January is all about TV shows. The weather outside is miserable, you’re still trying in vain to eat better in line with your misguided New Year’s resolutions, and nobody has any money. So it’s a good thing that the UK TV channels and streaming services have plenty of amazing new stuff to keep us entertained while we cover ourselves in blankets.

In the wake of the Stranger Things finale, Netflix is rolling out another of its big guns with the return of Regency romance Bridgerton. Meanwhile, the BBC is hitting big with another edition of The Traitors as well as Gladiators livening up Saturday nights once again. And for lovers of big-budget fantasy, the Game of Thrones world has expanded again with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

So let’s dive in and have a look at the essential telly you need to be watching over the course of this month, along with the service where you can find it.

Read more: The 12 movies you don’t want to miss in January

The Traitors S4 | 1 January (BBC)

Do you really need to be told why The Traitors is must-watch telly? After three top-quality series and a celebrity edition that might have just surpassed them all, the fourth series of Claudia Winkleman‘s journey into the world of betrayal and paranoia is back with a vengeance.

You’re probably watching it already, but in case you’ve been living under a rock, this year has already given us a Secret Traitor, some high-camp tasks, and statistically one of the worst Traitors in the history of any version. Seven million people are already watching, so why not join them?

The Night Manager S2 | 1 January (BBC)

Way back in 2016, The Night Manager became one of the most acclaimed adaptations of John Le Carré’s worlds of spies, earning two Emmys and three Golden Globes. A decade later, Tom Hiddleston is back as the titular former military officer, alongside Olivia Colman as a Foreign Office intelligence boss. This time around, Hiddleston’s character is living something of a quiet life until he is dragged into the orbit of ruthless Colombian businessman Teddy Dos Santos.

Read more: The Night Manager S1 recap: Everything that happened with Jonathan Pine ahead of S2 (Cosmopolitan, 7 min read)

Expect dizzying twists and shocking betrayals, as you’d expect from any Le Carré work. There’s also a real globe-trotting feel to this series, with South America sitting at the centre of the story. But with the pure dynamite of Hiddleston and Colman at the centre of it all, it can’t really fail.

Red Eye S2 | 1 January (ITV)

Red Eye was a surprise hit for ITV in 2025, delivering tense thrills and an utterly ludicrous plot set primarily within the confines of an aeroplane. This second series takes place at ground level, but sees Jing Lusi return as Detective Hana Li. And the big coup for series two is her co-star, who is none other than Line of Duty’s Martin Compston.

Detective Li is investigating the murder of an American diplomatic courier this time around, which leads her to the US Embassy’s head of security — played by Compston. They have a complex past relationship, which complicates the case as they work it together. Expect twists galore and don’t worry too much about whether it all makes sense.

Lynley | 5 January (BBC)

In the 2000s, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries paired the ultra-posh titular detective with a working class partner as they solved murder cases. Fans petitioned to stop the show being cancelled in 2007, but to no avail. Almost 20 years later, the BBC has hit the reboot button, with Leo Suter as Lynley and Sofia Barclay as his partner DS Barbara Havers.

Read more: Is BBC’s Lynley remake worth watching? (Yahoo Entertainment, 5 min read)

All four of the feature-length episodes are now available to stream on BBC iPlayer, so there’s plenty of fantastic mystery storytelling for you to get your teeth into. And if that’s not enough to persuade you, the tremendous Daniel Mays — no stranger to playing a cop or two — is in the supporting cast.

Waterloo Road S17 | 6 January (BBC)

The BBC’s long-running school drama is back for the seventh series since it was rebooted in 2023. Jon Richardson’s dastardly manipulator Darius Donovan has now secured himself a spot at the right hand of headteacher Dame Stella Drake (Lindsey Coulson). Not only that, but he has encouraged a load of kids with troubled pasts to enrol at the school. Surely that can only go well?

This series also features the return of Denise Welch as Steph Haydock — the former French teacher she last played in 2010. That’s bound to put the cat among the pigeons. The whole series debuts at once on BBC iPlayer, but it also airs two episodes weekly on BBC One.

Can You Keep a Secret? | 7 January (BBC)

If you’re casting a UK sitcom and you need a central couple, it’s difficult to think of a better duo than Dawn French and Mark Heap. In this six-part comedy, they portray a West Country couple who partake in a decidedly odd bit of criminality — loosely inspired by the infamous case of the “canoe man” John Darwin.

Heap’s character is mistakenly declared dead, which provides them with an opportunity to claim his life insurance and enjoy the payout. The couple’s worried son — portrayed by Submarine standout Craig Roberts — is caught in the middle of it all. With so much comedy talent in front of the camera, there’s no chance that this isn’t brilliant.

Patience S2 | 7 January (Channel 4)

Last year, Channel 4 crime drama Patience introduced us to its title character — an autistic police archivist played by Ella Maisy Purvis. The show saw her drawn into investigating various crimes alongside a police detective. Purvis, who is herself neurodivergent, received plaudits for her authenticity and sensitivity in portraying the character.

This second series gives Patience a new police partner in the shape of Jessica Hynes’ DI Frankie Monroe, as well as giving the new duo plenty of crimes to get their teeth into in the city of York.

A Thousand Blows S2 | 9 January (Disney+)

Steven Knight’s 19th-century drama A Thousand Blows showcased the intersection between an all-female crime syndicate and the underground world of bare-knuckle fighting. Erin Doherty, Malachi Kirby and the almighty Stephen Graham led the cast.

Read more: The true story behind A Thousand Blows, as told by the Disney+ show’s cast (Yahoo Entertainment, 10 min read)

In this second run, there’s a power struggle at the top of the Forty Elephants crime group, which leads Doherty and Graham’s characters to work together. The latter’s descent into raggedy seclusion and hard drinking creates something of a problem in that respect. This will be a fiesta of hard hits, shocking violence, and tremendous performances.

Heated Rivalry | 10 January (Sky Atlantic)

Already, everyone is talking about Heated Rivalry. Based on Rachel Reid’s hugely popular series of LGBTQ+ romance novels set in the world of ice hockey — you’ve seen them all over your local branch of The Works — it’s the steamy antidote to January that everybody has been looking for.

Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie portray rival ice hockey captains who, despite the media treating them as fierce opponents, have a private relationship on the go spanning years. The chemistry between the central duo has been praised, while there’s plenty of genuine commentary in there about homophobia in the world of sport.

Read more: Why fans are going wild for Heated Rivalry

Call the Midwife S15 | 11 January (BBC)

At this point, Call the Midwife is as much a British institution as the NHS, custard cream biscuits and getting a little bit psychotic about queue etiquette.

This time around, the characters move into the 1970s and there’s a women’s liberation march happening. Sister Catherine is now a fully qualified nurse, but Nonnatus House is being threatened with closure, while there’s pressure on the nuns to wear uniforms rather than their habits.

Read more: Call The Midwife star Rebecca Gethings says Sister Veronica will be ‘forever changed’ by huge twist (BANG Showbiz, 2 min read)

It doesn’t matter how many years have passed; Call the Midwife stands firm. There will be plenty of laughs and buckets of tears as this Sunday evening stalwart continues to rumble on. Quite frankly, nothing can stop it.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy | 15 January (Paramount+)

Paramount+ is very much in the Star Trek business these days, and the new series Starfleet Academy has an intriguing premise. It follows the first group of new Starfleet cadets in more than a century as they train to be part of the organisation known for deep space exploration and boldly going, etc etc.

Holly Hunter leads the cast as the chancellor of the academy, while Robert Picardo returns to play The Doctor — a character he first embodied way back in 1995. Elsewhere, there are roles for Paul Giamatti and Stephen Colbert, while WWE fans will be delighted to spot multiple-time Women’s Champion Becky Lynch.

Gladiators S3 | 17 January (BBC)

The reboot of Gladiators has been bigger and better than any of us imagined, capturing the spirit of the 1990s classic series while introducing a brand-new array of muscle-bound goliaths.

There are also three new events this time around, with new games Destruction and Everest joined by a revamped version of the classic game Suspension Bridge. That one is essentially Duel, with the addition of a rickety bridge — just in case standing across from Giant wasn’t intimidating enough.

Gladiators is proper Saturday evening entertainment, which the entire family can appreciate. It’s one of the most purely enjoyable shows on TV, and it will be a delight to have it back.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms S1 | 19 January (Sky Atlantic)

While Game of Thrones fans continue to wait for the next book in the series, with George RR Martin’s writing speed now likely to lose a race to the concept of continental drift, the TV universe of Westeros is expanding yet again. Adapted from Martin’s series of Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, the series follows lowborn hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall and his young squire Prince Aegon Targaryen.

Read more: Sophie Turner open to Game of Thrones return (BANG Showbiz, 2 min read)

This show should be more than enough to scratch that Game of Thrones itch before House of the Dragon returns for its third season later this year. And this time, we’ve been promised a proper war between dragons.

Wonder Man | 27 January (Disney+)

In 2023, Marvel launched its “Spotlight” banner to categorise TV shows that are geared towards fans who might not be fully tapped into the wider narrative of the increasingly sprawling MCU. Wonder Man is the latest addition to that canon, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as an actor who auditions for the lead role in a remake of the film Wonder Man. He is joined by Ben Kingsley, returning to the role of washed-up star Trevor Slattery from Iron Man 3.

This appears to be a slightly sillier addition to the MCU, with the trailer making it clear that this is a comedy more than a superhero epic. Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton – currently helming Spider-Man: Brand New Day – and Community writer Andrew Guest are the minds behind the eight-episode series.

Shrinking S3 | 28 January (Apple TV)

Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein have helped to bring two of Apple TV’s best-ever comedies to the screen. First, they were pivotal in crafting Ted Lasso, and then they teamed with Jason Segel to create Shrinking — a sitcom that, in an unlikely casting coup, brought Harrison Ford into the world of comedy. Segel plays a grieving therapist who gets a little too involved in the lives of his patients, while Ford is a senior therapist with Parkinson’s.

Shrinking is a peculiar beast in that it’s a heart-warming and charming show, yet also one that explores some very dark themes. It has quietly become one of the most interesting comedy series on TV, so this third season is well worth your time.

Bridgerton S4 | 29 January (Netflix)

It feels like forever since we last caught up with the romantic exploits of the Bridgerton clan. Colin and Penelope finally got their happy ever after in the third season, which aired way back in 2024, with the attention now turning to the second Bridgerton son — Luke Thompson’s bohemian Benedict — for season four. Based on the book An Offer from a Gentleman, these episodes will follow Benedict’s romance with Sophie (Yerin Ha) — a maid who sneaks into a masquerade ball.

Read more: Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh ‘humbled’ to accept an MBE (PA Media, 3 min read)

We know what to expect from Bridgerton now, with balls aplenty and fancy frocks that are simply to die for. There will also be some X-rated scenes that make the show very awkward to watch around family members. That’s the Bridgerton way.

Under Salt Marsh | 30 January (Sky Atlantic)

A bleak British crime drama where it’s always raining and you can’t trust anybody? Where do we sign up?

Created and written by Claire Oakley, Under Salt Marsh brings death and dismal weather to the sort of tight-knit Welsh community where nobody feels the need to lock their doors. Kelly Reilly plays a former detective who finds the body of an eight-year-old boy, which brings her former cop partner (Rafe Spall) back to investigate. And there’s a ticking clock in the shape of a literal oncoming storm.

Everything about this looks like peak British telly. There’s a stellar cast, with the leads joined by Jonathan Pryce and reliable character actor Mark Stanley, and a fascinating mystery premise. This could be a real buzzy hit.