The 10 Fall TV Shows That Will Swing the Streaming Wars

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Here’s something that happened while I was scrolling through the annals of Netflix this weekend: I was feeling so overwhelmed by the streamer's overstuffed home page that I turned the TV off without choosing anything to watch. I swear, sometimes it feels like there’s so many shows to pick from that the sheer volume of options deters me from watching anything at all. It doesn’t help that HBO Max makes me scroll through the entire Magnolia Network lineup before I can reach my "Continue Watching" tab.

Sometimes, I just need the right show to inspire me again. The Bear season 4 did that in June. The Pitt and Severance worked their magic at the beginning of the year. But have we already seen the best TV show of the year so far?

Honestly, I don’t see anything beating the three shows I just mentioned. But we still have four months left in the year—and a surprise hit could still steal the heavyweight belt. Last week, we published a list of the 25 TV shows we’re excited for this fall, including the next Terminal List series, the return of Fallout, and even the premiere of Dutton Ranch (hopefully). But to my eye, there are only ten shows on the list that have a shot at sneaking into Esquire’s end-of-year top 10 list. (We keep a running tally of what we loved in 2025, then whittle it down to 10 at the end of the year.) Let’s go through each contender.

This might be a sacrilegious statement to director Ridley Scott—who once declared that James Cameron’s Aliens was the only good Alien movie outside of his own—but I enjoyed every Alien movie. If the worst film in your seven-film franchise is Alien Resurrection (1997), then you’re standing on solid ground. So, I’m incredibly intrigued by Alien’s first foray into TV. It hasn’t been easy for any TV show that expands from a film universe to a streaming series. HBO’s Dune: Prophecy and Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power weren’t met with much fanfare to continue, and Marvel’s TV shows on Disney+ certainly have their fair share of misses. Alien: Earth has the chance to break that pattern, especially since the series is helmed by Noah Hawley—who led the excellent fifth season of Fargo and the underrated X-Men spin-off series Legion. Alien: Earth also has Timothy Olyphant on board. After starring in Deadwood and Justified, I’d watch him in just about anything.

Domhnall Gleeson in ’The Paper.’

Remember when Thursday nights were appointment TV on NBC? Sadly, the network hasn’t produced a proper half-hour sitcom as good as The Office, 30 Rock, Community, and Parks and Recreation… well, ever since those shows ended. Peacock—NBC’s streaming home—is hoping to bring back the laughs with The Paper, a spin-off of The Office from creator Greg Daniels that follows a group of volunteer journalists working for a local newspaper in Ohio called The Truth Teller. The series stars Domhnall Gleeson (White House Plumbers), Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus season 2’s Italian front desk manager), and a few familiar faces. According to Variety, Dunder Mifflin’s Oscar is even set to return. Will The Paper challenge ABC’s Abbott Elementary as the reigning sitcom of 2025? Terrible bosses in dead-end jobs never stopped being funny.

As a native of the Greater Philadelphia Area, I often joke that everyone on Mare of Easttown sounded completely normal to me. All the youse, jawns, and wooders of the Delco accent just felt like home. So, it’s exciting that HBO is trying out another crime thriller this fall from Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby about a task force investigating a string of violent home invasions. Mark Ruffalo (Mickey 17) stars as the head of this new investigative unit, alongside Fabien Frankel (House of the Dragon). Last year, the former knight of the seven kingdoms told me all about working on his Philly accent—as well as accidentally ruffling some feathers when he called a hoagie a “baguette.” HBO is due for a standout prestige crime thriller after spending years trying to make True Detective into a successful anthology series. Is Task is the answer?

Jason Bateman and Jude Law on the set for ’Black Rabbit.’

I wish I had more to tell you about Black Rabbit, but Netflix hasn’t even released a trailer for this Jason Bateman and Jude Law-starring drama yet. But if Bateman can land another prestige TV hit on Netflix after Ozark, I’m ready to anoint the actor as the one guy who has somehow figured out how to compete with HBO and Apple TV+’s award-winning dramas on the streamer that’s currently touting Wednesday as its greatest export. According to Netflix, Bateman and Law star as brothers who own a New York City restaurant called Black Rabbit. They’re poised to become “New York’s hottest club”—as SNL’s Stefon would say—when one of the siblings’ shady pasts catches up to them. If Netflix can pull off this drama, it'll have one of its first true prestige hits since, well, Ozark.

In 2022, a 40-year-old Eli Manning covered his face in prosthetics and joined the walk-on Penn State football tryouts for a hilarious skit. Calling himself “Chad Powers,” he somehow tricked a handful of Penn State tryouts in the viral video. Now, Chad Powers is an entire series on Hulu starring Glen Powell (Hit Man) and Steve Zahn (Silo), where it seems like Powell’s Chad Powers will go on to make the team and keep his identity a secret. It’s a big risk for an A-list star like Powell to briefly leave the movie business behind for a lighthearted TV series. Chad Powers could either be a series far funnier than it has any right to be, or a failed Ted Lasso imitator.

You need to read this premise. According to Apple TV+, The Last Frontier follows an airplane transporting dangerous incarcerated criminals that crashes in the wilderness of Alaska. After the survivors escape custody and run amok, it’s up to U.S. Marshal Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke) to round them all up and save everyone from the wave of violence that just literally crashed into town. Sounds terrifying! Apple TV+ spent the first half of 2025 winning on comedies including The Studio, Your Friends & Neighbors, and Stick. Hell, the company is even resurrecting Ted Lasso for a fourth season. After the Brian Tyree Henry-starring Dope Thief came and went without much fanfar, will The Last Frontier finally give the streamer a great crime drama?

The best horror stories are usually reserved for movie theaters nowadays. You can’t exactly put bloody murder and demonic possessions on ABC without the threat of lil’ Jimmy’s eight-year-old eyes accidentally flipping the channel to some horrifying image that will scar the kid forever. Streaming is different. HBO Max’s It spin-off series has the chance to dominate the TV conversation this fall. Andy Muschetti, the director of the recent two-part It adaptation, will return to helm the series—as will Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise the Clown—but I’m most excited to see what newcomer Taylor Paige and 3 Body Problem’s Jovan Adepo bring to the table. Is Welcome to Derry ready to become the first TV series to really scare our socks off? I hope so.

Ever since Vince Gilligan hit it big with Breaking Bad and the even-longer-running Better Caul Saul, the successful TV creator hasn’t left the world of Walter White and Saul Goodman. He even made a Breaking Bad movie in 2019. So, when Gilligan finally finished Better Caul Saul and pitched a new idea, Apple TV+ won the bidding war and gave Gilligan a two-season pledge. That idea, titled Pluribus, is currently shrouded in mystery. According to the show’s official logline, “The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.” In a short teaser released in July, a woman was shown licking every donut in the box before setting them out for her coworkers. Better Caul Saul’s Rhea Seehorn is set to star, but Apple TV+ has yet to unveil a trailer or the main cast. Until then, Gilligan might just be sitting on another all-time great TV drama.

Stranger Things is finally coming to an end this year in a three-part season 5 that will cap off one of the most popular series in Netflix's history It’s a massive viewing event for the streamer's subscribers—taking place over three holidays at the end of 2025—and yet I’m still struggling to recall just where the story left off. Season 4 aired in summer 2022. For Stranger Things to wrap everything up in grand fashion, the Duffer brothers and their definitely-no-longer-preteens cast will need to create a satisfying ending that both satisfies long-term fans while not alienating viewers who haven’t kept up with every little easter egg during the show’s three-year absence. It’s a tall order, but one that Netflix is likely pulling out every stop in an effort to serve fans an actually satisfying finale. (Looking at you, Squid Game.)

Cole Hauser on the set of ’Yellowstone.’

Taylor Sheridan may have his hands full with Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, and Landman all debuting new seasons in the second half of the year, but his most-anticipated upcoming project is without a doubt Dutton Ranch. The first Yellowstone sequel series will reportedly star Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler) and Kelly Reilly (Beth Dutton) as the couple moves to a new ranch following the end of Yellowstone season 5. It’s the continuation of a series derailed by Sheridan and Kevin Costner’s behind-the-scenes feud, and the first test of whether or not Yellowstone can survive after a lukewarm series ending last December. Most likely, Sheridan is simply polishing the series for a big 2026 debut. He hasn’t seen one of his series canceled by the network yet. Plus, longtime Yellowstone fans deserve a fresh new start in the right direction.