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New study reveals HBO show is America’s most talked-about TV series in 2026 

August 13, 2026

Finding a good TV show is like finding your content soulmate. When many of us were younger, the standard length for a TV show was a lot different than many of them are today: you would usually get access to somewhere around 24 episodes, and this applied to almost all TV series that were available. Another difference was that, back in the day, series did not release all their episodes at once to binge on a streaming platform like Netflix. 

Many would consider 2026 to be a time that’s the end of the Golden Age of Television; an age that began about 15 years ago when major stars were headhunted from the Hollywood movie scene to shift their careers over to series work. A lot of this was actually made possible by streaming services and new, independent platforms like Apple TV and major existing companies like HBO that began new streaming services to meet the increasing demand for access to excellent TV. As with most new trends or burgeoning industries, the Golden Age of TV created a wave that crested and then began to fall apart: streaming platforms began rushing to add content to their repertoire and, many TV fans would argue, began to include and produce lower-quality content as a result. 

There are some companies, such as HBO in particular, that have never failed to produce excellent content led by incredible creative teams and brought forward by incredibly talented actors. With a backstory that includes some of the most acclaimed TV shows in television history (series such as The Wire, The Sopranos, True Detective and Game of Thrones), it’s hardly surprising that HBO is still winning the TV game in 2026. The question is, which show is everyone talking about this year? Is it something fresh and new, or is it an old favourite? Let’s take a look. 

The Top 10 Most Talked About Shows in 2026 

  1. Game of Thrones- 6,895 podcast mentions.
  2. Stranger Things- 6,192 podcast mentions.
  3. From- 4,456 podcast mentions.
  4. The Simpsons- 3,973 podcast mentions.
  5. Love Island USA- 3,579 podcast mentions.
  6. The Bear- 3,170 podcast mentions.
  7. Breaking Bad- 3,145 podcast mentions.
  8. Family Guy- 2,755 podcast mentions.
  9. Off Campus- 2,630 podcast mentions.
  10. Severance- 2,529 podcast mentions

Some will likely be surprised at the findings of this recent BetMGM online casino magazine study, which revealed the HBO classic show Game of Thrones to be this year’s most talked-about show. With season 3 of The House of the Dragon having just drawn to a close, it’s not surprising that GOT is getting mentioned, but to be at the top of the discussion charts is surprising.  

Why Are People Still Talking About GOT in 2026? 

1. Franchise Expansion 

It’s entirely possible that many people are referencing Game of Thrones in its show form, book form, and many MANY fan art varieties due to the continuing universe expansion. The original show ran for 73 episodes over eight years. House of the Dragon, the second show in the series and one that has just reached the conclusion of its third season, began in 2022 and will have one more season. The next installment in the franchise, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, premiered in January 2026 with six episodes. There’s lots of Westeros in the air, and the GOT characters, their links to characters in the newest show, and their shared history are all hot topics because of it. 

Thanks to all the material in the books that has yet to be covered and the beloved characters that many feel have not yet received an appropriate amount of screen time, the potential for further expansion is present in a big way. 

2. Character Arcs 

Many fantasy shows have excellent character development and arcs- there’s no question. But some differences in GOT keep people coming back for more and discussing the show over and over again. 

  • Many of the main characters in the show begin their roles as fully grown adults and grow further into their personalities and roles as the series unfolds.  
  • The distinction between “good and bad” is not as clean and clear-cut as in many other fantasy series. GOT takes a slightly more “real” approach to moving through life in a time of change, unrest, and essentially medieval sensibilities in many ways. “Good and bad” are often portrayed more as two sides of the same coin, things that can evolve and may be impossible to avoid at times, which is a far more realistic way of looking at the situations in the content: it’s not an analogy but rather a true story about “real” people making difficult decisions. 
  • The characters are multifaceted, not simplistic. Take Jamie Lannister, for example. When the show begins, he is clearly a “bad guy” on many fronts: genuinely not a person to be trusted. By the end of the show, Jamie’s character has seen, been through, and inflicted so much pain and misery that he has become almost entirely unrecognisable. The show tells us what we know from real-life encounters; people evolve in unexpected ways. 

3. Nostalgia and Comfort Television 

Anxiety has been rising on a global scale over the last few years. Unpredictability makes human beings feel unstable and, as a result, there’s been a resurgence of “reruns”, nostalgic shows, and comfort.  More and more people are re-watching their comfort or favourite shows as a form of relaxation because they know, for better or worse, what the outcome of the show will be because it’s already happened once (or more) before. 

GOT Supremacy 

Despite a final season that received a lot of heavy-handed criticism, Game of Thrones has cemented itself in the annals of excellent TV history. It is a trailblazing show, driven by an excellent literary series, and it’s no surprise it’s still being watched and discussed. 

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