Here is what stands out across UK TV streaming today.
Sunday night television settles into that familiar end‑of‑week rhythm, part spectacle, part reflection, part primetime comfort. Yet tonight’s schedule carries more scale than most, balancing a landmark literary adaptation, the expanding reach of the Winter Olympics and one of the biggest live sporting broadcasts of the year.
Golding’s classic reaches television for the first time
Lord of the Flies, 9pm, BBC One
It feels surprising that William Golding’s novel has taken this long to reach long‑form television, but the scale of the project perhaps explains the delay.
Jack Thorne’s four‑part adaptation approaches the source material with restraint and respect, retaining the novel’s psychological weight while expanding character perspective. Each episode centres on one of the story’s core figures, Ralph, Piggy, Simon and Jack, allowing moral descent and social fracture to unfold in a more intimate, character‑led structure.
The opening instalment, focused on Piggy, sets the emotional and philosophical tone. Stranded schoolboys, a crashed evacuation flight, no adult authority, only the fragile frameworks they attempt to build themselves.
Shot on location in Malaysia, the production leans heavily on atmosphere rather than spectacle. It is reflective, unsettling and deliberately paced, trusting the material rather than modernising it beyond recognition.
Spy drama continues television’s espionage cycle
Betrayal, 9pm, ITV1
Spy thrillers remain firmly embedded in the Sunday night landscape, and Betrayal continues that trend with a story rooted in domestic infiltration rather than global conspiracy.
Shaun Evans plays an MI5 officer pulled into a gangland plot that begins to erode the boundaries between professional duty and personal life. Romola Garai co‑stars as his wife, whose own perspective complicates the moral terrain.
The tone sits closer to psychological drama than action thriller, building tension through trust, secrecy and quiet compromise rather than spectacle.
Winter Olympics coverage expands across the day
Winter Olympics 2026, from 9am, BBC One and BBC Two
Milano Cortina’s opening week gathers momentum with full day Olympic coverage across BBC platforms.
Sunday’s medal events include the men’s singles luge and the team figure skating competition, both disciplines that blend technical precision with broadcast spectacle. As always, early Games coverage carries a sense of orientation, viewers learning emerging names, medal tables beginning to form, nations settling into rhythm.
Presentation remains anchored by familiar Olympic voices, guiding viewers across disciplines that often receive little primetime exposure outside the Games cycle.
Poplar faces tragedy in Call the Midwife
Call the Midwife, 8pm, BBC One
Before Lord of the Flies takes hold of BBC One’s later slot, Call the Midwife delivers one of its heavier storylines in recent memory.
A family tragedy reverberates through Poplar, forcing Dr Turner to confront whether earlier intervention could have changed the outcome. The series has always balanced social history with emotional storytelling, and this episode leans firmly into that strength.
Alongside the central case, quieter personal tensions continue to develop among the midwives themselves, grounding the drama in relational detail.
Intelligence and entertainment intersect
Secret Genius, 9pm, Channel 4
Channel 4’s lighter factual offering looks to uncover hidden intellectual talent across Britain.
Hosted by Alan Carr and Susie Dent, the format places contestants through Mensa‑style testing, blending humour with genuine cognitive challenge. Participants range widely in background, reinforcing the programme’s central premise that high intelligence often sits outside traditional academic pathways.
It is warm, accessible and gently affirming without losing competitive structure.
Classical performance on BBC Four
Eurovision Classical Concerts, 8pm, BBC Four
For viewers drawn to orchestral performance, BBC Four offers a more contemplative alternative.
The BBC Philharmonic leads an evening programme anchored by Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite, alongside British compositions and a contemporary premiere. It is measured, visually elegant programming, suited to Sunday’s slower pace.
Live sport shapes the day
Sunday’s sporting schedule builds steadily before reaching its late night crescendo.
Premier League football begins with Brighton vs Crystal Palace at 1pm on Sky Sports Main Event, followed by the weekend’s standout domestic fixture, Liverpool vs Manchester City at 4pm. Title race implications sit heavily over this meeting, with both sides capable of shaping the season’s trajectory.
Women’s Super League coverage arrives mid‑afternoon as Tottenham face Chelsea at 2.15pm on BBC Two, adding further top‑tier football to the day’s line‑up.
Then attention pivots fully toward the United States.
Super Bowl LX, Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots, airs from 10.30pm on Channel 5, live from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
It remains one of the largest annual television broadcasts globally, blending elite sport with cultural spectacle. For UK viewers, the late kick‑off is part of the ritual, a shared overnight viewing experience that closes the sporting weekend at full volume.
Streaming and watching from anywhere
With Premier League football, Olympic coverage and the Super Bowl spread across multiple broadcasters and streaming platforms today, viewing increasingly happens across devices rather than a single screen.
BBC iPlayer, Sky’s digital services and broadcaster apps allow audiences to move between fixtures and primetime programming seamlessly. For those travelling outside the UK, however, access to live sport and on‑demand television can become restricted due to regional licensing.
Secure VPN services are commonly used to maintain access to existing UK subscriptions while abroad. LibertyShield offers encrypted connections across phones, tablets and smart TVs, alongside a 48 hour free trial that aligns neatly with event heavy weekends like this one, allowing viewers to watch live sport and Sunday night television from anywhere, on any of their devices.
Sunday night takeaway
Tonight’s schedule feels expansive without losing focus.
A literary landmark reaches television with ambition intact. Espionage drama continues its small screen run. Olympic coverage builds narrative momentum. Football delivers domestic stakes before the Super Bowl provides global scale.
It is a Sunday defined by range, reflective drama, live spectacle and late night endurance viewing for those willing to stay awake.