Paramount Plus Adding 5 New Releases This Week: The 3 to Watch

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow me on X.

Paramount Plus this week (January 12-18, 2026) will add five new shows and movies to its streaming lineup. Here are the three to watch, in my humble opinion:

Star Trek Starfleet Academy
When to Watch: Thursday, January 15 (Two episode premiere)
What Kind of Show: Sci-Fi
Who’s In It: Holly Hunter, Robert Picardo, Paul Giamatti
Paramount has the rights to the Star Trek franchise and it plans to ride that horse as long as it can. Star Trek Starfleet Academy, the sixth Star Trek-themed show from Paramount in the last nine years, stars Holly Hunter (pictured above) as the captain of the USS Athena and chancellor of the Starfleet Academy where young cadets compete to be ship officers. The supporting cast includes the great Paul Giamatti as a heavily made-up part Klingon and Robert Picardo as The Doctor, reprising his role from the Star Trek: Voyager series from a time far, far away. Star Trek Starfleet Academy looks like fun and a worthy entry in the franchise.

Landman (Season 2 finale)
When to Watch: Sunday, January 18
What Kind of Show: Drama/Comedy
Who’s In It: Billy Bob Thornton, Sam Elliott, Ali Larter, Andy Garcia, Demi Moore
I have written here (a few times) that Landman, which stars Billy Bob Thornton as a ruthless oil company exec, is an excellent show. The first season was pitch perfect. But I need to qualify my earlier comments. Season two has been uneven, to put it nicely. The show has been bogged down with ridiculous subplots involving secondary characters. But when Landman is good, it’s great so I have faith it will be great again in the season finale. So, yes, do watch, but don’t say I didn’t warn you if the finale is more about Ali Larter cooking than Andy Garcia getting cooked.

Running Man (2025)
What Kind of Movie: Action/Sci-Fi
When to Watch: Tuesday, January 13
Who’s In It: Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Emilia Jones
Glen Powell (pictured above) stars as the game show ‘running man’ who’s hunted by TV network killers in this remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger film from 1987. This version, directed by Edgar Wright (Baby Driver), was a box office bomb although many critics praised it as did Stephen King whose 1982 novel it’s based on. On Tuesday, you can decide for yourself when it comes home to Paramount Plus.

Movies & Shows Coming to Paramount Plus This Week

Tuesday, January 13
The Running Man (2025)

Wednesday, January 14 
Bar Rescue: Season 9 
Peppa Pig: Season 10

Thursday, January 15 
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy two-episode series premiere

Sunday, January 18
Landman Season 2 finale

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