True Crime, Celebrity-Led Podcasts Lead Early Momentum In 2026 Show Debuts.

A new monthly ranking from podcast database Podchaser is offering an early look at which new shows are actually breaking through — and the latest list shows a mix of celebrity power, true crime dominance, and strong publisher backing driving early traction.

The March “Podchaser 25” ranks the top new podcasts launched within the past 90 days using a proprietary Power Score that blends more than 30 signals, including audience size, subscribers, chart performance, and cross-platform reach.

Topping the list is “The Book Club,” from Goalhanger, which pairs historical context with literary analysis and posted the highest Power Score at 81. It is followed by “Love Trapped,” a true crime-driven series from iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts built around former “Bachelor” Clayton Echard’s legal saga.

The top tier also includes “Hanging Out With Ant & Dec,” a personality-led show from the UK TV duo, and “Real Vikings,” a history series from Noiser, highlighting the continued strength of both celebrity-driven formats and premium narrative production.

True crime remains a dominant force across the ranking. Multiple entries in the top 10 — including “Two-Faced: John of God” (Exactly Right/iHeartPodcasts), “Trace of Suspicion” (NBC News), and “Amanda Knox Hosts | Doubt: The Case of Lucy Letby” (iHeartPodcasts) — reinforce the genre’s ability to generate rapid early audience growth.

With seven of the top 25 newcomers, iHeartPodcasts, in particular, has a significant footprint across the list. In addition to “Love Trapped” and “Amanda Knox Hosts | Doubt,” it is also behind titles such as “The Secret World of Roald Dahl,” “The Red Weather,” “Sound, Light & Frequency,” and “Bleep! with Ana Navarro,” giving it one of the largest publisher presences in the ranking and underscoring its continued push to scale new launches across genres.

Beyond true crime, the list shows growing traction for news and personality-driven formats. “The Parnas Perspective,” hosted by Gen Z political commentator Aaron Parnas, and “The Karl Stefanovic Show” both landed in the top 10, signaling continued demand for fast-turn commentary and interview-driven content.

Further down the ranking, established publishers and platforms continue to play a major role in new show launches. The BBC appears multiple times with titles including “The History Bureau,” “The Interface,” and “Life Without,” while Serial Productions and The New York Times are represented with “The Idiot.”

At the same time, the list highlights emerging experimentation. “The Epstein Files,” for example, is positioned as an AI-native documentary podcast built from millions of documents, pointing to new production approaches beginning to enter the space.

A new Podchaser 25 will be released at the beginning of each month. 

See the first quarter ranking HERE.