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

Published: 21 August 2026

Drama launched on 8 July 2013 and is owned by BBC Studios as part of the UKTV stable alongside Dave, Yesterday and W. It was rebranded U&Drama on 16 July 2024, though most viewers and on-screen guides still call it Drama. Tonight, Saturday 22 August 2026, Darby and Joan runs two episodes back to back from 5pm before The Brokenwood Mysteries settles into its usual two-hour slot at 7pm, with DI Shepherd investigating a death at a golf club. Kenneth Branagh’s Wallander follows at 9pm, hunting whoever killed three teenagers in a wood, and Blackshore closes out primetime at 11pm, with Lisa Dwan’s DI Fia Lucey heading home to Blackwater to work a case involving a missing person — a series opener in all but name, though it has already had outings on Drama’s sister service and on BBC Four earlier this year.

Drama Schedule: Saturday 22 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Drama schedule for Saturday 22 August 2026, on Freeview 20.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Drama today

Saturday’s schedule opens with Lovejoy at 12:40am (series 2, episode 5), Ian McShane’s antiques dealer taking on a favour for an old army friend of Tinker’s, followed by Sister Boniface Mysteries at 1:50am (series 2, episode 4), with the forensic nun called in after a body turns up connected to a coven in the woods, and the British Sign Language edit of The Chelsea Detective at 2:50am (series 1, episode 3), Max looking into a missing social media star married into a volatile restaurant family. Teleshopping runs from 4am to 7am, then Birds of a Feather takes the schedule through breakfast with four episodes back to back from 7am — the Essex sisters reminiscing about old flames, leaning on neighbour Dorien when the heating breaks, weighing up selling a car, and Tracey turning the attic into her own prison cell to see what Darryl’s going through inside. Jonathan Creek runs three episodes from 9:40am: a police officer becomes a murder suspect on live television, a missing museum statuette triggers a run of bad luck, and a West End star falls victim to what looks like an impossible crime. Father Brown takes 1:40pm with a case that drags up his own past alongside a missing person and a mythical wild cat, and New Tricks airs twice from 2:40pm — UCOS probing a city trader’s suspicious suicide, then a cricket prodigy’s death after Sasha returns to the team.

Worth flagging: the Darby and Joan double that closes out the daytime run isn’t a rerun of the same story twice. At 5pm, Joan is thrown by fresh revelations about her late husband just as thieves target her while she’s alone; by 6pm, a scuba diving trip meant to mark her first Australian Christmas turns out to be sabotage rather than an accident. That leads straight into primetime.

Drama tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Drama primetime line-up for tonight, Saturday 22 August 2026.

Darby and Joan — Drama, 5pm and 6pm

Two episodes run back to back to open the evening (series 1, episodes 3 and 4). At 5pm, Joan learns something unsettling about her late husband that she wasn’t expecting, and finds herself dangerously exposed when burglars target the house while she’s on her own. By 6pm the pair are dealing with the fallout from a scuba diving trip gone wrong on Joan’s first Australian Christmas — one that turns out not to have been an accident at all.

The Brokenwood Mysteries — Drama, 7pm

Neill Rea’s small-town New Zealand detective gets a two-hour outing (series 1, episode 3, “Playing the Lie”). DI Shepherd is called in when the owner of the local golf club drops dead, and the case turns on who had the most to gain from it.

Wallander — Drama, 9pm

Kenneth Branagh’s Ystad detective investigates a killing that shocks even his own team (series 1, episode 3, “One Step Behind”). Three teenagers in fancy dress are found murdered in a secluded wood, and Wallander has to work out what connects them before anyone else is killed.

Blackshore — Drama, 11pm

Lisa Dwan stars as DI Fia Lucey, whose career is under threat after a run of complaints about excessive force. She’s dispatched to Blackwater, the town she grew up in, to work a missing-person inquiry (series 1, episode 1). It plays like a series opener — because it is one — though this isn’t its first UK outing: it aired on U in 2024 and again on BBC Four earlier this year, so tonight’s broadcast is a repeat rather than a premiere.

What kind of shows are on Drama

Classic BBC and ITV archive drama

The backbone of the schedule is British drama from the last forty-odd years. Jonathan Creek, New Tricks, Lovejoy, Birds of a Feather and Miss Marple all get regular daytime and early-evening outings, most of them first shown on BBC One or ITV. The whole point of the channel is that you can drop in at almost any hour and land on something you half-remember.

Cosy crime and international mysteries

Drama also runs a decent sideline in gentler, often overseas, crime. The Brokenwood Mysteries from New Zealand and Harry Wild from Ireland are the two regulars: puzzle-driven, light on violence, usually tied up within the hour or two.

Newer acquired and prestige drama

The Count of Monte Cristo and The Boy That Never Was are newer, high-profile productions in the schedule alongside all the archive material.

How to watch Drama

Channel numbers

Drama’s channel numbers across the main UK platforms:

Drama is free on all of the above platforms, with no subscription required. Drama+1 on Freeview is a limited-reach service, so availability can depend on your transmitter; your on-screen guide is the definitive source if these don’t match.

Streaming online

Drama streams live at u.co.uk and via the U app on smart TVs, iOS, Android and Freeview Play devices. You’ll need a free U account, and a large on-demand library sits alongside the live stream.

Drama +1 and sister channels

Drama+1 carries the same schedule an hour behind, for catching whatever’s just been missed on the main channel.

Drama sits inside the wider UKTV portfolio, which includes U&Dave for comedy and panel shows, U&Yesterday for history and factual programming, and U&W for factual entertainment, all free-to-air, plus the pay channels U&Alibi, U&Eden and U&Gold. Dave is the nearest alternative on the electronic programme guide for comedy rather than mystery.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s on Drama tonight?

Tonight, Drama opens with a Darby and Joan double from 5pm, then The Brokenwood Mysteries settles in for a two-hour case at 7pm. Wallander investigates a triple murder at 9pm, and Blackshore closes out primetime at 11pm with DI Fia Lucey’s return to her hometown — a repeat of the series opener rather than a new premiere. Check the schedule table above for the full day’s listings.

What channel is Drama on Freeview?

Drama is on channel 20 on Freeview, BT TV, TalkTalk TV and YouView. Drama+1 is on Freeview channel 60 as a limited-reach service. Both are free.

What channel is Drama on Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat?

Sky channel 143, Virgin Media channel 116, and Freesat channel 158. Drama+1 is on Sky 243 and Virgin Media 316.

Can I watch Drama for free on U?

Yes. It streams live at u.co.uk and through the U app, with a large on-demand archive alongside it. You’ll need a free U account, but there’s no subscription fee.

Is Drama free to watch?

Yes, completely free to air on every platform, with advertising breaks during and between programmes but no subscription cost.

Verdict

Drama does one thing and does it well: British and international mysteries filled out with newer acquisitions solid enough to hold their own against the archive material. Tonight is a solid, unspectacular example of the formula rather than an exception to it. Darby and Joan opens with a double from 5pm, The Brokenwood Mysteries settles into its usual two-hour slot at 7pm, Wallander investigates a triple murder at 9pm, and Blackshore closes the night at 11pm with Lisa Dwan’s detective sent home to her hometown — a strong hour, even if it’s a repeat rather than the series launch it looks like.

The trade-off is a daytime schedule built almost entirely from reruns, and three hours of teleshopping before 7am. Regular viewers put up with both because the evening mysteries are reliably well chosen.

Related: Freeview Channel Guide | Dave TV Guide | Films on TV This Week