Top 5 new TV shows to stream this week

Discover the top 5 new shows to stream from 27 January to 2 February 2025 with this guide.
Watson. Image: Sergei Bachlakov/ CBS Broadcasting Inc. Streaming on Paramount+. Top new shows.

Top 5 new streaming shows

1) Watson Season 1 – 27 Jan (Paramount+)

Watson. Image: Paramount+.
Watson. Image: Paramount+. Top 5 new shows.

Series. A year after the death of his friend and partner Sherlock Holmes (a consulting detective you might have heard of previously) at the hands of Moriarty, Dr. John Watson resumes his medical career as the head of a clinic dedicated to treating rare disorders.

Watson’s old life isn’t done with him, though – Moriarty and Watson are set to write their own chapter of a story that has fascinated audiences for more than a century. 

Yas!

Starring Tommy O’Brien, Eve Harlow and Morris Chestnut.

Watch the trailer.

2) Optics â€“ 29 Jan (ABC iview)

Optics. Image: Abc Iview.
Optics. Image: ABC iview. Top 5 new shows.

Australian comedy series. Written by and starring Jenna Owen, Vic Zerbst and Charles Firth, Optics follows two whip-smart 20-something women (Owen and Zerbst) who are unexpectedly promoted to run crisis management PR firm Fritz & Randell, after the death of office patriarch Frank Fritz.

As they battle weekly public relations crises from celebrities, sports stars and corporate titans, and power challenges from veteran PR flack Ian Randell (Firth), they slowly come to realise that their firm might have a scandal brewing of its own, and start to wonder: have they been set up to fail?

High hopes for this one!

Watch the trailer.

3) Mythic Quest Season 4 – 29 Jan (Apple TV+)

Mythic Quest. Image: Apple Tv+.
Mythic Quest. Image: Apple TV+. Top 5 new shows.

Series. Back under the same fluorescent office lights, the reunited team at Mythic Quest (the biggest multiplayer game of all time) confronts new challenges among a changing video game landscape as stars rise, egos clash, relationships bloom and everyone tries to have a little more ‘work work’ life balance.

You can expect entertainment with a suitably nerdy hoot.

From creators Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Megan Ganz, the comedy ensemble stars alongside McElhenney, Charlotte Nicdao, David Hornsby, Danny Pudi, Ashly Burch, Imani Hakim, Jessie Ennis and Naomi Ekperigin.

And yep, Seasons 1–3 are currently available to stream on Apple TV+, so get off that PS5 or whatever it is you’re playing on and start watching …

Watch the trailer.

4) Playing Nice â€“ 29 Jan (SBS On Demand)

Playing Nice. Image: Sbs On Demand.
Playing Nice. Image: SBS On Demand. Top 5 new shows.

Series. Playing Nice is based on the JP Delaney book of the same name. Set against a sweeping Cornish landscape, two couples discover their toddlers were switched at birth in a hospital mix-up, and face a horrifying dilemma: do they keep the sons they have raised and loved, or reclaim their biological child

Couple Pete (James Norton) and Maddie (Niamh Algar) are thrown into the world of the other couple, Miles (James McArdle) and Lucy (Jessica Brown Findlay). But while they initially agree on a solution, Pete and Maddie soon learn they can’t trust the other couple, and ulterior motives are at play.

As tensions escalate, Pete and Maddie are forced to go to extreme lengths to protect their family.

Watch the trailer.

5) The Recruit Season 2 – 30 Jan (Netflix)

The Recruit – Season 2. Image: Netflix.
The Recruit – Season 2. Image: Netflix. Top 5 new shows.

Series. A new graymail case sends Owen to Seoul, where a spy threatens to leak US secrets unless the CIA assists him on a dangerous personal mission.

Starring Noah Centineo, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Aarti Mann, Colton Dunn, Fivel Stewart and Kristian Bruun. 

Watch the trailer.

Discover more recent ‘top 5 new shows’ articles on ScreenHub …

Paul Dalgarno is author of the novels A Country of Eternal Light (2023) and Poly (2020); the memoir And You May Find Yourself (2015); and the creative non-fiction book Prudish Nation (2023). He was formerly Deputy Editor of The Conversation and joined ScreenHub as Managing Editor in 2022. X: @pauldalgarno. Insta: @dalgarnowrites