Highest-rated picks

Best New TV Shows of July 2026

Avatar: The Last Airbender leads July, with X-Men '97 right behind it for an animated opening that sets the tone. Crunchyroll Premium accounts for eight of the ten, as new anime such as BanG Dream! YumeMita and You and I Are Polar Opposites sit alongside returning favorites.

10 ranked picksRatings + editorial fitFor July 2026

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By PremiereLens

Ranked by IMDb rating captured when the month closed; release date breaks ties.

#1 pick

Avatar: The Last Airbender

9.3

S02

6+Jul 1Nickelodeon / Animation / ActionShows like Avatar: The Last Airbender

Why this made the list

The month's strongest pick: a 9.3-rated season 2 return on Nickelodeon with animation / action appeal.

The world is divided into four elemental nations: The Northern and Southern Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. The Avatar upholds the balance between the nations, but everything changed when the Fire Nation invaded. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, can stop them. But when the world needs him most, he vanishes. A hundred years later Katara and Sokka discover the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang. Together they must help Aang master the elements and save the world.

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#2 pick

X-Men '97

8.7

S02

12+Jul 1Disney+ / Animation / ActionShows like X-Men '97

Why this made the list

8.7 audience rating, Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. 6 wins & 15 nominations total, and a proven season 2 return make this a credible shortlist choice.

A band of mutants use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them; they're challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.

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#3 pick

BanG Dream! YumeMita

8.7

S01

Jul 2Tokyo MX / Comedy / MusicShows like BanG Dream! YumeMita

Why this made the list

8.7 rating on Tokyo MX, anchored by comedy / music, with enough signal to earn shortlist space.

A group of girls is suddenly brought together to debut as a virtual band. Though each has talent and personality, they must learn to perform as one while facing the demanding music world and chasing their dream of reaching the top.

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