Here's What's Worth Streaming in September 2026 on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max and More

Prices are rising again, but a slew of fan-favorite shows - including Apple's 'Slow Horses,' Netflix's 'The Gentlemen' and Paramount's 'MobLand' - are returning for new seasons

Jack Lowden, left, and Gary Oldman in Season 6 of "Slow Horses," premiering Sept. 16 on Apple TV.

It's a mixed bag for consumers as the streaming calendar shifts to fall, with the return of some fan-favorite series but also another round of price hikes.

Apple (AAPL) just raised its price by $2 a month, its fourth increase in the past four years. Comcast's $(CMCSA)$ Peacock did the same earlier in August, after Netflix $(NFLX)$, Amazon (AMZN) and Paramount+ $(PSKY)$ announced hikes earlier this year. Don't be surprised if Warner Bros. Discovery's $(WBD)$ HBO Max and Disney (DIS) follow by year's end.

But on the viewing side, the streaming schedule perks up a bit in September - with a distinctly British flavor.

From the coziness of Netflix's "The Great British Baking Show," to the Scottish lilt of Peacock's "The Traitors," to the London settings of Apple's "Slow Horses," Netflix's "The Gentlemen," Paramount's "MobLand" and HBO Max's "Youth," there's something for everyone, and enough variety of regional accents to send you scrambling to turn on subtitles.

The only problem with so much variety is paying for it all. Luckily, with a bit of strategic churning - that is, adding and dropping services month to month - you can still catch the best shows while keeping your monthly streaming budget around $50. Keep in mind that a billing cycle starts when you sign up, not necessarily at the beginning of the month. And it's always worth watching out for time-sensitive deals and money-saving bundles.

Each month, this column offers tips on how to maximize your streaming and your budget - rating the major services as "play," "pause" or "stop," similar to investment analysts' traditional ratings of buy, hold and sell - and picks the best shows to help you make your monthly decisions.

Here's a look at what's coming to the various streaming services in September 2026, and what's really worth the monthly subscription fee:

Netflix ($8.99 a month for standard with ads, $19.99 standard with no ads, $26.99 premium with no ads)

"The Gentlemen" (Sept. 3), the British crime thriller starring Theo James as a former soldier who inherits his aristocratic father's estate - and the secret pot-growing operation beneath it - returns for its second season. Created by Guy Ritchie, it's rollicking, violent and darkly funny - and Ritchie's best work since the days of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch." A third season has already been green-lit, amid rumors that Meghan Markle might join the cast.

Netflix also has a reboot of "A Different World" (Sept. 24), the "Cosby Show" spinoff that became a sitcom classic in its own right in the late '80s and early '90s. Maleah Joi Moon stars as the daughter of Dwayne Wayne and Whitney Gilbert (Kadeem Hardison and Jasmine Guy, reprising their roles from the original show), who's a freshman at fictional Hillman College looking to blaze her own trail away from her hovering parents.

Other highlights include a new season of the ever-cozy "The Great British Baking Show" (date TBA), which adds cookbook writer/TV chef Nigella Lawson as a judge; "Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" (Sept. 17), in the latest chapter of Ryan Murphy's true-crime anthology series, this time starring Ella Beatty as the alleged ax murderer; "Turning Point: Generation 9/11" (Sept. 2), a documentary marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11; "Earle Meets World" (Sept. 4), a reality show about Gen Z "it girl" Alix Earle; Season 5 of the Israeli action thriller "Fauda" (Sept. 8); "Crew Girl" (Sept. 10), a Canadian YA drama about a girl who joins an all-boys prep-school rowing team; Season 2 of the animated spinoff "Stranger Things: Tales from '85" (Sept. 17); and the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"-inspired competition series "Wonka's The Golden Ticket" (Sept 23). Netflix also quietly added "The Audacity," AMC's comedy about Silicon Valley tech titans, in August.

There's also a special NFL game, with the San Francisco 49ers playing the L.A. Rams in Melbourne, Australia (Sept. 10); "Call My Agent: The Movie" (Sept. 10), a reunion of the beloved French talent-agency comedy; all three seasons of Starz's brilliant cater-waiter comedy "Party Down" (Sept. 22); and "Unabomber" (Sept. 25), a movie that jumps between Ted Kaczynski's days as a genius college student and his years as a killer hunted by the FBI, starring Russell Crowe, Jacob Tremblay and Shailene Woodley.

Hey hosers: Netflix will also add all six seasons of "SCTV" (Sept. 1), aka "Second City Television," the groundbreaking 1976-'84 Canadian sketch-comedy series that helped launch stars such as John Candy, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara and Rick Moranis. This will be the first time the show has been available to stream in the U.S., and definitely worth a look - for nostalgia's sake if nothing else.

Play, pause or stop? Play. After a weak stretch over the summer, there's more quality ("The Gentlemen" and "GBBO," not to mention "Party Down" and "SCTV") and potential for quality ("A Different World," "Call My Agent: The Movie," "Lizzie Borden") than usual this month.

Amazon's Prime Video ($14.99 a month with ads, $8.99 without Prime membership, both +$4.99 to avoid ads)

"Reacher" (season finale Sept. 16) has been a massive hit for Amazon, and its current fourth season is drawing critical praise, making this a pretty good time for the premiere of "Neagley" (Sept. 16), a "Reacher" spinoff starring Maria Sten as Frances Neagley, a Chicago private eye and friend/former colleague of the eponymous big lug. Alan Ritchson will pop in as a guest star, as Neagley investigates the mysterious death of an old friend. She probably won't smash quite as many skulls as Jack Reacher, but it looks like a decent action show that dads everywhere will enjoy.

Meanwhile, Kevin Kline stars in "American Classic" (Sept. 1) as a disgraced Broadway star who returns to his hometown and gets involved with a local theater company. If that sounds vaguely like the beloved Canadian comedy "Slings & Arrows," it's for good reason - co-creator Bob Martin was also co-creator of that show. "American Classic" boasts a terrific ensemble cast, including Laura Linney, Jon Tenney and Jane Alexander, and looks like perfect comfort TV. The dramedy premiered earlier this year on sister service MGM+, to largely glowing reviews, and now gets a chance at reaching a much wider audience. (Sadly, "Slings & Arrows" isn't available to stream anywhere.)

Amazon's also got the rom-com movie "The Love Hypothesis," (Sept. 23), starring Lili Reinhart as a Ph.D. candidate who falls into a fake relationship with a fellow academic, and "Go Deep: The DeSean Jackson Story" (Sept. 24), chronicling the life and career of the former NFL star through film shot by his brother over a 30-year span.

There's also the return of NFL "Thursday Night Football" (Sept. 17), a full slate of WNBA and NWSL games, and a pair of Yankees games for viewers in the NYC metro area (Sept. 9 and 23).

Binge-worthy: The coming-of-age drama "Sterling Point" has been this summer's surprise smash hit, and with good reason. From creator Megan Park ("My Old Ass") and executive producers Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz ("The OC," "Gossip Girl"), it's leaps and bounds better than Amazon's other YA shows. Full of heart, with smart writing that elevates what could have been a generic teen drama and captures the exhilarating yet terrifying feeling of being right on the tipping point between adolescence and adulthood, the eight-episode series deftly deals with romance, friendship, grief and still-raw family secrets. Ella Rubin, Bo Bragason and Amelie Hoeferle lead an outstanding cast of young actors, and the gorgeous scenery of Canada's Lake Muskoka doesn't hurt. It's already been renewed for a second season, and is an excellent addition to what Vulture has aptly dubbed the "Sexy Feelings by a Canadian Lake" genre.

Play, pause or stop? Play. You don't need to be a teenager to appreciate "Sterling Point," "American Classic" looks great (really, how can you go wrong with Kevin Kline and Laura Linney?), and "Neagley" looks like the perfect pairing with "Reacher." While you're here, also check out recent shows like the noirish "Batman: Caped Crusader," Nicolas Cage's unhinged superhero take on "Spider-Noir" and the surprisingly good action/comedy series "Ride or Die," starring Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham.

Apple TV ($14.99 a month)

If it's September, it must be time for a new season of "Slow Horses" (Sept. 16). This will be its sixth season in five years, and in an age when streaming shows can take years between seasons, there's something comforting in such a reliably consistent cadence. And it's even more satisfying when the show is this good. The Emmy-nominated, darkly comic thriller about a unit of disgraced British spies - starring Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden and Kristen Scott Thomas - remains sharp and propulsive, one of the best series on TV. This season combines two books from Mick Herron's best-selling series, "Joe Country" and "Slough House," and finds Jackson Lamb & Co. on the defensive as someone's killing off Slow Horses past and present. This is the easiest "must-watch" of the month.

Apple's also got "Mayday" (Sept. 4), a Cold War action/comedy movie starring Ryan Reynolds as a U.S. pilot who crashes over Soviet territory and teams up with an eccentric ex-KGB officer (Kenneth Branagh) to escape; "Last Seen" (Sept. 9), an Australian thriller series starring Patrick Brammall ("Colin From Accounts") as an ex-cop-turned-dispatcher who receives a distress call that he believes is from his missing daughter; and "Brothers" (Sept. 23), a comedy series starring real-life buddies Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson playing fictionalized versions of themselves who discover they may actually be brothers.

MW Here's what's worth streaming in September 2026 on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max and more

By Mike Murphy

Prices are rising again, but a slew of fan-favorite shows - including Apple's 'Slow Horses,' Netflix's 'The Gentlemen' and Paramount's 'MobLand' - are returning for new seasons

Jack Lowden, left, and Gary Oldman in Season 6 of "Slow Horses," premiering Sept. 16 on Apple TV.

It's a mixed bag for consumers as the streaming calendar shifts to fall, with the return of some fan-favorite series but also another round of price hikes.

Apple (AAPL) just raised its price by $2 a month, its fourth increase in the past four years. Comcast's (CMCSA) Peacock did the same earlier in August, after Netflix (NFLX), Amazon (AMZN) and Paramount+ (PSKY) announced hikes earlier this year. Don't be surprised if Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) HBO Max and Disney (DIS) follow by year's end.

But on the viewing side, the streaming schedule perks up a bit in September - with a distinctly British flavor.

Here's a look at what's coming to the various streaming services in September 2026, and what's really worth the monthly subscription fee:

Netflix ($8.99 a month for standard with ads, $19.99 standard with no ads, $26.99 premium with no ads)

Amazon's Prime Video ($14.99 a month with ads, $8.99 without Prime membership, both +$4.99 to avoid ads)

There's also the return of NFL "Thursday Night Football" (Sept. 17), a full slate of WNBA and NWSL games, and a pair of Yankees games for viewers in the NYC metro area (Sept. 9 and 23).

Apple TV ($14.99 a month)

MW Here's what's worth streaming in September -2-

There are also new episodes of "Ted Lasso," which is sadly cringey and bloated in its fourth season; Season 2 of the sci-fi series "Dark Matter"; and the Season 3 finale of the dystopian thriller "Silo" (Sept. 4).

Play, pause or stop? Pause and think it over. "Slow Horses" is one of the best shows out there, but for $15 a month, that's not enough. If you're a straggler, though, you can always catch up with some other recent quality shows, including "Sugar," "Widow's Bay," "Star City" and "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed" to make it worth your while.

Paramount+ ($8.99 a month with ads, $13.99 a month Premium with no ads)

Following a tumultuous few months, during which at one point it was reported that star Tom Hardy had been fired over behind-the-scenes friction with the show's producers, the British crime drama "MobLand" (Sept. 18) is back with its second season - with Hardy still on board. The real-life drama seems somehow appropriate for the story of a London crime family wrought with family tensions. Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren lead a stellar cast, with Johnny Flynn ("Ripley") and Janet McTeer ("Ozark") joining the fold this season. While not as fun as the similarly themed "Gangs of London" or Guy Ritchie's other current show, "The Gentlemen," it's a solid watch.

UPDATE 9/3: "MobLand" just got the green light for a third season, with Hardy still on board, so... carry on.

Paramount also has the third and final season of the charming Australian anti-rom-com "Colin From Accounts" (Sept. 10); the 29th(!) season of "South Park" (Sept. 16); "The Varnell Hill Show" (Sept. 1), a "Martin" spinoff starring Tommy Davidson; "Golden Axe" (Sept. 16), an animated adaptation of the classic Sega fantasy videogame; the Tyler Perry thriller "Route 187" (Sept. 16); "Clash of the Thundermans" (Sept. 3), a family-friendly superhero movie spun off from the Nickelodeon series; and "Team Moms: Baseball" (Sept. 24), a reality show featuring the parents and kids at a highly competitive youth baseball academy. Meanwhile, a new season of "Survivor" returns Sept. 23, and "The Amazing Race" is back Sept. 30.

For sports fans, the NFL on CBS returns Sept. 13, along with college football (kicking off with Boise State-Oregon on Sept. 5), UEFA Champions League, UFC fight nights, WNBA and NWSL.

Don't forget new episodes of "The Challenge: Cutthroat," "Diarra from Detroit" (season finale Sept. 9), "Lioness" (season finale Sept. 20), "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" (season finale Sept. 24) and "Average Joe" (season finale Sept. 30).

Play, pause or stop? Pause. "Lioness" and "MobLand" are violent fun, "Colin From Accounts" is terrific, "Diarra From Detroit" is an underrated gem and the sports lineup is solid. Is that enough to tip the scales?

Peacock ($12.99 a month with ads, or $19.99 with no ads)

The mockumentary "The Paper" was a solid hit in its first season, and will try to build on that in Season 2 (Sept. 9), as the gang at the Toledo Truth-Teller navigate office romances, journalism awards and a tornado, among other things. Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore and Chelsea Frei lead the ensemble cast, which will be joined by guests including Jon Lovitz and Andy Richter this season.

There's also "The Traitors: New Blood" (Sept. 18), a fresh installment of the addictive and Emmy-winning reality competition show hosted by Alan Cumming. This season takes a break from celebrities, and has a cast of ordinary Americans - a few of whom will likely soon be household names. And Peter Krause ("Parenthood," "9-1-1") stars in NBC's "Line of Fire" (Sept. 22), a new drama about a family of law-enforcement officers who get caught up in a conspiracy.

Peacock's also got a livestream of the Emmy Awards (Sept. 14), and new episodes of network and cable shows such as "Jeopardy," "Real Housewives," "The Voice" (Sept. 22) and "Saturday Night Live" (Sept. 26).

On the sports side, the NFL season kicks off with the Seattle Seahawks playing the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl rematch (Sept. 9) and "Sunday Night Football" returns Sept. 13. There's also the return of college football, including Notre Dame and Big 10 games; cycling's Vuelta a España (ends Sept. 13); a full slate of Major League Baseball and English Premier League soccer, as well as WNBA and golf.

Play, pause or stop? Pause. Peacock's latest price hike makes its ad-supported tier the most expensive among the major streamers. That feels like a reach, considering its meager lineup of original shows. Still, its live-sports lineup is top-notch, especially if you're a full-on cord-cutter.

Disney+/Hulu bundle ($12.99 a month with ads, $19.99 with no ads)

As mentioned last month, Hulu's integration into Disney+ has progressed to a point where it's more and more difficult to differentiate between the two standalone services. So we'll merge the two into one listing here for convenience's sake. And the Disney+/Hulu bundle only costs $1 more a month than the standalone services, which is actually a pretty good deal.

On the Hulu side, the college-football comedy "Chad Powers" (Sept. 3) is back for its second season, though Glen Powell's natural charm can't make up for a nonsensical, lazy premise. On the more promising side is FX's "The Drop" (Sept. 8), a spinoff of the acclaimed '80s-set drug-gang drama "Snowfall," as Wanda (Gail Bean) and Leon (Isiah John) reinvent themselves in the world of '90s West Coast rap. There's also Season 13 of Ryan Murphy's anthology series "American Horror Story" (Sept. 24), which is basically an all-star season of past characters, starring Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Kathy Bates and many more.

On the Disney+ side, look for the streaming premiere of the movie "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogo" (Sept. 2) and "Lego Star Wars: The Mandalorian" (Sept. 2).

The summer hit "Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro" wraps up Sept. 1, ahead of the new season of "Dancing With the Stars" (Sept. 15). There are also new episodes of "The Shards" (finale Sept. 9), "Project Runway" (season finale Sept. 10), "Futurama," (season finale Sept. 28) and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," along with new seasons of ABC and Fox shows including "RJ Decker" (Sept. 16) and "The Simpsons" (Sept. 27). There are also a pair of specials marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks: "9/11: United We Stand" (Sept. 2) and the live special "9/11: Tribute in Light" (Sept. 11). Don't forget to check out Season 2 of the very funny Gen-Z hangout comedy "Adults," which dropped at the end of August.

Watch this, skip that: The serial-killer thriller "Furious" just ended its first season, and it's been one of the best shows of the year (and was recently picked up for Season 2). As mentioned last month, it's dark, smart and compelling, and consistently takes a familiar plot setup into unexpected territory; it's worth a binge. On the other hand, after an intriguing start, the prep-school thriller "The Shards" completely falls apart after two episodes; not so coincidentally, Bret Easton Ellis adapted the first two from his novel before Ryan Murphy took over the rest. It shows, and quickly veers into the ridiculous and unwatchable. Speaking of unwatchable, if you're over the age of, say, 11, feel free to skip the utterly generic and bland "The Mandalorian and Grogo," the worst "Star Wars" spinoff movie yet.

Play, pause or stop? Stop. It's a tough call because "Adults" and "Always Sunny" are great and "The Drop" looks promising, but aside from that, it's all pretty meh.

HBO Max ($10.99 a month with ads, $18.49 with no ads, or $22.99 'Ultimate' with no ads)

It's another slow month for HBO Max, headlined by "Youth" (Sept. 20), a new comedy series starring Sharon Horgan as a 50-year-old London divorcee navigating modern dating while taking care of her aging parents and teenage son. Horgan ("Bad Sisters," "Catastrophe") excels in creating messy, relatable and sharply funny shows, and this looks like no exception.

There's also "4 Blocks Zero" (Sept. 23), a drama set in 1990s Berlin about a Lebanese immigrant family, and the prequel to the 2017 German crime series "4 Blocks"; "A Killer Story" (Sept. 3), a true-crime doc about a murder case that spanned three trials; "Jay-Z in 8" (Sept. 18), a docuseries as the famed rapper/entrepreneur sits down with producer Rick Rubin to discuss his life and accomplishments; "Siren: The Voices of Shelley Beattie" (Sept. 22), a documentary about the deaf "American Gladiators" star and her mental-health struggles; and "Miller Night Football" (Sept. 29), a documentary about comedian Dennis Miller's disastrous addition to the "Monday Night Football" broadcast booth in 2000; along with the British heist-thriller movie "Fuze" (Sept. 4) and the smash-hit indie horror movie "Backrooms" (Sept. 25).

UPDATE: HBO Max just announced a deal with Sirius XM (SIRI) to air weekly filmed episodes of "The Howard Stern Show," every Thursday starting Sept. 17, as well as a 25th-anniversary documentary "Band of Brothers: Legacy" (Sept. 9), a tribute to the brilliant WWII miniseries featuring cast interviews.

On the sports side, there's Major League Baseball on Tuesdays, plus Savannah Bananas, NASCAR, AEW, FIBA Women's World Cup basketball (Sept. 4-13), a pair of U.S. men's soccer matches (Sept. 26 vs. Peru and Sept. 29 vs. Chile), and opening night for the NHL (Sept. 30).

Don't forget new episodes of "Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks" (season finale Sept. 1), "Lanterns" (season finale Oct. 4) and "Conan O'Brien Must Go" (season finale Sept. 11), while "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" returns Sept. 20.

Play, pause or stop? Stop. There are good shows here (like "Lanterns," "Conan" and likely "Youth"), but nothing screaming "I'm HBO, you must watch me!" Hold off for another month, when there's more to watch (which, honestly, may not be until "The Gilded Age" returns Nov. 1).

Need more? Catch up on previous months' picks at What's Worth Streaming.

-Mike Murphy