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

Published: 25 August 2026

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, Wednesday 26 August 2026, the evening opens with The Unit at 6pm and a Burn Notice double at 7pm and 8pm, both repeating what the channel showed earlier in the afternoon, before the night’s film: Flight Of Fury, the 2007 Steven Seagal action thriller, takes the 9pm slot and is split by a five-minute This Week Back Then at 9:56pm, resuming at 10:01pm through to 11pm. The Avengers closes the night at 11pm with a later episode from Linda Thorson’s run as Tara King, not last night’s debut.

GREAT! Action Schedule: Wednesday 26 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete GREAT! Action schedule for Wednesday 26 August 2026, on Freeview 42.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on GREAT! Action today

Overnight is vintage series rather than film: The New Avengers at 12:10am (series 2, episode 11) and The Persuaders! at 1:10am (series 1, episode 1) lead into the thriller Absolute Zero at 2:10am. Two short Good News on GREAT! Extra bulletins follow just before 4am, then Coast Guard Alaska (series 3, episode 6) and a run of three Air Rescue episodes carry the channel to 6am, when Teleshopping takes over until 8:30am.

The morning is documentary territory: two Raiders Of The Lost Art episodes at 9am and 9:30am, then Murder Maps at 10am (series 5, episode 1) and the drama Tomorrow We Live from 11am, briefly interrupted by This Week Back Then at 11:56am and resuming at 12:01pm. The Unit returns at 1pm (series 2, episode 15) and Burn Notice follows with a double bill at 2pm and 3pm (series 4, episodes 10 and 11) — the same two episodes, and the same Unit episode, that the channel repeats again this evening at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm; worth knowing once rather than three times. The Trust takes the 4pm slot, broken by This Week Back Then at 4:56pm and resuming at 5:01pm, and a final Good News on GREAT! Extra bulletin at 5:50pm closes out the daytime schedule before primetime begins.

GREAT! Action tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the GREAT! Action primetime line-up for tonight, Wednesday 26 August 2026.

The Unit — GREAT! Action, 6pm

The Unit opens primetime at 6pm (series 2, episode 15), a straight rerun of the episode the channel aired at 1pm.

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

Burn Notice fills the next hour with a double bill, series 4 episodes 10 and 11 at 7pm and 8pm. Both are the same two episodes shown earlier at 2pm and 3pm, so anyone who caught the afternoon run has already seen tonight’s slate up to 9pm.

Flight Of Fury — GREAT! Action, 9pm

The night’s one film is Flight Of Fury, a 2007 Steven Seagal action thriller. It starts at 9pm and breaks for a five-minute This Week Back Then at 9:56pm, resuming at 10:01pm and running through to 11pm — one film either side of the interstitial, not two separate showings.

The Avengers — GREAT! Action, 11pm

The Avengers closes the schedule at 11pm with series 6, episode 16, from Linda Thorson’s run as Tara King. It’s a later episode in that run rather than a repeat of last night’s debut, so the Emma Peel handover story does not carry over to tonight.

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?

Wednesday evening opens with The Unit at 6pm and a Burn Notice double at 7pm and 8pm, all three repeating what the channel showed earlier in the afternoon. The film is Flight Of Fury, a 2007 Steven Seagal action thriller, running from 9pm to 11pm and split by a five-minute This Week Back Then at 9:56pm. The Avengers closes the night at 11pm with a later episode from Linda Thorson’s run as Tara King, not last night’s debut. 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. Wednesday’s daytime again leans on documentary strands rather than the channel’s usual westerns: Raiders Of The Lost Art and Murder Maps open the morning, then the drama Tomorrow We Live holds the late morning either side of a short news break. The Unit and a Burn Notice double then air twice each, once in the early afternoon and again in primetime — the same three episodes both times.

Primetime carries just one film. Flight Of Fury gives Steven Seagal the lead in a 2007 action thriller, split by a five-minute This Week Back Then at 9:56pm before resuming to run through to 11pm. The Avengers closes the schedule at 11pm with a later episode from Linda Thorson’s spell as Tara King, a quieter note than last night’s cast-change episode but a reasonable way to end the evening.

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