The Best New Shows on TV This Week

Lots of fresh TV shows and returning seasons are starting this week, both on television and streaming services.

Need a new show to watch alone, with your partner, or with friends? Or maybe you’re wondering if a show you already love has new episodes available? We can help with that!

I love a good movie, but honestly, I’m really getting into TV shows and streaming series these days. They take a bit more time – you really invest in the characters and stories over the long haul, which is so rewarding. This week, there are tons of new options, whether you’re looking for your next big binge-worthy obsession or just something to have on while you’re getting things done around the house.

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

This week offers some great viewing options! Celebrate 50 years of The Muppet Show, enjoy a new dark comedy with Keke Palmer, or check out a fresh docu-series timed perfectly with the Winter Olympics. Plus, Super Bowl 60 is this Sunday, February 8th, at 6:30 PM Eastern on NBC.

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

Vanished

Kaley Cuoco stars in this exciting new thriller as a woman whose romantic getaway to the South of France takes a terrifying turn when her boyfriend vanishes on a train, pulling her into a dangerous mystery.

Where to watch Vanished: The series began streaming on MGM+ on February 1.

Glitter & Gold: Ice Dancing

This three-part documentary series follows the intense and emotional journeys of professional ice dance teams as they prepare for the 2026 Winter Olympics, pushing themselves to their physical and mental limits.

All three episodes of Glitter & Gold: Ice Dancing are now available to stream on Netflix, starting February 1st.

The Muppet Show

Join Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the Muppets as they celebrate 50 years of their classic comedy show in this fun and lively special, featuring guest star Sabrina Carpenter!

You can watch The Muppet Show special on ABC at 9 PM Eastern Time on February 4th. It will also be available to stream on Disney+ starting at 3 AM Eastern Time that same day.

The Lincoln Lawyer

In the fourth season, determined lawyer Mickey Haller finds himself in a tough spot: defending a murder case while also fighting to prove his own innocence. He’s up against a relentless district attorney as he tries to uncover the real killer.

Where to watch The Lincoln Lawyer: All 10 episodes will begin streaming on Netflix on February 4.

The ’Burbs

This movie follows a young couple who start to suspect their new neighbor – who moved into the old, spooky Victorian house down the street – is hiding something dangerous. It’s a fresh take on a classic 1989 horror-comedy.

Where to watch The ’Burbs: All episodes will begin streaming exclusively on Peacock on February 8.

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 one reality show from the early 2000s, called Are You Hot?, directly addressed this obsession. The show brought together people from across America who considered themselves attractive and then judged their confidence in front of judges, a live audience, and television viewers. The country was divided into four regions, and thousands of applicants competed to represent their area in the final round. It was a pretty awful show – contestants who were rejected were often visibly upset. Lorenzo Lamas was one of the judges, and a very muscular man named Sean Cassidy was a fan favorite. You can actually find the first episode online on YouTube.

Benefits Street

American reality TV can be shocking, but British shows sometimes go even further. From 2014 to 2015, Channel 4 aired two seasons of Benefits Street, a program that followed struggling residents in Birmingham who received government assistance while also facing issues like crime and unemployment. The show reinforced negative stereotypes about people on welfare, suggesting they were lazy and didn’t contribute to society. It quickly sparked outrage, 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 families literally walked in each other’s shoes – or, in this case, skin. Using special effects makeup, a white family and a Black family swapped races for six weeks as a social experiment. While it initially received some positive feedback, the show also faced criticism for reinforcing racial stereotypes and using offensive language. Surprisingly, it was produced by Ice Cube, and though likely intended to be thought-provoking, it’s hard to believe the concept was ever seriously considered.

Born in the Wild

The Lifetime series Born in the Wild (2015) featured a deeply troubling concept: couples choosing to give birth in the wilderness without medical help, simply for the sake of a TV show. While it’s debatable how much real danger these parents faced—given the presence of a full production crew and experts—the show’s premise of needlessly risking an infant’s life and its dismissive attitude toward modern medicine quickly turned many viewers away.

Boy Meets Boy

Ever wondered why it took so long for The Bachelor to have a gay season? It turns out they actually did a similar show before, but it was done in a really questionable way. 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 later revealed that half the contestants were actually straight. The show offered a prize – money and a trip to New Zealand – but with a catch: if the final pick was gay, both men would win. If the winner was straight, only he would get the prize. Essentially, it was a show where straight men pretended to be gay to deceive a gay man for a cash prize.

Kid Nation

During the pandemic, many people 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. While it was briefly popular, the show only lasted one season and faced criticism for potentially breaking child labor laws. Over time, Kid Nation has gained a cult following, with viewers appreciating its honest and often chaotic portrayal of community building and how children navigate real-world problems.

The Pickup Artist

It seems unbelievable, but people actually bought into the idea that a man calling himself Mystery – who dressed like a pirate-magician – could use special techniques to get dates. That’s the idea behind the show The Pickup Artist, which followed Erik von Markovik, a self-proclaimed dating expert, as he coached men struggling with romance. He gave them assignments and advice on attracting women. While there’s nothing wrong with helping people improve their dating skills, the show’s focus on manipulation and deceit felt more creepy and harmful than charming.

The Swan

Whenever people discuss truly awful reality TV, the show The Swan always comes up. It ran for two seasons and followed women who were given complete physical transformations over three months, including significant cosmetic surgery, all in the name of becoming “beautiful.” At the end, 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 standards; it pressured ordinary women into undergoing drastic procedures and encouraged superficial judgment – and that’s just scratching the surface of how problematic it was.

Who’s Your Daddy?

The show Who’s Your Daddy? was exactly as bizarre as it sounds, and arguably even more so. Adopted adults who never met their birth fathers had to choose the correct man from a lineup of potential candidates. If they guessed right, they won money. If they guessed wrong, the imposter won instead. Thankfully, regardless of the outcome, a reunion with a biological parent always happened. Only one episode aired as a special in 2005, and due to poor viewership, the remaining episodes were shown on Fox Reality Channel later that year—fittingly, on Father’s Day.

There’s Something About Miriam

When it comes to dating shows with a dark twist, There’s Something About Miriam really stands out. The show’s premise—men competing for the affection of a young Mexican model through challenges and dates—seems harmless enough. However, the model, Miriam Rivera, is a trans woman, and the contestants were unaware of this fact. Rivera didn’t reveal she was trans until after she’d chosen a winner. Disappointingly, and predictably, the contestants—including the one who ‘won’—tried to sue the network to stop the show from airing. Instead of promoting understanding, the show relied on harmful stereotypes and sensationalized the idea of someone keeping their identity a secret, which is especially damaging in a world that’s often unwelcoming to transgender people.

2026-02-03 20:27