Amazon has been dragging its feet when it comes to charging realistic prices for trading card games, especially with Pokémon TCG. Magic: The Gathering is playing out differently, however. We're seeing healthy competition between Amazon and TCGPlayer during today's price check, so there's plenty of options to explore at the best prices.

Today's highlights also include preorders for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Lorwyn Eclipsed, plus a scary movie exclusive pre-order you won't want to miss.

TL;DR: Best Deals Today

With Amazon, you're getting Prime delivery, with products shipping out either the same day or landing at your door within 24 hours. Whilst you don't get the same speedy shipment with TCGPlayer merchants, you're likely buying from them for the cheaper price points and big savings over big-box Amazon. Let's get into it:

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Cheapest at Amazon: MTG

Commander Masters is the best set to get into if you love playing Commander and getting hold of legacy card reprints that are ideal for the format. It's not cheap, but Amazon currently has the best pricing for Set and Draft booster boxes.
If you missed out on the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set when it dropped earlier this year, the game edition of Cloud Strife's Commander Deck, Limit Breaker, is at market value on Amazon right now. That just means you're getting it for a fair price compared to the secondary market, whilst being able to take advantage of that sweet Prime shipping.

Cheapest at TCGPlayer - MTG

TCGPlayer is still holding the top spot for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Play Booster Box preorders. It's a full $20 cheaper from its merchants right now, a saving worth getting over Prime shipping. The same goes for the Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Booster Box, a full $30 cheaper over Amazon's price.

Fair enough, Amazon has its preorder price guarantee, but that only counts if they drop the price before release. You can't price match other retailers with this guarantee, so if you see a steep discount on a preorder elsewhere, take your chances.

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Cheapest at Amazon: Pokémon TCG

It’s great to see popular sets like Surging Sparks and Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Boxes crop up for less on Amazon, with the former being below market value alongside the Destined Rivals triple booster.

Cheapest at TCGPlayer: Pokémon TCG

It’s strange to see Silver Tempest sealed product showing up on Amazon right now. Perhaps we’ll see more Sword & Shield-era reprints on store shelves? Regardless, TCGPlayer has the Silver Tempest Elite Trainer Box for far less than Amazon, and the same goes for the Prismatic Evolutions ETB.

TCGPlayer also has the best deal on Destined Rivals Booster Bundles, currently sitting at $52.50. That means you get double the booster packs compared to the three-pack booster deal in the last section for less than double the price. TCGPlayer really has the no-brainer deals right now.

Scream (1996) Limited-Edition Steelbook (4K UHD) Available to Pre-order at 19% Off

Skytech Gaming PC Holiday Sale

Considering we’ve just entered a memory chip shortage across the board, with even DDR4 RAM going for silly money, getting an RTX 5060 build with 32GB DDR4 for $1,079 is a great deal. You’ll have solid 1080p gaming with either an Intel i5-14400F or AMD Ryzen 7 5700 processor to boot. Personally, I’d go for the Crystal build. It costs the same and gives you far more room for bigger GPU upgrades down the line.

If you’re looking to go all-in with 4K gaming out of the box for under $3,000, the $2,799.99 Aqua build comes with a gorgeous clear white and blue case, complete with CPU liquid cooling, an RTX 5080, 32GB DDR5, and the absolute beast that is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.

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A Stranger Things actor has pushed back on claims there is a secret 'Snyder cut' of Season 5, as a petition calling on Netflix and the show's creators the Duffer brothers to respond garners hundreds of thousands of signatures.

Randy Havens, who plays school teacher Mr. Clarke on Stranger Things, wrote on his Instagram Stories on December 28 that “there's no secret Snyder cut of the show," adding: “please don't believe everything some random ass tells you on the internet."

Havens’ comment is a reference to the successful fan movement that led to the release of the director's cut of Zack Snyder's DCEU superhero movie, Justice League. Zack Snyder's Justice League released in 2021, four years after the original version made its theatrical debut, complete with new visual effects, new editing, new material, and a much longer runtime.

Ahead of the Stranger Things Season 5 finale on New Year’s Eve, Havens appeared to respond to an unverified, fan-made Google Doc detailing allegedly shortened storylines that had gained attention on social media. The Change.org petition that calls on Netflix to release the alleged “unseen footage” has over 350,000 signatures, at the time of this article’s publication.

The most-liked comment on the petition comes from someone who seems convinced that this footage was cut from Season 5 for nefarious reasons. “We have been waiting since 2022 to see this last season,” they wrote. “To be robbed of scenes by Netflix which really could have gelled the show all together is absolutely unacceptable, and I speak on behalf of all fans that we have been betrayed for the show we love. We don’t sit down and do nothing, we need to show the Duffer brothers, Netflix, and especially Shawn Levy. We want our full episodes, we want the scenes which change everything. We want our show back.”

This comes amid huge viewing figures for Season 5 on Netflix, but also a mixed response from fans. As we’ve reported, Stranger Things is suffering from review bombing after Season 5 Episode 7 met with lower audience scores than the Netflix series has typically seen. But some fans are striking back with 5-star reviews in a bid to reverse the trend.

While the fifth and final season of Stranger Things has sparked complaints from some fans about the exposition-heavy writing, the varying quality of the actor's performances, and the plot armor some of their characters seemingly enjoy, Episode 7, called ‘The Bridge,’ has become the focal point of a vociferous debate that has spilled over into review aggregate websites.

Stranger Things fans have slammed the petition and the Google Doc that appears to have inspired it, while praising Havens for hitting back on social media. "What?? The unconfirmed Google Doc isn’t true?? How could it be!" said one fan. "This is so embarrassing oh my god," said another. Added one fan: "I’m glad someone said something. The mass psychosis of everyone saying release the Volume 2 files was getting pretty annoying ngl."

Netflix just released the trailer for the Stranger Things Season 5 finale, which is set for 5pm PT on December 31. Episode 8, called The Rightside Up, has an official runtime of 2 hours 8 minutes. It will be screened in theaters nationwide at the same time it is shown on Netflix. The Duffer brothers have also told fans not to expect a Game of Thrones-style bloodbath, even as there are big questions over who might die in the final episode.

Image credit: Netflix.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Black Panther writer and director Ryan Coogler has detailed the script for Black Panther 2 before the death of star Chadwick Boseman.

Boseman died in August 2020 aged 43 from complications of colon cancer, which he had battled privately for four years. He played T'Challa / Black Panther first in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, 2018’s Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and then 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever via archival footage.

Speaking on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Coogler said that he had finished the 180-page draft for Black Panther 2 and asked Boseman to check it out, but he was too sick to read it. Coogler has spoken in the past about the initial pitch for the movie, which would have been a post-Blip story featuring Boseman’s T’Challa returning after the events of Avengers: Endgame and a five-year absence and reconnecting with his son, Toussaint, who had little-to-no memory of his biological father.

“In the script, T’Challa was a dad who’d had this forced five-year absence from his son’s life,” Boseman told The New York Times in 2022. “The first scene was an animated sequence. You hear Nakia [T’Challa’s love interest, played by Lupita Nyong’o] talking to Toussaint [the couple’s child, introduced in Wakanda Forever in a post-credits sequence]. She says, ‘Tell me what you know about your father.’ You realize that he doesn’t know his dad was the Black Panther. He’s never met him, and Nakia is remarried to a Haitian dude. Then, we cut to reality and it’s the night that everybody comes back from the Blip. You see T’Challa meet the kid for the first time.

“Then it cuts ahead three years and he’s essentially co-parenting. We had some crazy scenes in there for Chad, man. Our codename for the movie was ‘Summer Break,’ and the movie was about a summer that the kid spends with his dad. For his eighth birthday, they do a ritual where they go out into the bush and have to live off the land. But something happens and T’Challa has to go save the world with his son on his hip. That was the movie.”

Now, Coogler has revealed more detail on this ritual and how it would have worked amid an attack by Namor, who ended up in Wakanda Forever under very different circumstances.

“The big thing about the script was there was this thing called the Ritual of Eight, where when a prince is eight years old he has to go spend eight days in the bush with his father. And amongst those eight days they have to go into the bush without any tools. The prince has to listen to and do everything that's asked of him by his father. But the rule is for those eight days, the prince can ask the father any question and the father has to answer. And during the course of those eight days, Namor launches an attack. That was what the movie was. It was a different version of Namor in that script, but he had to deal with somebody who was like insanely dangerous, but because of this ritual his son had to be joined at his hip the whole time.

“So while he was engaging in negotiations, fights, his son had to be right there or violate this ritual which had never been broken. So that was what the movie was. It was insane, and Chad was going to kill it, bro. But life goes as it goes. And I got a chance to make a movie about women. I love that movie so much, bro.”

The loss of Boseman radically changed the future of the franchise, and Coogler rewrote the movie to address his death and focus on T'Challa's sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) instead. Wakanda Forever ended up being a movie as much about grief as it was moving the MCU forward or leading into the events of Black Panther 3, which Coogler has signed up to direct.

New Year, new tube. With more streaming services than ever before and more than a few broadcast networks and cable channels still churning out some can’t-miss content, 2026 is shaping up to be another banner year for Peak TV. From popular returning series like House of the Dragon, The Boys, and Daredevil: Born Again, to hotly-anticipated new arrivals like Wonder Man, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and Spider-Noir, the year promises to be jam-packed with your favorite (or soon-to-be-favorite) shows.

Below you’ll find a list of the biggest new and returning series from Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, and more. We’ve organized everything by streamer and release date to help you plan your year accordingly. As always, premiere dates and release dates are subject to change, and we’ll do our best to update this list throughout the year so you can keep track of everything.

We've also thrown in a few network and cable channel offerings because, hey, people still watch those too, right?

Be sure to check back throughout 2026 as we add new shows, note new release dates, and push shows off the list for when and if they move to 2027.

Netflix

His & Hers

Release date: January 8

A new mystery thriller starring Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal, the limited series follows a reclusive news anchor (Thompson) who investigates a murder in a nearby town. Detective Jack Harper (Bernthal) is suspicious of her involvement and chases her into the crosshairs of his own investigation.

Bridgerton Season 4

Release date: January 29

The massively popular period romance from Shonda Rimes returns for a two-part Season 4 (the second batch of episodes drops on February 26) and follows second-eldest son Benedict (Luke Thompson), who so far has refused to settle down. Then he meets a captivating young woman at one of his mother’s balls, and much like Cinderella’s Prince Charming, Benedict begins a search for the mysterious “lady in silver” that, in true Bridgerton fashion, takes a number of surprising turns.

One Piece: Into the Grand Line

Release date: March 10

Season 2 of the live-action adaptation of the popular animé will feature “fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet.” The new season’s synopsis says that “Luffy and the Straw Hats set sail for the extraordinary Grand Line, a legendary stretch of sea where danger and wonder await at every turn. As they journey through this unpredictable realm in search of the world’s greatest treasure, they’ll encounter bizarre islands and a host of formidable new enemies.”

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man

Release date: March 20

Set a few years after the finale of Season 6, this new movie from Netflix sees Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) “driven back from a self-imposed exile to face his most destructive reckoning yet.” This feature-length return to the world of the popular series also stars Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Barry Keoghan, and Stephen Graham.

The Boroughs

Release date: TBA

A brand-new sci-fi series executive produced by the Duffer Brothers, The Boroughs promises to scratch an itch for those of us going through Stranger Things withdrawal. According to Netflix, the show “takes place in a seemingly picturesque retirement community in the New Mexico desert, where a group of — you guessed it — unlikely heroes must band together to stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don’t have: time.” The Boroughs stars Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Bill Pullman, and Alfre Woodard.

Stranger Things: Tales from '85

Release date: TBA

Speaking of Stranger Things: Even though the OG show wraps up on New Year’s Eve 2025, we’ll be returning to the Upside Down in a new animated series. Netflix says the show is set in “Hawkins in the stark winter of 1985, where the original characters must fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town.”

Golf

Release date: TBA

A new comedy series reuniting SNL Spartans Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon, Golf follows Ferrell’s character, who is described as a “fictional golf legend.” Golf also stars Luke Wilson and Chris Parnell. The show is produced by – among others – Ferrell and Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Knives Out director Rian Johnson.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2

Release date: TBA

The live-action adaptation of the popular animated series returns for Season 2. Netflix says the new episodes will see “Aang (Gordon Cormier), Katara (Kiawentiio), and Sokka (Ian Ousley) regroup and set off on a mission to convince the elusive Earth King to aid in their battle against fearsome Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim).” The upcoming season will also feature the introduction of Toph Beifong, played by Miya Cech.

Heartstopper Forever

Release date: TBA

Serving as a movie-length finale to the romance series Heartstopper, Heartstopper Forever sees Nick (Kit Connor) “preparing to leave for university” and Charlie (Joe Locke) “finding new independence at school.” Their relationship is once again put to the test, and we’ll find out once and for all if first loves can “really last forever.” Many fans were hoping for a Season 4, but will have to make do when this one-off feature-length episode drops in 2026.

Man on Fire

Release date: TBA

Yahya Abdul-Mateen ll (Aquaman, Watchmen) stars in this new adaptation of the series of novels by A.J. Quinnell . The story, which was popularized in the 2004 movie starring Denzel Washington, features Abdul-Mateen as John Creasy, “a Special Forces soldier looking for a fresh start. But John must battle his personal demons before he can truly turn over a new leaf.” The new series also stars Bobby Cannavale and Billie Boullet.

HBO and HBO Max

The Pitt Season 2

Release date: January 8, 2026

The Emmy-winning series returns early in the new year and promises to bring more drama, mayhem, and tension to your favorite on-screen Pittsburgh emergency room. In case you forgot, The Pitt “is a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh.”

Industry Season 4

Release date: January 11, 202

The critically-acclaimed drama series, which follows a group of London bankers as they navigate their careers, life, and the “pressure cooker environment” of finance, returns for an eight-episode season in mid-January.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Release date: January 18, 2026

The newest entry in George R. R. Martin’s on-screen Game of Thrones universe, the eagerly-anticipated show hits HBO and HBO Max early in the new year. Based on Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg stories, the show is set a century before Game of Thrones and follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his squire Aegon “Egg” Targaryen (Dexter Sol Ansell).

The Comeback Season 3

Release date: March TBA

Just like the census, The Comeback is making its every-ten-years-or-so return with new episodes this Spring. Once again, Lisa Kudrow stars as ever-striving actress Valerie Cherish. For the third (and reportedly final) season, Kudrow is once again joined by Dan Bucatinsky, Laura Silverman, and Damian Young, along with newcomers Adam Scott and Brittany O’Grady.

Euphoria Season 3

Release date: April TBA

Since Euphoria last aired in 2022, the star power of the cast has gone supernova. Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney all used the frenetic, drama-filled show to launch their careers into the stratosphere. The series returns for a third season and sees a substantial time jump, catching up with the characters post-high school as twentysomething young adults.

House of the Dragon Season 3

Release date: Summer TBA

Team Green and Team Black both have reason to celebrate the return of HBO’s other Westeros-set show. Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” Season 3 of House of the Dragon sees the rival Targaryen factions in all-out war, fighting with (and for) dragons in a bid to emerge victorious in the battle for the iron throne.

Lanterns

Release date: TBA

The newest small-screen entry in James Gunn’s DCU, Lanterns stars Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler as “two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.” Along with Gunn, the first season of the show is executive produced by Chris Mundy and Lost’s Damon Lindelof, and runs eight episodes.

DTF St. Louis

Release date: TBA

Jason Bateman and Stranger Things lead David Harbour star in this black comedy miniseries. The show’s logline states the show is “a darkly comedic limited series about a love triangle between three adults experiencing middle-age malaise that leads to one of them ending up dead.”

Hacks Season 5

Release date: TBA

Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) has lost the one dream she ever had: hosting a late night talk show. What’s next for Vance and co-worker turned frenemy Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder)? Plot details for the fifth and final season are under wraps, but it’s sure to include plenty of backstabbing, side-eye, and uproarious laughter.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe

Release date: TBA

Executive Producer Chuck Lorre dives back into the Big Bang Theory universe with this spin-off starring Kevin Sussman as Stuart, who “is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon.”

The Gilded Age Season 4

Release date: TBA

More intrigue. More societal slights. More absolutely gravity-defying corsets. A new season of the Julian Fellowes-led (Downton Abbey) period drama drops in 2026. Whether or not you use the right fork while dining in front of the TV watching the new episodes, it’s sure to be a wild (and melodramatic) ride.

Dune: Prophecy Season 2

Release date: TBA

The third movie installment of the expansive sci-fi saga hits theaters next December. While we wait, we’ll be treated to Season 2 of the story set centuries before the life of Paul Atreides that chronicles the rise of the Bene Gesserit. New cast members include Indira Varma, Ashley Walters, and Tom Hollander.

Disney+

Wonder Man

Release date: January 27

All six episodes of the latest streaming MCU adventure drop on the same day, so binge responsibly. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as aspiring actor Simon Williams, who “is struggling to get his career off the ground.” Williams teams up with Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley, reprising his Iron Man 3/Shang Chi role) in remaking the superhero film “Wonder Man.” If the show’s trailer is any indication, real-life powers and abilities may come to the surface in Williams’s pursuit of fictional superhero greatness.

The Muppet Show

Release date: February 4

Just in time for the original series’ 50th anniversary, Kermit, Miss Piggy, and all your favorites return with a special one-off edition of The Muppet Show. Disney promises “music, comedy, and a whole lot of chaos when The Muppets return to the small screen,” this time with “very special guest” Sabrina Carpenter. Yaaaay!

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2

Release date: March 4

The superhero series returns with the first of eight new episodes in early March. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, respectively) are joined in Season 2 by Matthew Lillard and Krysten Ritter, in an eagerly-anticipated reprisal of her role as Jessica Jones.

X-Men '97 Season 2

Release date: Summer TBA

The first season of the continuation of the X-Men’s '90s-era animated adventure was both critically acclaimed and an audience hit. Season 2 of the mutant adventures arrives in mid-2026, with a third season already confirmed.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2

Release date: Fall TBA

After the conclusion of Season 1 in February 2025, which featured Charlie Cox's Daredevil, Dr. Octavius, Chameleon, Speed Demon, Scorpion, Butane the Pyromaniac, Harry Osborn, Amadeus Cho, and more, the second season of the animated series returns in 2026 with a third season already greenlit.

VisionQuest

Release date: TBA

The WandaVision spinoff limited series arrives in what’s shaping up to be a banner year for Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Alongside Paul Bettany, who returns as Vision, James Spader reprises his Avengers role as Ultron. The eight episode series will drop some time in 2026.

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord

Release date: TBA

Announced at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Tokyo, the upcoming animated series features Sam Witwer returning as Darth Maul. Witwer previously voiced the iconic villain in both Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The new series is set after the final season of The Clone Wars and will see Maul "plotting to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire."

Star Wars Visions Presents: The Ninth Jedi

Release date: TBA

A spinoff of the animated anthology series, the new show was announced during Star Wars Celebration in April. Writer and director Kenji Kamiyama revealed that The Ninth Jedi will see the continuation of Kara's journey, featuring longer stories from the larger Star Wars: Visions universe.

Prime Video

Scarpetta

Release date: March 11

The crime thriller, produced by Amazon MGM and Blumhouse, brings Nicole Kidman back to the land of streaming TV in the latest on-screen adaptation of Patricia Cromwell’s popular book series. Amazon says the series “unfolds across two timelines,” and is a “dual narrative (that) explores Kay Scarpetta's journey from her beginnings as a Chief Medical Examiner in the late '90s to her present-day return to her hometown, where she resumes her former position while investigating a grisly murder.”

The Boys Season 5

Release date: April 8

The fifth and final season of the balls-to-the-wall take on the superhero genre arrives this Spring. Prime Video teases that the final episodes of the show see the entire world subject to Homelander’s “erratic, egomaniacal whims. Hughie, Mother’s Milk, and Frenchie are imprisoned in a ‘Freedom Camp,’ and Annie struggles to mount a resistance against the overwhelming Supe force.’ As the show’s official synopsis reads, “It’s the climax, people. Big stuff’s gonna happen.”

Blade Runner 2099

Release date: TBA

The upcoming series starring Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh and Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer is set decades after both the original Blade Runner movie starring Harrison Ford and the 2017 sequel starring Ryan Gosling (and Ford).

Apple TV

Shrinking Season 3

Release date: January 28

The 11-episode third season of the comedy series starring Harrison Ford and Jason Segel continues the story of “grieving therapist” Jimmy (played by Segel) “who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks.” Season 3 promises to see the return of Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso), Damon Wayans Jr., Wendie Malick and Cobie Smulders, while also adding some new faces, including Jeff Daniels and Michael J. Fox.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2

Release date: February 27

The ten-episode new season of Apple’s sci-fi drama premieres in late February, with an episode dropping each week until the finale on May 1. The new episodes look to feature lots and lots of King Kong, and promise to reveal “buried secrets that reunite our heroes (and villains) on Kong’s Skull Island, and a new, mysterious village where a mythical Titan rises from the sea.”

Margo’s Got Money Troubles

Release date: April 15

The new series from Apple and A24 starring Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman, and Nicole Kidman is the latest drama from mega-producer David E. Kelley. According to Apple, the show “is a bold, heartwarming and comedic family drama following recent college dropout and aspiring writer, Margo, the daughter of an ex-Hooter’s waitress and ex-pro wrestler, as she’s forced to make her way with a new baby, a mounting pile of bills and a dwindling amount of ways to pay them.”

Widow’s Bay

Release date: April 29

Starring The Americans’ Matthew Ryhs, the new series promises a blend of “genuine horror” and “character-driven comedy.” The show follows a small-town mayor (Rhys) who is “desperate to revive his struggling community.” After he succeeds, “the old stories that seemed too ludicrous to be true start happening again.”

Hulu

Note: At some point in 2026, Hulu will cease to exist as a standalone streaming app and will be fully merged into Disney+.

Paradise Season 2

Release date: February 23

Picking up right where Season 1 left off, Season 2 of the breakout series from This is Us creator Dan Fogelman sees Sterling K. Brown’s Secret Service agent Xavier Collins leaving the titular massive doomsday bunker in search of his wife in the outside world. Joining the cast is Shailene Woodley as a Graceland tour guide whose story gives viewers a glimpse into post-apocalyptic United States.

Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair

Release date: TBA

A revival of the early-aughts sitcom, this new miniseries reunites the beloved cast for four half-hour episodes, looking in on Malcom, Lois, Hal, and the rest of the family twenty years after the original series wrapped.

The Testaments

Release date: TBA

Based on Margaret Atwood’s follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale, this sequel series stars Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia and returns to Gilead for a “coming-of-age story that finds a new generation of young women grappling with the bleak future that awaits them.”

FX

The Beauty

Release date: Early 2026

From Executive Producer Ryan Murphy, the new series stars Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall as FBI agents who are sent to Paris to “uncover the truth” when “international supermodels begin dying in gruesome and mysterious ways.” The show also stars Ashton Kutcher as the head of a fictional “Corporation” who could be responsible.

The Bear Season 5

Release date: TBA

Season 4 saw massive changes in store, with head chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) vowing to leave the restaurant he built with his team of misfit colleagues. More comedy, drama, and tense dinner services are sure to be prevalent when the award-winning show returns later in 2026.

Paramount +

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Release date: January 15

The latest entry in the Star Trek universe premieres in mid-January with two episodes. Starring Paul Giamatti, the 10-episode season will air weekly until March 12. According to Paramount, the show “introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4

Release date: TBA

The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is back, and the new season is shaping up to be as action-packed as ever. According to Paramount, in the new set of episodes, the crew “embarks on a series of thrilling and emotional adventures across the stars. As they journey to strange new worlds, they will battle inner demons and external threats, encounter colorful new characters, reunite with familiar faces and confront terrifying aliens.”

Yellowjackets Season 4

Release date: TBA

The fourth and final season of the massively popular show drops in 2026. Series creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson promised a “twisted conclusion” to the beloved series, which follows “a team of wildly talented high school girls' soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness.”

Dexter: Resurrection Season 2

Release date: TBA

Michael C. Hall once again returns as serial killer Dexter Morgan in the second go-round of the continuation of the original Dexter series.

The Madison

Release date: TBA

Yet another spin-off set in the Yellowstone Universe, this show starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Patrick J. Adams, and Lost’s Matthew Fox follows a grief-stricken New York City family who moves to rural Montana.

MGM+

Spider-Noir

Release date: TBA

Reprising his animated role from the Spider-Verse movie series, Nicolas Cage stars in this live-action series based on the Marvel comic. According to Amazon and MGM, “Spider-Noir tells the story of Ben Reilly (Cage), an aging and down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero.” Spider-Noir will air on the MGM+ linear channel in the United States and stream on Prime Video both in the U.S. and internationally in 2026.

Starz

Outlander Season 8

Release date: March 6

The eighth and final season of the fantasy romance series returns to Starz in March. New episodes debut weekly and promise to wrap up the story of Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan).

Peacock

Ponies

Release date: January 15

This new period spy drama set in 1977 Moscow and starring Game of Thrones’s Emilia Clark and The White Lotus’s Haley Lu Richardson follows a pair of newly widowed PONIES (persons of no interest) as “they go from office secretaries to CIA operatives to help solve a major government conspiracy and to get to the truth behind their husbands’ deaths.”

The 'Burbs

Release date: February 8

Starring Keke Palmer, the eight-episode “mystery comedy series” from the NBC Universal streamer “follows a young couple who have reluctantly relocated to the husband's childhood home. Their world is upended when a new neighbor moves in across the street, bringing old secrets of the cul-de-sac to light, and new deadly threats shatter the illusion of their quiet little neighborhood.” The new show is “inspired by the 1989 horror-comedy film of the same name” starring Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher.

Adult Swim

Primal

Release date: January 11

The Emmy-winning series from Genndy Tartakovsky returns in the new year with a brand new batch of episodes. For those unfamiliar, the animated tale “follows a caveman at the dawn of evolution” who forms “an unlikely bond with an almost extinct dinosaur.” Episodes premiere weekly on Adult Swim and drop on HBO Max the next day.

AMC

The Night Manager Season 2

Release date: January 11

The British spy thriller series starring Loki himself, Tom Hiddleston, returns with a new batch of episodes in early 2026. The second season of the show, based on John le Carré’s bestselling novel, debuts in the UK on the BBC on New Year’s Day, and arrives Stateside on AMC ten days later.

ABC

Scrubs Season 10

Release date: February 25

The gang’s back together when a brand-new season of the hospital comedy debuts on ABC this February. Zach Braff, Donald Faison, and Sarah Chalke all return for the first time in more than 15 years as “characters new and old navigate the waters of Sacred Heart with laughter, heart and some surprises along the way.”

CBS

Survivor 50

Release date: February 25

The 50th (yes, you read that right) edition of the everlasting reality show drops in early 2026, and the season is likely to be unlike any other. The three-hour season premiere will be preceded by a “special two-week programming event featuring 10 encore episodes from the show’s iconic history showcasing players from the S50 cast.”

Y: Marshals

Release date: March 1

The latest entry in producer Taylor Sheridan’s ever-expanding Yellowstone universe, the new show Y: Marshals serves as a spin-off of the original smash-hit series and sees the return of Yellowstone star Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton.

Anime

For info on all the biggest upcoming anime in 2026, be sure to check out our article breaking down everything on tap from Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, and more.

What are you most looking forward to on streaming in 2026? Vote in our poll above, and let's talk in the comments!

Valve may have revolutionized mobile PC gaming with the Steam Deck, but more and more handheld gaming PCs keep coming to market, giving it some stiff competition. There are even handhelds out there like the Legion Go S that use Valve's handheld operating system but with more powerful hardware. Microsoft isn't sitting on its hands, either. The company teamed up with Asus to launch the excellent ROG Xbox Ally X, which debuts a new Xbox Full Screen Experience that should be making its way to other handhelds within the next few months. (Hopefully, Microsoft also takes that time to iron out some of the kinks with the new UX.)

TL;DR – These Are the Best Handheld Gaming PCs:

Rather than dealing with the bulk of a gaming laptop, handheld gaming PCs keep far more compact dimensions, making it easier to play from just about anywhere. Even though these devices are obviously significantly smaller than a gaming PC, it doesn’t mean they’re underpowered. Many handheld gaming PCs are packing the performance prowess to cruise through AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077. If you get sick of playing on a smaller screen, a great Steam Deck dock works seamlessly with most handheld gaming PCs so you can hook up to your gaming TV.

While we’re in the midst of a handheld gaming PC revolution, we've gotten our hands on a good chunk of these highly-capable devices. Below are the current four we deem worthy of consideration right now.

1. Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

The Best Handheld Gaming PC

2. Lenovo Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme, SteamOS)

The Best SteamOS Handheld Gaming PC

When the Lenovo Legion Go S first came out in February 2025, it was a hot mess. The configuration Lenovo initially released was bogged down by the weak Z2 Go processor, which didn't pair well with Windows. And because it was both running Windows 11 and had 32GB of memory, this weaker handheld was just as expensive – if not moreso – than the original Legion Go that preceded it. But Lenovo has righted the ship by launching the Go S with the Z1 Extreme and SteamOS built-in.

This system is still expensive. You're looking at $829 to get this model, but that's only a bit more than the Asus ROG Ally X, which ended up being slower, if only by a bit, in my tests. When I reviewed this new Lenovo Legion Go S, the SteamOS-powered handheld beat out the Ally X in synthetic benchmarks by as much as 9%. That's not bad, considering that handheld had the performance crown before this system came out.

The elephant in the room is the Steam Deck. Even three years after its release, it's still an incredible and popular handheld, and it's not hard to see why. It's easy to use and it's literally half the price of the Go S. But not only do you get a higher resolution display with this Legion Go S, you also get as much as double the performance. I was able to get a solid 60fps playing Baldur's Gate 3, and that's something I straight up couldn't do on the Steam Deck. Whether or not that's worth the higher price tag depends entirely on what you're looking for.

A great handheld gaming system is about more than just raw performance. It also needs to be comfortable to use, and despite the sytem being one of the largest I've used – and I've used a lot of them – it's extremely comfortable. The Lenovo Legion Go S has rounded edges that give you something to hold on to, and the textured finish makes it harder to slip out of your hands.

The Go S also has one of the most beautiful LCD displays I've seen in a while and proves that OLED isn't the only way to get a great picture in 2025. It's not quite as colorful as the Steam Deck OLED, to be fair, but it still made any game I played on it look awesome.

3. Valve Steam Deck

The Best Budget Handheld Gaming PC

4. Lenovo Legion Go 2

Best Gaming Handheld With an OLED Screen

Upcoming Handheld Gaming PCs

Now that the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and the Lenovo Legion Go 2 is out, we're kind of in a holding pattern for a while. We'll probably see other handhelds using the Z2 Extreme trickle out over the next year or so. It's also likely that we'll see some Intel-powered devices featuring the new Panther Lake architecture.

Beyond that, we will probably see a Steam Deck 2 at some point, but Valve has repeatedly said that it's waiting for a "more significant" generational lift to launch its sequel. Given that the Steam Deck is nearing four years old, we could see a new device launch sometime next year at the earliest. We'll see!

Handheld Gaming PC FAQ

Should I buy a handheld gaming PC or a gaming laptop?

Depending on how you want to game and what games you want to play will determine whether you should grab a gaming laptop or handheld PC. Handhelds score higher points in longevity, battery life, optimization, portability, and thermals. But handhelds are only designed to play games up to a certain specification. Gaming laptops cram in the latest GPU, CPU, and RAM, likely sacrificing battery life, thermals, and price. However, some are absolute beasts ready to take on even the most graphically intensive games. Laptops offer more functionality when it comes to editing and other work.

Check out our guide on the Steam Deck vs. gaming laptops for more information.

What’s the best Steam Deck alternative?

The Lenovo Legion Go S is one of the best Steam Deck alternatives. This gaming handheld offers the same easy-to-use interface as the Steam Deck, along with speedy performance, and a stunning design. It does run into some of the same problems as the Steam Deck, notably around installing games that aren't on Steam – but you can get around that with some tinkering.

How does the Switch 2 compare to the Steam Deck?

On spec, the Switch 2 is delivers better performance than the Steam Deck. Check out our in-depth comparison to find out more.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

If you’ve been searching for a top-tier arcade cabinet, Arcade1Up manufactures some of the best officially licensed options around. From cocktail and tabletop to cabaret and full-size, whatever kind of cabinet you’re after, chances are you can find it at Arcade1Up. No matter which you choose, each machine delivers that awesome retro look, classic arcade titles you love, and all the classic controls. You’ll be transported back to simpler times.

However, time may be running out to get a machine from Arcade1Up. The rumor is that Arcade1Up is shutting down operations. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but it could potentially be your last time to grab its nostalgic cabinets. And the good news is that a bunch of them have had up to $50 knocked off their price tag. Sure, these aren’t the most epic savings. Still, this sale matches or beats many of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals this year.

Save Up to $50 on Select Arcade1Up Arcade Machines

Deluxe Arcade Machines

For a more authentic arcade experience, Arcade1Up’s discounted Deluxe Arcade Machines are the way to go. Forget risers with these, as each is about 5 feet tall for a comfortable playing experience while standing. The 17-inch LCD is colorful and bright with near-legit-feeling joysticks and buttons. Stereo speakers play those iconic sounds, putting you right back at the arcade. The light-up marquee and molded coin door keep up with the classic vibe of these single-player cabinets, but WiFi support is built in, adding modern conveniences.

Right now, you can grab the Class of '81 Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga Deluxe Arcade Machine for only $449, thanks to that $50 discount. It features 12 titles, including Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Galaga'88, Galaxian, Dig Dug, Rolling Thunder, The Tower of Druaga, and more. Otherwise, you can opt to grab the Pac-Man Legacy Arcade Deluxe for the same price with 14 games. Dig Dug, Galaga, Galaxian, Rompers, PAC-Mania, and Mappy are just a few of the game offerings.

Actor Idris Elba is knighted in the New Year Honours. The 53-year old Hollywood star from Hackney, London can now officially be called Sir Idris.

Sir Idris, who rose to prominence for playing Stringer Bell in HBO series The Wire and DCI John Luther in BBC series Luther, more recently played the British Prime Minister and the President of the United States, in Heads of State and A House of Dynamite respectively, both of which came out in 2025. Elba is no stranger to the world of video games, either, having played Solomon Reed in the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion, Phantom Liberty.

He was knighted for services to young people in recognition of his charity work at the Elba Hope Foundation, which supports community empowerment, education, youth advocacy, and sustainable development. In particular, Elba has been outspoken on knife crime. He said: “I hope we can do more to draw attention to the importance of sustained, practical support for young people and to the responsibility we all share to help them find an alternative to violence.”

Meanwhile, the actor and comedian Meera Syal (The Kumars at No 42) is being awarded a Damehood for services to Literature, Drama and Charity, while the composer Max Richter is being awarded a CBE (Commanders of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to Music. Actor Warwick Davis is also being recognised for services to Drama and Charity with an OBE (Officers of the Order of the British Empire). Davis said: "This is the best thing that's ever happened to me — and I've been in Star Wars."

An MBE (Members of the Order of the British Empire) went to Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, and the author and television presenter Richard Osman (Thursday Murder Club) is being awarded an OBE for his services to literature and broadcasting.

1,157 recipients have been awarded from every part of the UK, with a particular focus this year on those who have gone above and beyond for their communities.

Photo by Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Marvel has officially released the Thor-themed Avengers: Doomsday trailer online, with an X-Men trailer set to replace it in theaters.

The Thor trailer, below, launched in theaters last week ahead of Disney’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, replacing the Steve Rogers / Captain America trailer that had kicked off the Avengers: Doomsday hype train a year out from the movie’s release.

The teaser shows Chris Hemsworth’s Thor (this time with the short-haired look from the much-loved and hugely successful Thor Ragnarok) pray to his father, Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins in the MCU), calling for the “strength of the All-Fathers” so he may “fight once more… defeat one more enemy and return home to her.”

That’s a reference to Thor's adopted daughter, Love (Gorr the God Butcher's resurrected daughter from Thor: Love and Thunder). Here is Thor’s prayer in full:

Father...

all my life, I have answered every call...

to honor, duty, to war.

But now fate has given me something I never sought...

a child...

a life untouched by the storm.

Lend me the strength of the All-Fathers...

so that I may fight once more.

Defeat one more enemy

and return home to her.

Not as a warrior

but as warmth.

To teach her not battle

but stillness.

The kind I never knew.

Please Father heed my words.

What we’ve seen so far of Avengers: Doomsday does seem to revolve around children. The Fantastic Four: First Steps ended with Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom appearing to kidnap Franklin Richards. The Steve Rogers / Captain America teaser for Avengers: Doomsday shows Chris Evans’ character holding a baby, presumably his child with Peggy Carter.

The Thor trailer shows Love safe and sound at home with Thor, so there’s no suggestion here that Doctor Doom is after her, too. But it's certainly a darker tone than we’ve seen from Thor’s recent MCU appearances, and some are wondering if they should prepare themselves for the character dying.

In May, Chris Hemsworth released a tribute video titled ‘Thank You! The Legacy of Thor,’ which included clips of the actor as Thor going as far back as an audition tape right up to his performance in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder. Some fans took it as a farewell video. Hemsworth later insisted the video was “a moment of gratitude, and it wasn’t anything else.”

Last year, Hemsworth admitted he "didn't stick the landing" with the divisive Thor: Love and Thunder and said he felt he owed fans another film. Speaking to Vanity Fair, Hemsworth said he had become too wacky in Love and Thunder and the film suffered as a result, perhaps especially following Thor: Ragnarok, which became somewhat of a breakout success for the character by adding more comedy elements.

"I got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself," Hemsworth said. "I didn't stick the landing." He couldn't forgive himself for the performance, Vanity Fair said at the time, so felt he owed fans another film. Could Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars count as that film, or would Thor 5 be more appropriate as a goodbye?

Meanwhile, this week's X-Men trailer has, predictably, leaked online. Assuming Marvel follows the pattern established by the Steve Rogers and Thor trailers, we can expect to see the X-Men trailer released online officially next week after its run in theaters. As for what the fourth Avengers: Doomsday teaser will be, fans are expecting a look at Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Netflix has released the trailer for the Stranger Things Season 5 finale, teasing the end of the long-running show.

Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things up to this point follow:

The trailer begins with a teary-eyed Jim Hopper (David Harbour) asking Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) to “fight one last time.” We then get a series of clips from prior episodes as Jim admits that Eleven was robbed of her childhood and faced horrors no kid should face. We end up in the present and the upcoming finale, where Eleven, Hopper, Kali Prasad, also known as Eight, and Murray Bauman look to defeat Vecna once and for all. Eleven prepares to enter the bath at Hawkins Lab in the Upside Down, which will amplify her powers.

One last trailer.

The final episode of STRANGER THINGS premieres TOMORROW at 8PM ET | 5PM PT. pic.twitter.com/cb3bJEqKFs

— Netflix (@netflix) December 30, 2025

Meanwhile, Gaten Matarazzo’s Dustin and Caleb McLaughlin’s Lucas look out over a hellscape. Vecna is hooked up to his horrible pulsating lair in The Abyss, where, presumably, he’s using the kidnapped children as vessels to effectively replace Earth with the Abyss, the alternate dimension from which all the horrible monsters of Stranger Things originated. Cue an explosion, an intense scream from Dustin (perhaps one of the main characters is caught up in the explosion), and a curious shot in which a curtain closes — literally — on Eleven, Max, and Kali. Could this a glimpse at a scene inside Vecna's mind?

The trailer ends with what looks like our heroes’ plan — outlined in Episode 7 — in action. Operation Beanstalk, as it’s called, will let Vecna draw the two worlds together and wait until the Squawk radio tower pokes through one of the rifts, so Eleven can make her move. Eleven will then enter Vecna’s mind and ambush him, while the others climb the beanstalk into the Abyss to rescue the kids. That’s the plan, anyway. “Mother of god,” Dustin says as he looks into the sky.

And that’s where the trailer ends — with the Squawk radio tower poking through one of the rifts. The Stranger Things Season 5 finale, Episode 8, is called The Rightside Up, and has an official runtime of 2 hours 8 minutes. It will be screened in theaters nationwide at the same time it is shown on Netflix, at 5pm PT on New Year’s Eve. Co-creator Ross Duffer has told fans they should only see it in theaters if they’re cool with crying in a crowded room. The Duffer brothers have also told fans not to expect a Game of Thrones-style bloodbath, even as there are big questions over who might die in the final episode.

As we’ve reported, Stranger Things is suffering from review bombing after Season 5 Episode 7 met with lower audience scores than the Netflix series has typically seen. But some fans are striking back with 5-star reviews in a bid to reverse the trend.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.