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Best BBC shows: All the best dramas on BBC iPlayer

From all-time classics to the very best new drama series, discover what you've been missing on BBC iPlayer.

James Nelson-Joyce stars in This City Is Ours season 2; in this scene, Michael holds a small cup of tea to his face, while staring intensely ahead of him

BBC/Leftbank Pictures/James Stack

Published: Thursday, 29 October 2026 at 1:37 pm

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From gripping crime thrillers to sweeping literary adaptations, BBC iPlayer is packed with acclaimed dramas. With new releases regularly arriving alongside a wealth of favourites, the hardest part is deciding what to watch first - but we're here to help.

If you've not yet sampled Liverpool-set crime drama This City Is Ours starring Sean Bean and James Nelson-Joyce, then you're in for a treat. When a crime boss plans to retire, a dangerous power struggle erupts within his organisation, setting up a dramatic story that continues into season two...

Jimmy McGovern’s prison anthology drama Time recently returned for a third run – now set in a young offender institution – starring Siobhan Finneran and David Tennant. It’s heartbreaking, nailbiting and should win a slew of awards. Earlier series feature Sean Bean, Stephen Graham, Jodie Whittaker and Bella Ramsey, so the stellar acting is just one reason to tune in.

McMafia is a globe-spanning crime thriller starring James Norton as a London financier from a Russian exile family who is drawn into international organised crime while trying to protect those closest to him. Inspired by Misha Glenny’s non-fiction book, the eight-part drama also stars Juliet Rylance, David Strathairn and Merab Ninidze.

A spin-off from Abi Morgan’s legal drama, The Split Up is as addictive as its glossy predecessor. Divorce lawyer Aria (Ritu Arya, right) battles with personal issues and a father who won’t let go of the business reins while powering through A-list divorce negotiations.

New to Blue Lights? This gripping Belfast-set police drama follows rookie officers as they balance frontline policing with life beyond the badge. With season 3 having just arrived, now's the perfect time to dive in and catch up on one of the UK's most acclaimed crime dramas.

There's another crafty mystery-within-a-mystery in Antony Horowitz's Marble Hall Murders as Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville) starts work on a new project featuring sleuth Atticus Pünd – only for real life to start mirroring fiction.

When it comes to depicting the thrill of fame and its accompanying anxieties, few dramas do it better than high-quality Australian export The Newsreader. It has remained frustratingly under the radar over the course of its three-series run, but do seek it out, for while its setting in Australian commercial newsrooms of the 1980s may seem far removed from the lived experience of many, all human frailties are here.

There's also Sally Wainwright’s empowering drama Riot Women, Jack Thorne's adaptation of Lord of the Flies, or The Narrow Road to the Deep North starring Jacob Elordi. Then there are offbeat comedy dramas like Ludwig, The Outlaws and This Is Going to Hurt, while those wanting something more hard-hitting can turn to The Responder or a range of true-story adaptations like The Sixth Commandment and Four Lives.

However, with so much to binge-watch, it can overwhelming to have such a wide range of choice. So we've put together a list of the best available drama series right now, which should mean you can find something to suit you without all that endless scrolling.

Read on, enjoy - and tune in.

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