GREAT! Action TV Guide: Listings, Schedule & What’s On GREAT! Action Tonight

GREAT! Action is a free-to-air film channel on Freeview 42, built around action films and westerns. It started out as Sony Movies Action on 10 September 2019 and has been renamed twice since, most recently in March 2023. Tonight, Tuesday 11 August 2026, The Unit and a Burn Notice double bill repeat from 6pm before The Expatriate, a 2012 conspiracy thriller with Aaron Eckhart, takes the 9pm slot.

GREAT! Action Schedule: Tuesday 11 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete GREAT! Action schedule for Tuesday 11 August 2026, on Freeview 42.

What’s on GREAT! Action today

Teleshopping runs through the morning until 9am, when Wanted: Dead Or Alive opens the day proper, a western series in which Josh takes on an unlikely job: finding a bride for his shy, homesick friend Charlie. Murder Maps follows at 9:30am for its third episode of the series, tracing a soldier who brought the brutality of the Second World War home with him.

Abilene Town takes the 10:30am slot, Randolph Scott’s 1946 western with Edgar Buchanan and Lloyd Bridges, in which tension builds between cattlemen and homesteaders in post-Civil War Kansas. It splits for This Week Back Then at 11:26am and resumes five minutes later, running through to 12:35pm.

The Unit takes over at 12:45pm, then Burn Notice runs two consecutive episodes from 1:45pm. The Ice Road fills the 3:45pm slot through to 6pm, Liam Neeson’s 2021 thriller about an ice-road trucker leading a rescue mission for trapped miners. The Unit and Burn Notice then repeat the same three episodes from 6pm, ahead of tonight’s film.

GREAT! Action tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the GREAT! Action primetime line-up for tonight, Tuesday 11 August 2026.

The Unit — GREAT! Action, 6pm

The evening opens with a repeat of The Unit (series 2, episode 4), first shown at 12:45pm: the team closes in on a terrorist before he can strike, while back home one of the children is approached by someone nobody recognises, leaving the wives to handle the danger alone.

Burn Notice — GREAT! Action, 7pm and 8pm

Two more Burn Notice repeats follow, both already shown earlier in the afternoon. At 7pm (series 3, episode 4), Michael tries to trade a Miami crime lord for his own freedom while Sam deals with an IRS investigation. At 8pm (series 3, episode 5), a jittery mathematician draws Michael into stopping a defence-firm executive from selling company secrets.

The Expatriate — GREAT! Action, 9pm

Tonight’s film is The Expatriate, Philipp Stölzl’s 2012 conspiracy thriller starring Aaron Eckhart as a former CIA operative whose own agency wipes his identity and marks him and his daughter for elimination. It runs through to 11:15pm.

The Avengers — GREAT! Action, 11:15pm

The night closes with The Avengers (series 5, episode 11): a film director kidnaps Mrs Peel, intent on shooting the “fatal final scene” of a movie about her own life, and Steed has to find her before the cameras roll.

What kind of films are on GREAT! Action

Classic westerns and action icons

The channel advertises itself as the home of John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, and for once the marketing is accurate. Westerns from the 1930s to the 1960s take up most of the daylight hours, series as well as films, with Tombstone Territory and The High Chaparral in heavy rotation. After that come the 1980s and ’90s action vehicles, built around a small and very dependable cast list.

Contemporary action and thrillers

Evenings go harder on star names, usually one bigger studio picture with a leaner independent thriller either side of it. Most had a cinema release before they arrived here.

Anime, rescue documentaries and reality strands

Since around August 2024 the overnight hours have gone to things that are not films at all: Dragon Ball Super, and rescue documentaries such as Coast Guard Alaska and Air Rescue. The evening slots have so far been left alone.

How to watch GREAT! Action

Channel numbers

Here’s where to find GREAT! Action across the main UK television platforms:

Freesat viewers lost it in early February 2024, along with eight other Narrative Entertainment channels, and it has not come back.

Streaming online

GREAT! Action streams free through Great! Player at great-player.com, with no account or sign-in. The app is on Freeview Play, YouView, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung and LG smart TVs, plus the App Store and Google Play. GREAT! Movies and GREAT! TV sit in the same app, so the whole network is in one place.

GREAT! sister channels

GREAT! Action is one of four channels run by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited under the GREAT! banner.

A fifth channel, GREAT! Movies Christmas, appears seasonally and runs festive films from September to December.

Frequently Asked Questions

What channel is GREAT! Action on Freeview?

GREAT! Action is on channel 42 on Freeview. It’s not currently on Freesat, having been withdrawn from that platform in early February 2024 along with eight other Narrative Entertainment channels. It remains free on Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media.

What channel is GREAT! Action on Sky and Virgin Media?

Channel 323 on Sky, channel 426 on Virgin Media. Both carry the same schedule as Freeview 42 and both are free to watch.

What’s on GREAT! Action tonight?

The Unit and a Burn Notice double bill repeat from 6pm, all three already shown earlier in the afternoon. The Expatriate, Philipp Stölzl’s 2012 conspiracy thriller starring Aaron Eckhart as an ex-CIA agent whose own employers target him and his daughter for elimination, takes over at 9pm. The Avengers closes the night at 11:15pm. See the schedule table above for the rest of the day.

Is GREAT! Action free to watch, and does it carry adverts?

Yes, entirely free on Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media, with no subscription. It carries advertising during films, which is why some titles run in two parts around a short interstitial such as This Week Back Then.

Who owns GREAT! Action?

Narrative Entertainment UK Limited. The channel launched in September 2019 as Sony Movies Action, was rebranded Great! Movies Action in 2021 after Narrative Capital’s acquisition of Sony’s UK channels, and became GREAT! Action in March 2023.

What are the GREAT! sister channels?

GREAT! Movies, GREAT! TV and GREAT! Romance, plus the seasonal GREAT! Movies Christmas. All stream free via Great! Player.

Can I watch GREAT! Action online for free?

Yes, through Great! Player at great-player.com, with apps on Freeview Play, YouView, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung and LG smart TVs. No account is needed.

Verdict

GREAT! Action costs nothing to watch and needs no sign-up. Tuesday’s daytime schedule runs from a western double bill through to Liam Neeson’s ice-road thriller at teatime, a solid stretch for anyone who likes old-fashioned combat with their history. The evening belongs to one film.

The Expatriate at 9pm is the reason to tune in tonight. Aaron Eckhart plays an ex-CIA agent trying to keep his daughter alive after his own agency erases his existence, a smaller picture than some of the channel’s evening slots but a competently made one. The Unit and Burn Notice earlier in the evening repeat the same episodes shown that afternoon, so viewers who caught them the first time can go straight to primetime.

Related: Film4 TV Guide | Freeview Channel Guide | Films on TV This Week