5USA TV Guide: Listings, Schedule & What’s On 5USA Tonight

Published: 10 September 2026

5USA is Channel 5’s home for imported American crime and legal drama, the channel that keeps NCIS and the Law & Order franchise on British screens night after night. It launched as Five US in October 2006, took the 5USA name in 2011, and has sat inside the Paramount-owned Channel 5 family since 2014. Tonight, Friday 11 September 2026, is a straightforward procedural evening: three NCIS episodes run wall to wall from 6pm to 9pm, two episodes of Beauty and the Beast follow from 9pm to 11pm, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit closes the night at 11pm.

5USA Schedule: Friday 11 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete 5USA schedule for Friday 11 September 2026, on Freeview 21.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on 5USA today

Friday’s schedule opens with two Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes from midnight, then two episodes of Prodigal Son at 1:55am and 2:55am and an Entertainment News on 5 bulletin at 3:50am. Teleshopping fills two hours from 4am, and Ideal World Shopping takes the breakfast slot from 6am to 9am. After a short news bulletin, three NCIS episodes from series 4 run from 9:10am to noon, then six Law & Order episodes carry the schedule solidly through the afternoon from noon to 6pm, setting up tonight’s run into primetime.

5USA tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the 5USA primetime line-up for tonight, Friday 11 September 2026.

NCIS — 5USA, 6pm–9pm

Three episodes run wall to wall to open the evening, series 4, episodes 18 to 20, carrying the same naval investigative unit that has filled most of the channel’s daytime hours today. It is the channel’s default setting rather than an event: reliable case-of-the-week plotting, a season or two behind the current US run.

Beauty and the Beast — 5USA, 9pm–11pm

A change of pace follows at 9pm and 10pm with two episodes of the supernatural romance drama, series 2, episodes 9 and 10, swapping the procedural format for something closer to fantasy.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — 5USA, 11pm

The night closes on series 21, episode 17, returning to the franchise that opened the schedule in the small hours.

What kind of shows are on 5USA

NCIS and the naval procedural strand

NCIS is the spine of the schedule. Donald P. Bellisario’s naval investigative drama spun off from JAG in 2003 and has since piled up more than twenty seasons of case-of-the-week plotting, which 5USA works through steadily, usually a season or two behind the current US broadcast.

Law & Order and the Chicago-style franchise format

Dick Wolf’s Law & Order universe, headlined here by Special Victims Unit, is the other pillar. The channel likes to string two or three episodes together in one block, which works because the franchise was built on a rotating cast of detectives and prosecutors rather than a single running story. You can drop in anywhere.

Overnight legal drama and the Columbo archive

Tonight’s overnight hours go to two Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes from midnight, then two episodes of Prodigal Son, the Fox drama about a criminal profiler working alongside his imprisoned serial-killer father, at 1:55am and 2:55am. When the Columbo archive turns up overnight, it tends to fill several daytime or early-evening hours back to back rather than a lone late slot, drawn from across Peter Falk’s original run rather than any one series. The exact overnight mix rotates week to week between NCIS spin-offs, Law & Order eras and older US legal drama.

TV movies, classic mystery and reruns

The gaps go to Jesse Stone TV films, Murder She Wrote reruns and reality strands like Cops. Nothing on 5USA is live.

How to watch 5USA

Channel numbers

Here’s where to find 5USA across the main UK television platforms:

Virgin Media and regional Sky channel numbers can shift slightly depending on your box and area, so your on-screen guide is the definitive source if these don’t match.

Streaming online

5USA streams live and free at channel5.com and via the 5 app (formerly My5) on smart TVs, iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire TV. You’ll need a free 5 account, which costs nothing to set up. Selected NCIS, Blue Bloods and Law & Order episodes also turn up on demand, though licensing means not everything broadcast makes it there and availability windows vary by title.

5USA +1 and sister channels

5USA +1 runs the same schedule an hour behind on Freeview and Freesat channel 130. If a show has already started on the main channel, it’s just beginning on 5USA +1.

The sister channels split the rest of Channel 5’s imports between them. 5Star takes US reality and lifestyle, 5Action takes films and adventure series, and 5Select, the newest of them, handles documentary and factual.

Frequently asked questions

What’s on 5USA tonight?

NCIS holds the first half of the evening with three episodes back to back from 6pm to 9pm, then two episodes of Beauty and the Beast take over at 9pm and 10pm. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit closes out the night at 11pm.

What time do the main shows start on 5USA?

Primetime on 5USA typically runs from around 7pm through to midnight, with the headline procedural slot usually landing at 9pm. Daytime hours are mostly given over to earlier seasons of the same shows, run in double or triple bills.

Is 5USA free to watch?

Yes, entirely free to air on Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat. There are ad breaks throughout, as with any commercial channel, but no subscription fee anywhere.

Can I watch 5USA online for free?

Yes. It streams live at channel5.com and through the 5 app; you’ll need a free account. Selected episodes of its biggest shows also appear on demand afterwards, though not every episode makes the cut.

Verdict

Tonight sticks to the channel’s default template: three NCIS episodes carry the evening from 6pm, then two episodes of Beauty and the Beast take the 9pm and 10pm slots. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit closes out the night at 11pm. Nothing here demands you catch it live rather than mid-repeat, which is exactly what 5USA is for.

Related: What’s On TV Tonight | Channel 5 TV Guide | Freeview Channel Guide | Films on TV This Week