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

Published: 23 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, Monday 24 August 2026, three episodes of Last of the Summer Wine open the evening back to back from 6pm, The Brokenwood Mysteries settles in for a two-hour New Zealand case from 8pm, New Tricks opens its eighth series at 10pm, and Idris Elba’s Luther closes the night at 11:20pm.

Drama Schedule: Monday 24 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Drama schedule for Monday 24 August 2026, on Freeview 20.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Drama today

Monday’s daytime opens overnight with Call the Midwife at 12:35am (series 12, episode 1), followed by a 2point4 Children double at 1:55am and 2:25am (series 3 episode 6, then series 4 episode 1) and the British Sign Language edit of The Chelsea Detective at 3:05am (series 1, episode 5). Teleshopping fills the gap from 4am to 7:15am, when The Bill takes the breakfast slot (series 17, episode 19), followed by a Classic Doctors double at 8:10am and 8:45am. Classic Holby City airs at 9:20am (series 8, episode 41), Classic Casualty follows at 10:40am (series 27, episode 30), and The Bill repeats its 7:15am episode again at 11:40am.

Early afternoon belongs to the archive soaps: Classic EastEnders at 12:40pm and 1:20pm, then Classic Neighbours at 2pm and 2:35pm. Both are daytime repeats rather than tonight’s real soap slots, which are on BBC One, ITV1, E4 and 5Star this evening. Whitstable Pearl is flagged as a new episode at 3:05pm (series 2, episode 6), though it’s a daytime billing rather than a primetime one. Kingdom follows at 4:10pm (series 1, episode 2), and As Time Goes By closes out the afternoon at 5:15pm with “Moving In” (series 3, episode 5), leading straight into the evening’s Last of the Summer Wine run.

Worth flagging: there’s no film in primetime tonight either. Four archive and returning drama series carry the whole evening between them, the format Drama’s built its whole identity on.

Drama tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Drama primetime line-up for tonight, Monday 24 August 2026.

Last of the Summer Wine — Drama, 6pm to 8pm

Three episodes run back to back to open the evening: “The Arts of Concealment” at 6pm (series 7, episode 6), “The Loxley Lozenge” at 6:40pm (series 7, episode 8) and “The Mysterious Feet of Nora Batty” at 7:20pm (series 8, episode 1). It’s the Yorkshire comedy-drama at its most familiar, three helpings in a row rather than one.

The Brokenwood Mysteries — Drama, 8pm

“As If Nothing Had Happened” (series 4, episode 4) runs the full two hours to 10pm. An ex-finance high-flyer, blamed for wiping out the life savings of several elderly investors, is found dead in a neighbour’s swimming pool with a samurai sword through his back. The case leads detectives Mike Shepherd and Kristin Sims to a nearby rest home, where a resident with dementia goes missing at a crucial point in the investigation.

New Tricks — Drama, 10pm

“Old Fossils” opens series 8 at 10pm. UCOS reopens a case after the original pathologist is suspended for negligence: a Natural History Museum palaeontologist, found dead after a corporate dinner, was ruled to have fallen, until a second look at the file suggests otherwise. It’s an unflagged series opener, so anyone following New Tricks in order should know Drama is starting a new run tonight.

Luther — Drama, 11:20pm

Idris Elba is back as DCI John Luther for series 4’s second episode at 11:20pm, still working through the fallout of his past cases while chasing a new one.

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 runs three episodes of Last of the Summer Wine back to back from 6pm, then The Brokenwood Mysteries settles in for a two-hour case at 8pm. New Tricks opens its eighth series at 10pm, and Luther closes out the evening at 11:20pm. 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 straightforward weeknight for the channel: three Last of the Summer Wine episodes open the evening from 6pm, The Brokenwood Mysteries settles in for a two-hour case at 8pm, New Tricks opens series 8 at 10pm, and Luther closes out at 11:20pm. No film interrupts any of it.

The trade-off is a daytime schedule built almost entirely from reruns, over three hours of teleshopping before 7:15am, and archive soaps at lunchtime that have nothing to do with the real Emmerdale, Coronation Street and EastEnders episodes airing elsewhere tonight. Regular viewers put up with it because the evening mysteries are reliably well chosen.

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