Welcome to First Week Peak, a column which discusses shows that are about to premiere on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Paramount+, HBO Max, Peacock, Hulu, and/or Apple TV. Each discussion concludes with a prediction for the show's weekly peak performance on their respective streaming service's U.S. trending chart, including a reader poll. All Attention Scores come from Television Stats as of September 19, 2026. Final results can be found in our weekly What's Trending On Streaming column. Let us know what you think in the comments!
American Horror Story
Season 13 of American Horror Story will be the first to simulcast on both Hulu and FX. Ryan Murphy's flagship series holds a 12.9 Attention Score, which is already ahead of all but two Hulu/FX originals. It averaged a 25.7 Attention Score within its first 30 days for Season 10 in 2021, a 22.2 in Season 11 in 2022, and a 20.6 for Season 12 in 2023. Complicating its path to the top spot is the fact that FOX's fall premiere week coincides with American Horror Story's return. A three year hiatus won't help its case, either. Nonetheless, the long-running horror drama should be able to perform well enough to outperform those series.
Brothers
Brothers does have to compete against an ongoing Ted Lasso, which would make a #1 debut a hefty task. However, there are early signals present that Apple TV's new comedy from creators/stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, as well as creator and showrunner Lee Eisenberg, could actually pull it off. The series already holds a 7.0 Attention Score, the eighth-highest for an Apple TV original. While that would be modest if the show was ongoing, it is incredibly strong for one that has not officially premiered yet. Regardless of if Brothers does end up unseating Ted Lasso, signs point to this being a success for Apple TV.
Line of Fire
Line of Fire is the first of NBC's new scripted premieres this season, which will premiere after The Voice on September 24 and stream on Peacock. Based on the barrage of repeats lined up for the series throughout NBC's schedule, it will likely also be featured pretty prominently on Peacock.
A Different World
Netflix is reviving NBC's 1987 sitcom A Different World next week, a spinoff of The Cosby Show that spent the first four of its six seasons as one of the top five highest-rated series on television. However, its ratings fell off a cliff in its final season when it no longer was able to air directly following The Cosby Show. It got to the point where A Different World ended up pulled from the schedule, burned off in the summer, with its series finale viewership dropping over 80% from the Season 5 finale. The anticipation for this revival appears to reflect the way A Different World went out in 1993 far more than a representation of the show's heyday. It may premiere respectably, but overall cement itself as one of the most notable time slot hits of all time.
Best Medicine and Doc
Best Medicine and Doc return on FOX this week, and with it come their return to Hulu and Disney+. These were two of FOX's better-performing dramas last season, so it's expected that they perform the best of all the shows returning this week. Best Medicine averaged a 6.9 Attention Score within its first 30 days of premiering, and currently sits at a 4.7. Doc, meanwhile, averaged a 7.7 Attention Score for its first 30 days in Season 2, and a 5.6 in Season 1. Expect both to premiere within the upper echelons of Hulu's daily chart, though Best Medicine looks far stronger than Doc at the moment.
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, Hell's Kitchen, and The Floor
Both Hell's Kitchen and a George Santos-starring Special Forces: World's Toughest Test return this coming Thursday on FOX, one day after The Floor. These three shows have consistently been among FOX's stronger unscripted performers on Hulu in the 2025-26 TV season. In fact, the continued renewals of Special Forces is largely credited to its performance on Hulu. Since FOX isn't premiering any new unscripted series in fall 2026, it's largely expected these three will be their top unscripted performers upon their returns.
99 to Beat, Celebrity Name That Tune, and Celebrity Weakest Link
Also returning on FOX this coming week are 99 to Beat, Celebrity Name That Tune, and Celebrity Weakest Link, three shows that serve more as schedule filler than anything else. Given they're premiering the same time as the rest of FOX's fall schedule, it's pretty safe to assume shows with barely registering Attention Scores (0.4 for 99 to Beat and Celebrity Name That Tune, and 0.2 for Celebrity Weakest Link) will crack the top 10 on Hulu. Based on prior performance, 99 to Beat has the best chance at making the top 15.
The Simpsons, Animal Control, Universal Basic Guys, and Grimsburg
FOX will also return four chronic Hulu underperformers this week: their lone remaining live-action sitcom Animal Control, and a trio of cartoons in The Simpsons, Universal Basic Guys, and Grimsburg. While The Simpsons has a healthy 5.4 Attention Score, that is a reflection of the show's recognition as a whole rather than intent to stream a brand new episode on Hulu right after it airs. Animal Control has the best chance at making the chart, given it's had occasional appearances before and it's the season premiere, but is still not predicted to chart high if it does. Universal Basic Guys and Grimsburg, meanwhile, have some work cut out for them.
The Voice
NBCUniversal is attempting to use The Voice to introduce Line of Fire to its linear audience on NBC, but there are troubling signs on that end. The Voice's Attention Score actually decreased on September 19, from a 2.7 to a 2.4, indicating a general lack of anticipation for tomorrow's season premiere. There's a great irony in The Voice still being tasked with launching a scripted drama, when said drama is very likely to outperform the tired singing competition series on Peacock throughout the week.
Team Moms: Baseball
The Kim Kardashian-produced Team Moms: Baseball premieres on Paramount+ this coming week, and not a lot is going for it. It has the benefit of being Paramount+'s only premiere, but using Love Island USA as a way to promote this show is hardly a winning idea from a company who had trouble launching the franchise in America. Once anticipated as a new summer staple on CBS, Love Island USA did not find its footing until Peacock saved it from cancelation.