11 Shows Worth Your Time Right Now: Our Ratings

Fall 2026 is stacked. Between spy thrillers, a Stephen King reimagining, a sea monster in Newfoundland and a return to Hillman College, there's almost too much to watch. So we did the work for you. Here are 11 series that are worth your time right now.

Eight of them we've watched start to finish, and each one gets an official What If Visions score in Eyes out of 10. The last three are still in progress for us, so they're on the list because they've earned it so far. We'll add their scores once we've seen how they end.

How our scores work: 9.5–10 is Visionary, 8–9 is Must-See, 6.5–7.5 is Worth Your Time, 5–6 is Mixed Vision, and anything under 5 is Skip It.

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The Ones We Finished (Ranked)

1. Lioness — Season 3

Lioness has mastered the art of gripping an audience through action. Season 3 doubles down on everything that made us fans back in Season 1: gritty, realistic direction and storylines with absolutely no nonsense in the writing. Every scene has a purpose.

The cast is a home run. Nothing feels repetitive, and you can tell the team took their time to get every detail right. On top of that, the show never forgets the cost of the job. The missions hit hard, but so does what they do to Joe and the people around her, and that human weight is what turns a great action show into a great show. It's well put together from top to bottom, and we're already counting down to whatever they have in store next season.

It isn't perfect. The political messaging can get heavy handed, and its depictions of the Middle East lean on stereotypes. It's a fictional show, though, so we don't take it too much to heart.

2. Lanterns

Let's get this out of the way: we're biased when it comes to comic book stories. We're nerds who love Marvel and DC, and it is what it is. But even with that bias set aside, there's no taking away how well Lanterns was made. This show is incredible.

The realistic take on these Green Lantern characters is so well put together. The cast is top tier, and it's a fresh direction for DC that had us locked in from the first episode. They haven't even made it to space yet. Instead, we got a grounded, True Detective style mystery, and we're here for it.

It isn't perfect. Some hardcore fans might feel the show is a little embarrassed about its comic book origins. The Green Lantern suits rarely show up, and the power rings aren't used much. The finale also felt a little deflated after such a strong build.

3. Lucky

We've enjoyed every Anya Taylor Joy project so far, and she still hasn't let us down. Lucky keeps you on the edge of your seat from the first episode, and the production is top tier, slick and stylish without ever losing the tension.

Taylor Joy makes Lucky someone you root for even when you know you shouldn't, and surrounding her with heavyweights like Annette Bening and Timothy Olyphant means every face off feels dangerous. The only problem? When it ended, we wanted more. If you haven't watched it yet, this is a must.

Our one knock: Lucky could've been a movie. We wanted more, but if you really think about it, it plays like a stretched out film.

4. Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story

We honestly didn't know how to feel, and that's exactly why it works. Are we rooting for this woman or not? The series shows Lizzie being treated terribly until she snaps, and somewhere along the way we found ourselves feeling terrible and strangely satisfied at the same time, and not liking the people she hurt.

That moral whiplash is the point. It's the first Monster season with a woman at the center, and it uses that to dig into how the world around her pushed her to the edge. The story kept us engaged the whole way through. Just remember it's a dramatization, not a documentary, so some of it is fiction. Trust us, though: this series will take you there.

Our biggest issue: it's heavy on inaccuracies. We quickly realized Lizzie's story is more of a mystery than anything, and because so much of it was made up, it left us confused about what the "Monster" franchise is going for.

5. Carrie

Whoever pitched a Carrie series deserves a raise. This version manages to recontextualize Stephen King's classic and stay true to it at the same time. If you're a longtime Carrie fan, you'll appreciate every nod. If it's your first time meeting Carrie White, it's captivating.

The modern spin is what makes it land. Moving the story into the age of phones and viral humiliation makes Carrie's isolation feel painfully real, and it gives the slow build toward that night even more dread. It dropped at the perfect time for spooky season, and it'll keep you locked in. You'll be binging it and it'll be over before you realize.

Where it stumbles: this is a very different Carrie. It's supposed to be a story about bullying, and by the end it felt more like a comic book. The last episode was not great at all, which is why it lands at a 7.5 for us.

6. Below

They nailed the length. With just six episodes, Below delivers suspense and dread without ever dragging. The acting is well done, with Josh Hartnett giving the whole thing a stubborn, big-hearted center. And who doesn't like a good monster?

What surprised us is how much the family drama matters. The creature is the hook, but a town fighting to survive and a family full of old wounds give the scares real stakes. The rugged Newfoundland coast does a lot of the atmospheric heavy lifting too. It's a good, binge worthy series you can knock out in a weekend.

The back half is where it slips. Toward the end it gets messy, the plot falls flat a bit, and then it feels rushed trying to tie everything back together.

7. East of Eden

We love this cast, and we love how the series blends mythic storytelling with a deep, realistic look at human free will. So many people struggle with good and evil, and you can see that struggle in nearly every character here.

At its heart, it's a story about people not being bound by their genetics. Family trauma and environment play a pivotal part in our lives, but the choice of good over evil is entirely up to the individual. That's Steinbeck's famous idea of timshel, "thou mayest," and the show makes it feel personal. Putting Florence Pugh's Cathy at the center is a bold swing that gives the story a magnetic, unsettling engine.

It does have its weak spots. The biblical allegory is heavy handed, the pacing is uneven, and the tone can feel flat. It gets slow at times, which is why it lands at a 7 for us.

8. A Different World

We enjoyed this one, just like we enjoyed the original. Seeing the original cast pull up is pure joy, and watching Dwayne and Whitley's daughter walk Hillman's campus hits right in the nostalgia.

Our one big takeaway: the time jumps between episodes. They made the season feel rushed, and we found ourselves lost a couple of times trying to catch up on what we'd skipped past. The good news is Netflix has already renewed it for Season 2, so there's room to slow down and let the new class breathe. If you're a fan of the original, it's a good watch.

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Still Watching: Scores Coming Soon

These three made the list because they've already hooked us. We'll add our official scores once we've watched them all the way through.

The Drop: A Snowfall Saga

This show has been really good. Great story, great music, and a really nice spin off from Snowfall. Moving from the dope game to the rap game is a smart way to keep the world going, and early '90s West Coast hip-hop is the perfect backdrop. We're five episodes in, and if you haven't started yet, our guess is you'll enjoy it as much as we are. The season finale airs October 27.

Dark Matter — Season 2

A great show that has you on the edge of your feet. You never know what you'll see next. The story is awesome, and we love how it pulls you in and brings your imagination to life. We loved Season 1, and Season 2 is hitting well so far. We hope it stays that way. The finale lands October 30.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm (Anime)

We love the direction of this anime. Every episode leaves us looking forward to the next one, and so far we're big fans. It's Hiromu Arakawa, so the world building and characters were always going to be special, and Studio Bones gives the action the punch it deserves.

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Your Turn

What are you watching right now? Did we rank these right, or is your #1 somewhere else on the list? Come tell us in our Discord, and check back for our final scores on The Drop, Dark Matter and Daemons of the Shadow Realm.