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


The Last Kingdom
2015 · UK
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.


Doctor Who
2005 · UK
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.


Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
2004 · UK
When the Hellmouth opens beneath Darkplace Hospital in downtown Romford, kiddy doctor, Vietnam veteran and ex-warlock Dr. Rick Dagless M.D. is the only man who can close it. Joined by best buddy Dr. Lucien Sanchez, fiery hospital boss Thornton Reed, and woman Liz Asher, Dagless must fight the forces of Darkness while dealing with the burden of day-to-day admin. From the chilling pen of best-selling horror writer Garth Marenghi comes this lost masterpiece of televisual terror. Dare you enter Garth's Darkplace?


Doctor Who
1963 · UK
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.


The Avengers
1961 · UK
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).


Battlestar Galactica
2004 · CA
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.


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


Ben 10
2016 · UK
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.


Spooks
2002 · UK
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.


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


Minder
1979 · UK
Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.


Octonauts
2010 · UK
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.


Strike Back
2010 · UK
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.


The Saint
1962 · UK
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.


His Dark Materials
2019 · UK
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.


The Adventures of Robin Hood
1955 · UK
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.


The Day of the Jackal
2024 · UK
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 Professionals
1977 · UK
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.


Torchwood
2006 · UK
The exploits of a team of people whose job is to investigate the unusual, the strange and the extraterrestrial.


PJ Masks
2015 · CA
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 · UK
The Doctor and his companion travel across time and space encountering incredible friends and foes.


The Lost World
1999 · AU
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.


Danger Man
1960 · UK
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.


Black Doves
2024 · UK
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.


Gangs of London
2020 · UK
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.


Young Sherlock
2026 · UK
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.


The Sarah Jane Adventures
2007 · UK
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.


Ultimate Force
2002 · UK
This covert combat series focuses on the Red Troop, an elite group of soldiers from the British military's Special Air Service group.


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


UFO
1970 · UK
A secret, high-technology international agency called SHADO defends Earth from alien invaders.


Police Rescue
1991 · AU
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.


Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom
2009 · UK
The friendship between fairy princess Holly and Ben Elf in an enchanted magical kingdom of elves and fairies.


Robin Hood
2006 · UK
Robin of Loxley returns to England after 5 years of fighting in the crusades alongside King Richard. After losing his estates and being branded an outlaw, he takes on the title of Robin Hood and assembles a ragtag band of outlaw companions. Together they steal from the rich and give to the poor - all the while avoiding and outwitting their enemies Sir Guy of Gisborne and the evil Sheriff of Nottingham.


The Buccaneers
1956 · UK
The adventures of privateer Captain Dan Tempest and his crew of former pirates as they make their way across the seven seas in The Sultana.


WWE NXT UK
2018 · UK
A professional wrestling program showcasing the best of WWE's UK division.


Danger Mouse
2015 · UK
Danger Mouse is back saving London, saving the World and, most importantly, saving Penfold in brand new and fantastically absurd, energetic adventures.


Thunderbirds Are Go!
2015 · UK
Remake of the hit 1960s television show. In the 21st century, Jeff Tracy, a former astronaut, amasses a colossal fortune and decides that he must use it to benefit others. His answer to this desire is to create International Rescue, a unique private emergency response service equipped with customized designed vehicles and equipment that enable the organization to react to any crisis whether it be in sea, air, land, or space. Jeff's five sons volunteer to operate as the pilots and field agents, as well "Brain" who acts as the teams engineer. In addition, Jeff's friend, Kyrano and his daughter Tanusha aka Kayo (based on the original series Tin-Tin character) agree to be the support staff. In addition to the field team, IR also maintains an intelligence network with Lady Penelope and her ex-con chauffeur, Parker as the chief agents in this arm.


Thunderbirds
1965 · UK
Thunderbirds is a 1960s British science-fiction television series which was produced using a mixed method of marionette puppetry and scale-model special effects termed "Supermarionation". The series is set in the 21st century and follows the exploits of International Rescue, a secret organization formed to save people in mortal danger with the help of technologically advanced land, sea, air and space vehicles and equipment, launched from a hidden base on Tracy Island in the South Pacific Ocean.


M.I. High
2007 · UK
A team of undercover teenage spies working for the fictional British secret intelligence agency MI9 who have to balance their school life with their jobs as secret agents.


Being Human
2009 · UK
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.
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.