6 Upcoming Netflix Shows You Cannot Miss

2 days ago 7

Published Apr 12, 2026, 5:26 AM EDT

Netflix’s yearly lineup reveal has basically become an event of its own at this point. Every year, millions of viewers hold their breath as the streamer reveals what it has in store. More often than not, there’s something for everyone in there. Netflix is practically known for its diverse range of programming that includes prestige dramas, comedies, adaptations, and so much more.

Some of these are predictable renewals or continuations of beloved stories, but many come as pleasant surprises that offer something completely new. Now, 2026 has been no different. Just four months into the year, and Netflix has already dropped some pretty heavy hitters, but let’s just say that the fun is just getting started, because here are upcoming Netflix shows that just can’t be missed.

6 'Stranger Things: Tales From '85'

April 23, 2026

Stranger Things might have come to an end, but fans don’t have to say goodbye to Hawkins just yet. Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 is the next chapter in the Duffer Brothers’ ambitious universe. The animated spin-off is set between Stranger Things Seasons 2 and 3, right when things were almost normal. The series brings back the core gang, now as cartoons, as they dive into yet another supernatural mystery and deal with new monsters from the Upside Down. However, unlike the main show, this version of the story leans into a more vibrant, slightly lighter energy while still staying true to the source material.

Of course, animation opens up the Stranger Things universe to a host of storytelling possibilities that the live-action series might not have been able to explore. The gang is also joined by a new character, Nikki Baxter (Odessa A’zion), who adds a fresh spin to the familiar dynamic. Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 revolves around a central mystery that seems to be connected to both the Upside Down and the strange experiments tied to Hawkins Lab. The animated series isn’t just revisiting Hawkins for nostalgia’s sake. Instead, it is actively expanding it and adding new layers to the existing story, and that’s what makes its April 23 premiere all the more exciting.

5 'The Body'

Fall 2026

Megan Fox, wet in her prom dress, in Jennifer's Body

The Body already sounds like the perfectly chaotic coming-of-age psychodrama with dark undertones. The show, created by Quinn Shephard, begins with a Catholic school dance-team initiation that goes horribly wrong and triggers a wave of prophetic visions among a group of teenage girls. This quickly spirals into full-blown mass hysteria. The upcoming series promises to tackle themes of teenage identity, religion, and power as these girls navigate guilt, fear, and the pressures of growing up.

The Body draws inspiration from films including Carrie and Jennifer’s Body, and is meant to be campy in its tone to reflect its messy and unhinged narrative. The series also boasts a strong ensemble cast, including Kristina Bogic, Sara Boustany, Geena Meszaros, and Sofia Wylie. The Body will feature eight episodes that will feature a mix of young and adult perspectives. An exact release date has not been announced, but the psychodrama is expected to be a part of Netflix’s fall 2026 lineup.

4 'Little House on the Prairie'

July 9, 2026

Karen Grassle as Caroline Ingalls and Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls in 'Little House on the Prairie'

Netflix is breathing new life into Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie, and the anticipation is too real. The adaptation, based on the author’s semi-autobiographical novels, blends family drama with a sweeping origin story of the American West. The series is set to follow Alice Halsey as Laura Ingalls, a curious and strong-willed young girl surrounded by the harsh realities of the 19th century. The audience sees this world through her eyes, as she navigates both the innocence and intensity of childhood. The series stars Luke Bracey, Crosby Fitzgetald, and Skywalker Hughes as the rest of the Ingalls family, along with a host of other characters, including settlers, indigenous families, and more.

Netflix’s reimagining of Little House's famous story retains the warmth and optimism of its 1974 predecessor but focuses on the emotional realism and survival stakes. The fact that the streamer has renewed the series for Season 2 even before its debut on July 9 has already set major expectations for Little House on the Prairie. If the show really does manage to present a more authentic take on frontier life, it has the potential to be one of Netflix’s most celebrated projects.

Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars

Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.

APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone.

NEXT QUESTION →

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.

AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely.

NEXT QUESTION →

What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.

AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.

ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen.

NEXT QUESTION →

Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.

AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches.

NEXT QUESTION →

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.

AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts.

NEXT QUESTION →

Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of.

AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are.

NEXT QUESTION →

What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.

AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot.

REVEAL MY WORLD →

Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things.

You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door.

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you.

You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.

Blade Runner

You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either.
In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything.

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it.

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way.

You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

3 'Man on Fire'

April 30, 2026

A man with a gun standing by a car in Man on Fire.

Man on Fire is set to be a reimagining of A.J. Quinnell’s 1980 novel of the same name. The series follows Special Forces mercenary John Creasy, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, as a man haunted by PTSD. His attempt at a fresh start is disrupted when he is pulled back into the world of danger, and teenager Poe Rayburn (Billie Boulet) becomes his responsibility. The show promises to create a tense, layered world shaped by unpredictability, organized crime, and intelligence operations that blur moral lines at times.

The action thriller is exhilarating, but it’s also character-driven and rooted in Creasy’s past. Man on Fire Season 1 features 8 fast-paced episodes and premieres on April 30. The story will obviously feel familiar to viewers who remember the 2004 film adaptation starring Denzel Washington in the lead, but this version seems far more expansive in its approach. Instead of condensing Creasy’s journey to a single revenge arc, the TV show format allows the narrative to explore his trauma and unraveling in depth, and that’s a pretty good reason to tune in.

2 'The Boroughs'

May 21, 2026

Five older people standing in the dark in The Boroughs.

The Duffer Brothers are back with what looks like another guaranteed hit. The Boroughs is a pretty unique sci-fi mystery set in a retirement community. The story centers on a group of elderly residents whose peaceful lives are disrupted when a grieving newcomer experiences a terrifying, otherworldly encounter. The incident is far from isolated, though, because the group quickly begins to uncover a much larger and more dangerous secret surrounding their community.

The deeper they dig, the more they realize that the threat in question is not easy to tackle. The Boroughs promises to blend heart, humor, and horror, and fill the Stranger Things-shaped hole left in many fans’ hearts. Not to mention that the cast alone, featuring veterans including Geena Davis, Bill Pullman, Alfred Molina, Clarke Peters, and more, is reason enough to tune in. The eight-episode series is set to premiere on May 21 and is already feeling like a story that uses sci-fi beats to explore something far more human underneath.

1 'East of Eden'

TBA

James Dean as Cal Trask, looking intensely at something offscreen in East of Eden

East of Eden is shaping up to be one of Netflix’s most ambitious literary adaptations yet. The upcoming series, based on John Steinbeck’s iconic 1952 novel, will be a multi-generational family saga that follows Cathy Ames (Florence Pugh), a complex and borderline unsettling character. The limited series will span decades and trace the lives of the Trask family as their relationships unravel under the weight of jealousy and guilt. The story actually mirrors the biblical tale of Cain and Abel through the dynamic of the brothers to show how generational patterns inevitably repeat themselves over time.

What makes this adaptation particularly interesting is its decision to center Cath and present the narrative through one of literature’s most infamous antiheroes. Pugh is joined by a strong ensemble cast, including Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask, Mike Faist as Charles Trask, and Hoon Lee as Lee. All of this sets East of Eden on the path of becoming a prestige drama that reinterprets a classic for the modern generation. A release date for the limited series has not been revealed yet.

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