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

Published: 22 September 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 23 September 2026, is a weeknight shape rather than a three-film night: The Unit opens the early evening at 6pm, two Burn Notice episodes run back to back from 7pm to 8pm, and Beyond The Law takes the 9pm film slot, broken once by the regular five-minute This Week Back Then bumper at 9:56pm and resuming at 10:01pm. The Avengers and The Baron close out the night from 10:55pm and 11:55pm.

GREAT! Action Schedule: Wednesday 23 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete GREAT! Action schedule for Wednesday 23 September 2026, on Freeview 42.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on GREAT! Action today

Wednesday’s overnight run opens with The Baron at 12:25am (series 1, episode 20), then The Persuaders! at 1:25am (series 1, episode 23) and Coast Guard Alaska at 2:25am (series 2, episode 7). Three Air Rescue episodes run from 3:10am (series 1, episodes 1 to 3), a Good News on GREAT! Extra bulletin breaks in at 4:25am, then three further Air Rescue episodes close out the small hours from 4:35am (series 3, episodes 2 to 4), before Teleshopping takes over from 6am to 9am.

Raiders Of The Lost Art opens the morning proper at 9:10am (series 2, episode 8), then The Vietnam War at 9:40am (series 1, episode 2) and the western Buck And The Preacher, which runs in two halves either side of a This Week Back Then bumper from 10:40am. The Unit takes the early afternoon at 1pm (series 4, episode 1), followed by two Burn Notice episodes back to back from 2pm to 4pm (series 6, episodes 14 and 15), then Web Of Lies fills the rest of the afternoon from 4pm, running through to this evening’s schedule below.

GREAT! Action tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the GREAT! Action primetime line-up for tonight, Wednesday 23 September 2026.

The Unit — GREAT! Action, 6pm

The evening opens with The Unit (series 4, episode 1), the same episode that ran in the early afternoon.

Burn Notice — GREAT! Action, 7pm

Two Burn Notice episodes repeat back to back from 7pm (series 6, episode 14) and 8pm (series 6, episode 15), mirroring the afternoon showing.

Beyond The Law — GREAT! Action, 9pm

Beyond The Law fills the night’s one film slot from 9pm, broken once by the regular five-minute This Week Back Then bumper at 9:56pm and picking back up at 10:01pm.

The Avengers — GREAT! Action, 10:55pm

The Avengers follows from 10:55pm (series 6, episode 21).

The Baron — GREAT! Action, 11:55pm

The Baron closes out the night from 11:55pm (series 1, episode 21).

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?

Tonight, Wednesday 23 September 2026, The Unit opens the early evening at 6pm, then two Burn Notice episodes run back to back from 7pm to 8pm. Beyond The Law takes the 9pm film slot, split by a five-minute This Week Back Then bumper at 9:56pm and resuming at 10:01pm, before The Avengers and The Baron close out the night from 10:55pm and 11:55pm. 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, and tonight leans on its series-heavy schedule rather than a run of feature-length titles. Overnight runs The Baron, The Persuaders! and Coast Guard Alaska, then six Air Rescue episodes either side of a Good News on GREAT! Extra bulletin fill the gap to Teleshopping at six. Raiders Of The Lost Art, The Vietnam War and the western Buck And The Preacher carry the morning, with a repeat run of The Unit and Burn Notice through the afternoon and into early evening.

The early evening repeats The Unit’s afternoon episode at 6pm, runs the same two Burn Notice instalments again from 7pm to 8pm, then gives the night’s only film slot to Beyond The Law, broken once by the regular five-minute This Week Back Then bumper. The Avengers and The Baron close out a weeknight built more on series than films.

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