Gilby Santos

Look, I’ll be honest. We’re only a couple of months into the year, and somehow, we’ve already been spoiled. We’ve got returning heavy-hitters that somehow got even better, and a couple of brand-new shows that came out of absolute nowhere to steal my whole heart. I’ve got you. Here are the five best shows of early 2026, counting down to the absolute best thing I’ve seen so far. Okay, I need you to trust me on this one.

While I'm normally not a fan of franchises and legacy sequels, and 2026 is full of them, the year's slate feels like a coordinated statement from Hollywood. Having not enjoyed any of the so-called blockbusters in 2025, I suspect 2026 will offer more of the same. Yet, I’m morbidly curious about the fate of these massive budget endeavors. They represent a clear, high-stakes effort by traditional studios to reclaim relevance, seemingly driven by market analysis more than creative necessity.

Walking the electrifying floor of the 2025 Lisbon Web Summit feels like stepping directly into the future. It’s a record-breaking convergence of ambition: over 2,700 startups, a massive surge of investors, and a palpable focus on AI, all buzzing with a global energy. But beyond the staggering numbers, the real magic is in discovering the human-centric ideas that cut through the noise. After days of incredible conversations and demos, a few companies rose to the top.