelong movie and TV watcher, I have to say, some premises just feel wrong. Lifetime’s 2015 series Born in the Wild really bothered me. The whole idea – couples deliberately choosing to give birth in the wilderness, completely avoiding modern medical help – struck me as incredibly risky and irresponsible. It felt like needlessly putting a baby’s life in danger just for the sake of a show. I always wondered how much actual danger these couples were really in, considering all the cameras, producers, and medical personnel that reality TV usually has lurking nearby. But even putting that aside, the show’s basic idea and its seeming dismissal of the importance of doctors and hospitals were enough to make me switch channels after just one episode.

Boy Meets Boy

Ever wondered why it took so long for The Bachelor to have a season featuring gay contestants? Well, a show with a similar premise actually aired before, but it was handled poorly. Boy Meets Boy started as a dating show where a gay man would choose a partner from a group of male contestants. However, it was revealed partway through the season that half the contestants were actually straight. The prize money and a trip to New Zealand would be split between the gay man and his chosen partner only if the winner was also gay. If a straight man ‘won,’ he got all the money. Essentially, the show involved straight men pretending to be gay to deceive a gay man for a cash prize.

Kid Nation

During the pandemic, many people online rediscovered the reality show Kid Nation. The show featured a group of children, aged 8 to 15, attempting to build and run a self-sufficient town without any adults. Though it only lasted one season—and faced criticism for potentially violating child labor laws—Kid Nation has since gained a cult following. Viewers appreciate its honest and often chaotic portrayal of how communities work and how children navigate real-world problems.

The Pickup Artist

It’s easy to get drawn in by the idea that someone calling himself “Mystery” – a man who dresses like a pirate-magician – could actually teach men how to attract women. That’s the basis of the show The Pickup Artist, which followed Erik von Markovik, known as “Mystery,” as he coached men struggling with dating. He gave them assignments and advice on how to win over women. While there’s nothing wrong with helping people improve their dating skills, the show’s focus on manipulation and deception felt unsettling and exploitative rather than charming.

The Swan

Whenever people discuss particularly problematic reality TV, the show The Swan always comes up. Over two seasons, it followed women who were given complete physical transformations – including multiple cosmetic surgeries – over three months, with the goal of making them conventionally beautiful. At the end of each season, the women would compete in a pageant, and the one deemed to have changed the most was crowned “the Swan.” The show didn’t just promote unrealistic beauty ideals, shame women for their natural appearances, and encourage superficial judgment – its issues went much deeper than that.

Who’s Your Daddy?

The show Who’s Your Daddy? was exactly as bizarre as it sounds, and arguably even more so. Adopted adults with no knowledge of their birth fathers were presented with a lineup of men, all claiming to be their dad. If the contestant correctly identified their biological father, they won a cash prize. If they chose the wrong man, he got the money. The show aimed for a heartwarming reunion regardless, but it didn’t quite catch on. Only one episode aired as a 90-minute special in 2005, and the rest were shown on Fox Reality Channel later that year—fittingly, on Father’s Day—after the initial broadcast received poor ratings.

There’s Something About Miriam

When it comes to dating shows with a mean twist, There’s Something About Miriam really stands out. The show’s idea seemed simple enough: several men compete in challenges and go on dates with a young Mexican model, with the goal of winning her over. However, the model, Miriam Rivera, is a trans woman, and the men weren’t aware of this. Rivera didn’t reveal she was trans until after she’d chosen a winner. Unfortunately, and not surprisingly, the contestants—including the winner—tried to sue the network to stop the show from being broadcast. Rather than promoting understanding and acceptance, the show relied on harmful stereotypes and played on the shock of someone supposedly ‘hiding’ their identity.

2026-01-19 18:58