The 40 most popular british action & adventure TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Doctor Who
2005
country: United Kingdom
The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.


Doctor Who
1963
country: United Kingdom
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.


Battlestar Galactica
2004
country: Canada
When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.


Minder
1979
country: United Kingdom
Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.


The Avengers
1961
country: United Kingdom
A quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners. Jonathan Steed - an urbane, proper gentleman spy - teams with various assistants throughout the series' run, including Dr. David Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King, to repeatedly save the world from diabolical schemes plotted by equally diabolical evil-doers (among them robots and man-eating monsters).


Emergency!
1972
country: United States
The crew of Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51, particularly the paramedic team, and Rampart Hospital respond to emergencies in their operating area.


Spooks
2002
country: United Kingdom
Tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, and the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a highly secure suite of offices known as The Grid.


Octonauts
2010
country: United Kingdom
Follows an underwater exploring crew made up of stylized anthropomorphic animals, a team of eight adventurers who live in an undersea base, the Octopod, from where they go on undersea adventures with the help of a fleet of aquatic vehicles.


Ben 10
2016
country: United States
With the fifth offshoot of the "Ben 10" franchise, the animated series returns to its roots and its original name, bringing 10-year-old Benjamin "Ben" Tennyson, his cousin Gwen, and Grandpa Max back to life on a new summer vacation journey. As in the original, the stories in the remake of the series also spin around an alien wristwatch called "the Omnitrix," with the help of Ben can turn into ten different aliens, which come up with different supernatural powers. He fights enemy aliens and experiences with his grandfather and cousin the most exciting vacation imaginable.


The Last Kingdom
2015
country: United Kingdom
A show of heroic deeds and epic battles with a thematic depth that embraces politics, religion, warfare, courage, love, loyalty and our universal search for identity. Combining real historical figures and events with fictional characters, it is the story of how a people combined their strength under one of the most iconic kings of history in order to reclaim their land for themselves and build a place they call home.


Merlin
2008
country: United Kingdom
The unlikely friendship between Merlin, a young man gifted with extraordinary magical powers, and Prince Arthur, heir to the crown of Camelot.


The Day of the Jackal
2024
country: United Kingdom
An unrivalled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal, makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer who starts to track down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake.


The Lost World
1999
country: Australia
Early 20th-century adventurers find themselves fighting for survival after their hot-air balloon crashes into a remote part of the Amazon, stranding them on a prehistoric plateau.


The Saint
1962
country: United Kingdom
Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those in need.


The Sweeney
1975
country: United Kingdom
Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter.


Torchwood
2006
country: United Kingdom
The exploits of a team of people whose job is to investigate the unusual, the strange and the extraterrestrial.


The Professionals
1977
country: United Kingdom
The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie is a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, comes to CI5 from the regular police force, and is more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship is often contentious, but they are the top men in their field, and the ones to whom Cowley always assigned to the toughest cases.


The Adventures of Robin Hood
1955
country: United Kingdom
The legendary character Robin Hood and his band of merry men in Sherwood Forest and the surrounding vicinity. While some episodes dramatised the traditional Robin Hood tales, most episodes were original dramas created by the show's writers and producers.


His Dark Materials
2019
country: United Kingdom
Lyra is an orphan who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. She is later joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As she learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds.


Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
2023
country: Japan
Scott Pilgrim meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers, only to find out her seven evil exes stand in the way of their love.


Strike Back
2010
country: United Kingdom
The series follows John Porter, a former British Special Forces soldier, who is drafted back into service by Section 20, a fictional branch of the Secret Intelligence Service.


Young Sherlock
2026
country: United Kingdom
Sherlock Holmes is a disgraced young man, raw and unfiltered, when he finds himself wrapped up in a murder case that threatens his liberty. His first ever case unravels a globe-trotting conspiracy that changes his life forever.


PJ Masks
2015
country: Canada
Connor, Greg and Amaya are normal kids by day, but at night they activate their bracelets, which link into their pajamas and give them fantastic super powers, turning them into their alternate identities: the PJ Masks! The team consists of Catboy (Connor), Gekko (Greg) and Owlette (Amaya). Together, they go on adventures, solve mysteries, and learn valuable lessons. Watch the first six seasons of PJ Masks now on Disney+!


Doctor Who
2024
country: United Kingdom
The Doctor and his companion travel across time and space encountering incredible friends and foes.


Gangs of London
2020
country: United Kingdom
When the head of a criminal organisation, Finn Wallace is assassinated, the sudden power vacuum his death creates threatens the fragile peace between the intricate web of gangs operating on the streets of the city. Now it’s up to the grieving, volatile and impulsive Sean Wallace to restore control and find those responsible for killing his father.


Black Doves
2024
country: United Kingdom
When a spy posing as a politician's wife learns her lover has been murdered, an old assassin friend joins her on a quest for truth — and vengeance.


The Musketeers
2014
country: United Kingdom
Set in 17th century Paris, musketeers Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan are members of an elite band of soldiers who fight for what is just. They are heroes in the truest and most abiding sense – men that can be trusted and believed in to do the right thing, regardless of personal risk.


The Persuaders!
1971
country: United Kingdom
An English aristocrat and an American millionaire come together to tackle crime.


The Sarah Jane Adventures
2007
country: United Kingdom
Sarah Jane Smith is a truly remarkable woman who inhabits a world of mystery, danger and wonder; a world where aliens are commonplace and the Earth is under constant threat. A world that Maria Jackson, a seemingly ordinary girl, can only dream of – until she moves in next door. Nothing will ever be ordinary again.


Troy: Fall of a City
2018
country: United Kingdom
Told from the perspective of the Trojan Family, the rich history of the Trojan War is explored, as well as the love, intrigue and betrayal of those who lived through it. On a trip to Sparta as a guest of Menelaus, Paris, son of Troy, falls in love with Menelaus' wife, Helen. After they depart Sparta together for Troy, Helen and Paris risk not only their lives, but those of their families and people as they trigger a chain of events that ultimately lead them all into an unending war.


The Agatha Christie Hour
1982
country: United Kingdom
This ten episode program was based on ten short stories written by Agatha Christie but with wide-ranging themes. Some were romances, some had supernatural themes and a couple were adventures. The common link was that all came from the talented pen of Agatha Christie, all were entertaining and each drama was carefully crafted and well cast with many of Britain's best known actors of the time represented.


Being Human
2009
country: United Kingdom
Deciding to turn over a new leaf, a group of friends who also happen to be vampires and werewolves move into a house together, only to find that it is haunted by ghosts of people who have been killed under mysterious circumstances. As they deal with the challenges of being supernatural creatures, their desire to be human bonds them.


The Champions
1968
country: United Kingdom
After a plane carrying three Agents crashes in the Himalayas, they are rescued by an advanced civilisation secretly living in Tibet who grant them enhanced versions of the ordinary five senses, and intellectual and physical abilities.


Danger Man
1960
country: United Kingdom
Danger Man is a British television series which was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the programme and wrote many of the scripts. Danger Man was financed by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.


The Protectors
1972
country: United Kingdom
The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series using live actors as opposed to electronic marionettes, and also his second to be firmly set in contemporary times. It was also the only Gerry Anderson produced television series that was not of the fantasy or science fiction genres. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. Despite not featuring marionettes or any real science fiction elements, The Protectors became one of Anderson's most popular productions, easily winning a renewal for a second season. A third season was in the planning stages when the show's major sponsor pulled out, forcing its cancellation. The Protectors first aired in 1972 and 1973, and ran to 52 episodes over two series, each 25 minutes long - making it one of the last series of this type to be produced in a half-hour format. It starred Robert Vaughn as Harry Rule, Nyree Dawn Porter as the Contessa Caroline di Contini, and Tony Anholt as Paul Buchet. Episodes often featured prominent guest actors.


Alex Rider
2020
country: United Kingdom
Alex Rider is an ordinary teenager enlisted to work on behalf of MI6, where he uses skills he didn't know he had to become an extraordinary spy.


Return of the Saint
1978
country: United Kingdom
Follow the swashbuckling exploits of Simon Templar, a modern-day Robin Hood of sorts.


Police Rescue
1991
country: Australia
Police Rescue was an Australian television series The series dealt with the New South Wales Police Rescue Squad based in Sydney and their work attending to various incidents from road accidents to train crashes.


Robotboy
2005
country: France
Robotboy is the latest creation of the world renowned scientist Professor Moshimo. Due to fears that Robotboy would be stolen by his arch-enemy Dr. Kamikazi and his main henchman Constantine to be used to take over the world, Professor Moshimo entrusts Robotboy to 10-year-old Tommy Turnbull, his biggest fan. While being protected by Tommy and his two friends Lola and Gus, or "G-man" as he calls himself, Robotboy learns how to behave and act as if he were a real boy.


Primeval
2007
country: United Kingdom
When strange anomalies start to appear all over England, Professor Cutter and his team must track down and capture all sorts of dangerous prehistoric creatures from Earth's distant past and near future.
British television's defining habit is the short series — six episodes, one writer, a finite story. That structure produced the modern prestige miniseries and a format catalogue the rest of the world keeps adapting.
Action and adventure television has to sustain across seasons what a film delivers in two hours, so the best of it builds serialized stakes around the set pieces. Streaming budgets have narrowed the gap with film considerably.