Turning over a new leaf is nice and all, but we all know that there’s nothing the TV industry loves more than sticking with what works. And when what works is Severance, we’ll take it. The new year is kicking off with a lot of shows that aren’t new, like Severance (finally back for Season 2 on Apple TV+), The Night Agent (back for Season 2 on Netflix), and The Traitors (back for Season 3 on Peacock). Even this month’s big new shows have something familiar about them: Max’s The Pitt, starring Noah Wyle and executive produced by John Wells, is basically ER but in Pittsburgh. Why mess with success?

Our guide to the best TV and streaming movies in January is divided into three sections: the best shows to watch this month, the best shows to watch by streaming service, and a calendar of TV highlights. Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it below. 

More: 

The best shows to watch in January

The Pitt (Jan. 9, Max)

Yinz get ready for an ER reunion in Pittsburgh. John Wells, longtime showrunner of the hit medical drama, is teaming up with Noah Wyle for a new series following healthcare workers at a Pittsburgh hospital. Wyle will play a doctor pulling things out of people’s bodies and helping out a new set of interns, and yes, it will be stressful. Tracy Ifeachor, Patrick Marron Ball, Supriya Ganesh, and Fiona Dourif also star. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Traitors Season 3 (Jan. 9, Peacock)

Did you feel a shift in the air? It’s because there are once again some traitors in our midst. The hit reality series returns for its third season, with the great Alan Cumming (and his many elaborate outfits) returning as host, and a whole new cast of famous faces. The eclectic group of potential traitors and faithfuls includes Tom “Worm With a Mustache” Sandoval, Zac Efron’s brother Dylan, Britney Spears’ ex-husband Sam Asghari, Dorinda “She’s Startin’” Medley, Bob the Drag Queen, and more. It’s time to have some fun. –Allison Picurro [Teaser]

XO, Kitty Season 2 (Jan. 16, Netflix)

The To All the Boys cinematic universe continues on with the second season of its TV spin-off XO, Kitty. Anna Cathcart returns as Kitty, the love-happy matchmaker who ran into a bunch of relationship problems in Season 1 as she enrolled in an international school in Korea. In Season 2, she’s single and ready to mingle! But only casually. Yeah right. –Tim Surette [Teaser] [Everything to Know About XO, Kitty Season 2]

Severance Season 2 (Jan. 17, Apple TV+)

If you can even believe it, Severance is finally coming back to us. (Remember that Season 1 premiered in February 2022.) The last time we checked in on the severed floor, the innies had broken free, waking up in the outside world to try to get to the bottom of what’s really going on at Lumon Industries. Aside from the enigmatic teaser Apple released in October, there’s not much to know about Season 2 yet, but we do know that an exciting roster of new cast members, including Alia Shawkat, Bob Balaban, Gwendoline Christie, John Noble, and Merritt Wever, are joining the mix. Praise Kier. –Allison Picurro [Trailer] [Everything to know about Severance Season 2]

Prime Target (Jan. 22, Apple TV+)

After stealing our hearts in One Day, Leo Woodall is back as the leading man of a new series. In Prime Target, he plays Edward Brooks, a math whiz about to make a discovery that could give him unprecedented control over every computer in the world. But that path becomes complicated when Edward finds himself at the center of a conspiracy. The only person he can trust is NSA agent Taylah Sanders (Quintessa Swindell), who has been secretly watching mathematicians from the shadows. –Kat Moon

The Night Agent Season 2 (Jan. 23, Netflix)

No one knew what The Night Agent was when it came out in 2023, but that’s not the case for Season 2. The debut season of Shawn Ryan’s thriller became Netflix’s seventh-most watched English-language show of all time, surprising just about everyone. Most details are under wraps, but in Season 2, FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso), working toward becoming a full-fledged Night Agent, will travel to Thailand and New York City. –Tim Surette [Teaser] [Everything to Know About The Night Agent Season 2]

Paradise (Jan. 28, Hulu)

Sterling K. Brown and This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman reunite for a series a lot more terrifying than malfunctioning crock pots. This super-secret project features Brown playing a secret service agent and involves a murder in an exclusive community, and also stars James Marsden, Julianne Nicholson, and Sarah Shahi. There’s also a twist in it that’s so big, you’ll be all like, “Whoa, what a twist.” I really can’t say anything more about it without spoiling the surprises, so just know that if you enjoyed all those sci-fi-influenced mystery thrillers shows that sprang up after Lost became a big hit, you might dig this. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

What’s on Netflix, Max, Hulu, Amazon, and more in January

Netflix’s best new shows and movies in January

New year, same overwhelming influx of Netflix shows and movies that you can’t keep up with. The world’s biggest streaming service is starting 2025 with a bang, headlined by the second season of The Night Agent, one of Netflix’s most-watched shows ever. This time, Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) is leaving the comfy confines of D.C. and going international on his next adventure. Also coming in the month are the second season of the romance series XO, Kitty, the intriguing Japanese drama Asura, Season 2 of The Recruit, the British comedy special Cunk on Life, and the violent Western American Primeval. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Netflix in January, plus everything coming to and leaving Netflix in January.

More on Netflix:

HBO and Max’s best new shows and movies in January

Happy New Year! If you’re not ready to start thinking about the passage of time just yet, allow Max’s new releases to provide a distraction. The fifth season of the adult animated DC series Harley Quinn hits Max in January, while The Pitt, a new medical series from ER‘s John Wells, also premieres this month. In terms of movies, Max’s partnership with A24 continues as A Different Man, The Front Room, and Look Into My Eyes hit the streaming service. Also dropping this month are a new stand-up special from Bill Maher and the new documentary Son of Ecstasy, about an unusual rivalry at the center of 1990s ecstasy trade in Arizona. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on HBO and Max in January, plus everything coming to HBO and Max in January.

More on HBO and Max:

Hulu’s best new shows and movies in January

Hulu’s New Year’s resolution? Take it easy on the watchable originals, apparently. January isn’t a busy month for the streamer, with just a pair of new exclusives worth checking out. First up is Paradise, one of those mystery box shows that will have you theorizing about what’s actually happening with every cliffhanger at the end of each episode. The drama comes from This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman and stars Sterling K. Brown as a man living in a tight-knit community that’s disrupted by a high-profile murder. Also coming to Hulu this month is the second season of Goosebumps, which stars David Schwimmer (the show will also stream on Disney+). You’ll also get a bunch of next-day premieres of broadcast shows from ABC and Fox, including the new Denis Leary comedy Going Dutch, the return of The Rookie, and the latest round of The Bachelor. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Hulu in January, plus everything coming to Hulu in January.

More on Hulu: 

Amazon Prime Video’s best new shows and movies in January

Prime Video is ringing in the new year with some big names. Headlining the streamer’s new movies and shows in January is Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon’s comedy You’re Cordially Invited, in which two families who don’t care for each other are accidentally booked to host weddings at the same venue on the same day. And in the middle of the month, Prime Video gets exclusive broadcasting rights to an NFL playoff game. January will also see Prime Video streaming Zoë Kravitz’s wacko horror film Blink Twice, starring Channing Tatum; the full series of How to Get Away With Murder and Monk; and new seasons of Prime Video originals The Rig, Harlem, and Tribunal Justice. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video in January, plus everything coming to Prime Video in January.

More on Amazon:

Peacock’s new shows and movies in January

TV’s most deceitful show is returning, and we can’t wait to be stabbed in the back. This January, Peacock’s new shows and movies are highlighted by Season 3 of The Traitors, the Emmy-winning reality competition hosted by Alan Cumming that pits reality show stars against each other in a cutthroat battle of deception and perception. This season’s participants include Bachelor in Paradise‘s Wells Adams, Selling Sunset‘s Chrishell Stause, WWE’s Nikki Garcia, and Vanderpump Rules‘ Tom Sandoval. For pure drama, Peacock is also offering the limited series Lockerbie: The Search for the Truth. Colin Firth stars as a man seeking justice after his daughter dies in a plane that exploded in a terrorist attack over Scotland. Here’s our list of everything coming to Peacock in January.

More on Peacock:

Paramount+’s new shows and movies in January

Paramount+ is trying out Dry January, but instead of foregoing booze, it seems to be giving up original programming worth watching. Sorry, I’m not sugarcoating anything. The one big release is Star Trek: Section 31, the first movie in the Star Trek universe created specifically for Paramount+. Michelle Yeoh reprises her role as Philippa Georgiou from Star Trek: Discovery, as she joins a secret division of Starfleet. Also coming in January are Slingshot, a sci-fi movie starring Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne; the WWII movie Murder Company; and the new CBS series Watson, starring Morris Chestnut in a modern-day retelling of Sherlock Holmes’ trusty sidekick. Here’s our list of everything coming to Paramount+ in January.

More on Paramount+:

Disney+’s new shows and movies in January

Who says spooky season ends with Halloween? This January, Disney+ is keeping the chills where they really belong — in the dead of winter — with the return of the R.L Stine anthology series Goosebumps (which will also stream on Hulu). Season 2, subtitled The Vanishing, follows a pair of fraternal twins living with their recently divorced dad, played by Friends‘ David Schwimmer. The first season was a showcase for a gloriously weird performance from Justin Long; here’s hoping Schwimmer gets the chance to go just as big. The month’s other notable premieres include the season finale of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and the debut of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, a new animated series set in a timeline where the web slinger is mentored by Norman Osborn instead of Tony Stark. Here’s our list of everything coming to Disney+ in January.

More on Disney+:

Tubi’s new shows and movies in January

Tubi heads into 2025 the same way it spent 2024: with a lot of free stuff for you to watch. The ad-supported streaming service is bringing five originals to its portfolio in January, but the highlights have to be the series Killing Eve and The Magicians. Killing Eve, which became a sensation when it premiered on BBC America in 2018, stars Grey’s Anatomy‘s Sandra Oh and My Mad Fat Diary‘s Jodie Comer as an MI5 agent and an assassin, respectively, who become entwined in a complicated game of cat and mouse. The Magicians aired on Syfy starting in 2015, and was co-created by Supernatural‘s Sera Gamble and based on Lev Grossman’s YA fantasy novels about a secret college for young people who have an affinity for practicing magic. Here’s our list of everything coming to Tubi in January.

More on streaming:

January TV calendar highlights

Wednesday, Jan. 1
Missing You (Limited Series, Netflix)

Thursday, Jan. 2
Animal Control (Season 3, Fox)
Cunk on Life (Comedy Special, Netflix)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Season 1, ABC)
Going Dutch (Season 1, Fox)
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth (Limited Series, Peacock)
Only Murders in the Building (Season 2 Broadcast Debut, ABC)
The Rig (Season 2, Prime Video)

Friday, Jan. 3
Love Is Blind: Germany (Season 1, Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 17, MTV)
Selling the City (Season 1, Netflix)
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Film, Netflix)
The Way Home (Season 3, Hallmark)

Sunday, Jan. 5
82nd Golden Globe Awards (Live Event, CBS)
Mayfair Witches (Season 2, AMC)
When Calls the Heart (Season 12, Hallmark)

Tuesday, Jan. 7
Deal or No Deal Island (Season 2, NBC)
Doc (Season 1, Fox)
The Rookie (Season 7, ABC)
Will Trent (Season 3, ABC)

Wednesday, Jan. 8
Celebrity Jeopardy! (Season 3, ABC)
Shifting Gears (Season 1, ABC)

Thursday, Jan. 9
American Primeval (Limited Series, Netflix)
Asura (Season 1, Netflix)
Hollywood Squares (Season 1, CBS)
On Call (Season 1, Prime Video)
The Pitt (Season 1, Max)
The Traitors (Season 3, Peacock)
The Upshaws (Part 6, Netflix)

Friday, Jan. 10
Goosebumps (Season 2, Hulu/Disney+)

Sunday, Jan. 12
2025 Critics Choice Awards
Rogue Heroes (Season 2, MGM+)

Tuesday, Jan. 14
Single’s Inferno (Season 4, Netflix)

Wednesday, Jan. 15
A Real Bug’s Life (Season 2, Disney+)

Thursday, Jan. 16
Castlevania: Nocturne (Season 2, Netflix)
Harley Quinn (Season 5, Max)
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night (Docuseries, Peacock)
Unstoppable (Film, Prime Video)
XO, Kitty (Season 2, Netflix)

Friday, Jan. 17
Back in Action (Film, Netflix)
The Couple Next Door (Season 1, Starz)
Molly-Mae: Behind It All (Docuseries, Prime Video)
NFL Icons (Season 4, MGM+)
Roy Wood Jr.: Lonely Flowers (Comedy Special, Hulu)
Severance (Season 2, Apple TV+)

Tuesday, Jan. 21
The Joe Schmo Show (Season 1, TBS)

Wednesday, Jan. 22
Prime Target (Season 1, Apple TV+)
W.A.G.s to Riches (Season 1, Netflix)

Thursday, Jan. 23
Harlem (Season 3, Prime Video)
The Night Agent (Season 2, Netflix)

Friday, Jan. 24
Star Trek: Section 31 (Film, Paramount+)

Saturday, Jan. 25
Kobe: The Making of a Legend (Docuseries, CNN)
Planet Earth: Asia (Docuseries, BBC America)

Sunday, Jan. 26
Watson (Season 1, CBS)

Monday, Jan. 27
The Bachelor (Season 29, ABC)

Tuesday, Jan. 28
Paradise (Season 1, Hulu)

Wednesday, Jan. 29
The Challenge: All Stars (Season 5, MTV)
Mythic Quest (Season 4, Apple TV+)
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Season 1, Disney+)

Thursday, Jan. 30
Mo (Season 2, Netflix)
The Recruit (Season 2, Netflix)
Scamanda (Docuseries, ABC)
You’re Cordially Invited (Film, Prime Video)