The 9 Best TV Shows to Stream This Month (September 2026)

The availability of classic anime and critically acclaimed spy thrillers on streaming platforms is expanding.

Several new and returning television series are scheduled for release in September 2026, offering a diverse range of genres and themes. The Paper, a comedy spinoff of The Office, premieres its second season on September 9, focusing on the challenges of modern journalism. Lego Star Wars: The Mandalorian reimagines the live-action series as a 49-minute animated comedy, available now. South Park returns on September 16 with its 29th season, retitled South America, following its recent Emmy win for Outstanding Animated Program. Slow Horses, a spy thriller comedy, debuts its sixth season on September 16, starring Gary Oldman. City of Blood, a German miniseries blending climate dystopia and vampire themes, premieres on September 16. MobLand season 2, a crime drama featuring Tom Hardy, returns on September 18. Outlander: Blood of My Blood, a prequel exploring the parents of Jamie Fraser and Claire Beauchamp, also premieres its second season on September 18. American Horror Story's 13th season, described as an "endgame-level event" with returning stars and callbacks to previous seasons, launches on September 26. Finally, Neon Genesis Evangelion's original English dub will stream for the first time on the Criterion Channel alongside the Japanese version.

The September 2026 streaming slate highlights a trend of reimagining established franchises for new formats, as seen with Lego Star Wars: The Mandalorian, and a continued appetite for ambitious genre blends like City of Blood's climate dystopia and vampire fusion. The resurgence of original English dubs for landmark anime, such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, on niche platforms like the Criterion Channel indicates a growing market for curated, high-quality animation content beyond mainstream services. This suggests a fragmentation of the streaming landscape, where specialized content is finding dedicated audiences through tailored distribution channels.

Furthermore, the continued success and reinvention of long-running series like South Park and American Horror Story, alongside the critical acclaim for the genre-bending Slow Horses, underscore the enduring appeal of mature, creatively driven content. The emphasis on "endgame-level events" and the gathering of "greatest hits" casts in American Horror Story points to a strategy of leveraging nostalgia and established fanbases. This approach, coupled with the focus on journalistic themes in The Paper and the crime drama elements in MobLand, signals a diverse content strategy across the industry, catering to both niche interests and broad popular appeal.