These 20 TV shows will save you from a summer of sport
Radio Times brings you the ultimate antidote to a sport-filled summer TV schedule, as huge hits including The Bear, House of the Dragon and Ted Lasso return – plus some brilliant dramas to watch right now..
FX/Disney+
- David Brown
- , Frances Taylor
20 items
Does World Cup fever leave you reaching for the remote? Will wall-to-wall Wimbledon have you fleeing the coverage from Centre Court? If the thought of sporting action has you seeking drama far away from the stadium, pitch and SW19, then refuge is at hand.
Below, Radio Times presents the ultimate antidote to the summer of sport: a haven free of flag-waving, tie-breaks and punditry, where actors are the only ones going on the attack.
It’s an international line-up of the highest quality – the only challenge is finding a room in the house that’s free of football chants and cries of “Come on!"...
Showing 1 to 20 of 20 results
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2026
Comedy
Drama
12
Bend and snap with delight as Elle Woods, the tenacious heroine from Legally Blonde, paddles through the murky waters of high school in an eight-part prequel TV series created by Laura Kittrell. Reese Witherspoon is one of the executive producers of the show, which coincides with the film's 25th anniversary. Elle Woods (Lexi Minetree) draws strength from her relationships with her indomitable mother Eva (June Diane Raphael) and father Wyatt (Tom Everett Scott) as she surveys the questionable fashion choices of her classmates. The spunky and resourceful teenager charts a path through fractious friendships and forbidden romance, looking to fit in without sacrificing her pink-saturated individuality. Elle's high school experience will gradually mould her into the go-getter, who will shatter preconceptions at Harvard Law School
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2020
Comedy
Drama
15
Thirtysomething couple Jason and Nikki learn they will not be able to conceive a child together and pursue adoption in a comedy drama starring Rafe Spall and Esther Smith.
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2026
Family
Drama
12
A glossy reboot of the wholesome drama inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder's semi-autobiographical books introduces a new generation to devoted father Charles Ingalls (Luke Bracey), his wife Caroline (Crosby Fitzgerald) and their two daughters, Mary (Skywalker Hughes) and Laura (Alice Halsey). The family builds a new home on the outskirts of the developing town of Independence with their dog Jack. Harsh conditions of 1800s prairie life tests the family's faith and resolve but young Laura and her kin draw strength from each other to overcome obstacles. The Ingalls' fates is tightly bound to Indigenous communities including the Osage people who have long called the prairie home
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2026
Crime/detective
Thriller
15
Luciana 'Lucky' Armstrong must return to the life of crime she thought she had left behind and embrace her dark side to escape the past for good
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2026
Drama
Fifth run of the drama series following chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) running a Chicago restaurant, navigating kitchen pressures, relationships and ambition.
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2020
Comedy
Sport
15
Jason Sudeikis plays an American college football coach, who heads to London to manage a struggling English Premier League football team and tastes surprising success.
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2026
Fantasy
Fantasy drama continuing Targaryen civil war in Westeros, following Rhaenyra and Aegon's battle for the Iron Throne, starring Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith and Olivia Cooke.
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2026
Drama
Romance
Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser reprise their roles as Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler in the sequel to Yellowstone, based on characters created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson. Beth and Rip hope to escape the ghosts of the past in Montana by moving hundreds of miles south-east to Texas. In new surroundings, the couple discover forgiveness is fleeting when they clash with a ruthless rival ranch run with an iron fist by Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening). To survive the onslaught, Ben and Rip will need to trust each other implicitly and accept that the cost of survival could be the highest price of all: their blackened souls.
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2026
Thriller
Horror
15
From executive producers Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. When convicted murderer Max Cady is released from prison, he begins infiltrating the family of the married attorneys who helped put him behind bars.
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2026
Drama
Crime/detective
15
Ordinary men and women are recruited to turn the tide on illegal drug smuggling in the early 1990s Britain in a gripping six-part drama inspired by an untold true story. The Thatcher government is losing the war with the drugs gangs and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise needs to think outside the box to turn the tide. Bureaucrat Blake (Douglas Hodge) agrees to an outlandish idea: a top-secret training programme for normal Customs employees to go undercover and infiltrate Britain's most dangerous drug cartels. They will be given only basic training to build new identities - their so-called legends - incorporating some of their real lives to help them retain facts and figures. Working under the leadership of Don (Steve Coogan), nervous recruits Bailey (Aml Ameen), Carter (Tom Hughes), Erin (Jasmine Blackborow), Guy (Tom Burke) and Kate (Hayley Squires) prepare to take the starring roles in one of the most remarkable criminal investigations conducted.
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2024
Drama
Romance
Lord Baddingham goes to desperate lengths to retain his Corinium TV franchise and fend off bad boy rival Rupert Campbell-Black. Drama set in the cutthroat world of 1980s TV starring David Tennant and Alex Hassell
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2026
Sci-fi
Drama
Alternate-history space drama and For All Mankind prequel that explores Soviet cosmonauts, engineers and spies during a tense reimagined race to the moon. Anna Maxwell Martin and Rhys Ifans star.
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2026
Drama
Mystery
15
When one door closes, another opens for Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers as they bid farewell to the Upside Down and executive produce a new tantalising eight-part mystery. Retired aeronautical engineer Sam Cooper (Alfred Molina) begrudgingly arrives in a picturesque retirement community called The Boroughs, nestled in the New Mexico desert. He is befriended by neighbour Jack (Bill Pullman) and other residents but Sam fears these so-called 'golden years' will be the worst of his life. Everything changes after a terrifying nighttime encounter that suggests something monstrous lies beneath the community's impeccably tended lawns. To prove he isn't losing his mind, Sam joins forces with spiritual seeker Art (Clarke Peters), former journalist Judy (Alfre Woodard), one-time rock 'n' roll music manager Renee (Geena Davis) and retired doctor Wally (Denis O'Hare) to discover the shocking truth about their new home.
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2026
Drama
Crime/detective
Zoe and her family arrive on a remote Greek island, where her husband Dan's dark secret threatens to ruin everything. Drama, starring Jessica Raine.
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2026
Drama
Thriller
Drama about a bar owner in Manchester's gay village who becomes embroiled in a feud with his long-standing neighbour. Starring Alan Cumming and David Morrissey
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2026
Comedy
Romance
Alice is devastated when her best friend Steve starts dating her 26-year-old daughter Izzy, and the two announce that they'd like to give things a go
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2026
Drama
Crime/detective
15
With their two-year-old as the sole witness to her murder, Rachel Nickell's partner fights to protect him amid a flawed investigation. Based on true events.
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2026
Drama
Comedy
In 1977, two secretaries working at the US embassy in Moscow become CIA operatives after their secret agent husbands die under mysterious circumstances. Spy thriller, starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson.
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2024
Crime/detective
Drama
15
Student Pip Fitz-Amobi investigates a five-year-old murder-suicide case and gets more than she bargained for. Crime drama, starring Emma Myers, Zain Iqbal and Asha Banks
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2025
Comedy
Drama
Retired actor John Chapel and Detective Janie Mallowan team up to investigate murders in Wales.
See more These 20 TV shows will save you from a summer of sport
Authors
David BrownDeputy Previews Editor, Radio Times
David Brown is Deputy Previews Editor at Radio Times, with a particular interest in crime drama and fantasy TV. He has appeared as a contributor on BBC News, Sky News and Radio 4’s Front Row and has had work published in the Guardian, the Sunday Times and the i newspaper. He has also worked as a writer and editorial consultant on the National Television Awards, as well as several documentaries profiling the likes of Lenny Henry, Billy Connolly and Take That.
Frances Taylor
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