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

Published: 21 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, Tuesday 22 September 2026, three NCIS episodes run wall to wall from 6pm to 9pm, opening primetime, before a new episode of Law & Order: Special Victims at 9pm and two Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes close out the night at 10pm and 11pm.

5USA Schedule: Tuesday 22 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete 5USA schedule for Tuesday 22 September 2026, on Freeview 21.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on 5USA today

Two Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes open the overnight run from midnight, then Blue Bloods at 2am and NCIS Hawai’i at 3am, a short Entertainment News on 5 bulletin at 3:55am, and two hours of Teleshopping from 4am. Ideal World Shopping fills the whole breakfast run from 6am to 9am, then a second Entertainment News on 5 bulletin leads into three NCIS episodes from 9:10am to midday. Six Law & Order episodes then carry the schedule from midday through to 6pm, when primetime opens.

5USA tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the 5USA primetime line-up for tonight, Tuesday 22 September 2026.

NCIS — 5USA, 6pm–8pm (three episodes)

Three back-to-back instalments carry the early evening, working through series five (episodes 15, 16 and 17) rather than a single ongoing case. It’s the channel’s default opening move on a weeknight, and tonight is no exception.

Law & Order: Special Victims — 5USA, 9pm

A new episode (series 26, episode 11), the one genuine change from the channel’s usual wall-to-wall repeats tonight.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — 5USA, 10pm and 11pm

Two archive episodes close the night, series 23’s third and fourth instalments back to back.

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 open with two Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes back to back from midnight, then Blue Bloods and NCIS Hawai’i and a short Entertainment News on 5 bulletin carry the schedule through to about 4am. When the Columbo archive turns up, 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, though it doesn’t feature in every day’s schedule. 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?

Three NCIS episodes run back to back from 6pm to 9pm. A new episode of Law & Order: Special Victims follows at 9pm, then two Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes close out the schedule at 10pm and 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 runs to the channel’s default template for the most part: three NCIS episodes hold the early primetime from 6pm, six Law & Order episodes carry the afternoon into that run, and two Special Victims Unit episodes see the night out at 10pm and 11pm. The one break from routine is a new episode of Law & Order: Special Victims at 9pm. Little else here demands you catch it live rather than mid-repeat, which is usually exactly what the channel is for.

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