Here is something about ITVX that nobody puts in the headline: its new dramas appear on streaming six to nine months before they reach television.
Not after. Before. ITV runs a deliberate digital-first strategy, so a series premieres on ITVX and then turns up on ITV1 the following year. And the originals are on the free tier, with no TV Licence required.
So ITVX is a free service that is ahead of broadcast rather than catching up with it, which is the opposite of how people assume catch-up works.
First: free versus Premium, briefly
Everything in this article is on the free tier. You need no subscription and no TV Licence.
ITVX Premium adds the BritBox archive, downloads and most adverts removed. It does not add the originals — those are free. Our guide to whether ITVX Premium is worth paying for covers when the upgrade makes sense, and our guide to TV Licence rules for streaming covers why iPlayer is different.
The ITVX originals: new, exclusive, free
Secret Service
Gemma Arterton leads an espionage thriller with more geopolitical ambition than ITV dramas usually attempt. It ran on ITVX across late April and early May, complete, before television saw any of it.
Believe Me
True crime handled with gravity rather than relish, about systemic failure. The most serious thing ITVX has made this year and the one most worth your time.
Gone
A classic ITV detective drama, inspired by real investigative work. If you want the thing ITV has always been good at, done properly, this is it.
The Lady
Emotionally driven period drama with money visibly spent on it. Exactly what it looks like, and well made.
The archive, which is ITVX’s real strength
ITVX has the best free collection of British crime drama in the country, and that is not a small claim. No paid service in Britain carries this much of it.
Broadchurch
Three series, and the first is as good as British television gets. A child’s death in a small Dorset town, and a community picking itself apart. David Tennant and Olivia Colman both doing career-best work.
Start here if you start anywhere.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office
The dramatised story of the sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted over the Horizon accounting system, and the decades it took to be believed.
Worth watching on its merits, and worth watching because of what happened after it. Very few dramas change government policy. This one did, within weeks of broadcast, on a scandal that had been public for years and ignored. Four episodes.
Grace
Detective Superintendent Roy Grace working the south coast with DI Glenn Branson. Unflashy, consistently good, and there is a lot of it — which is the point when you want something reliable rather than remarkable.
Des
David Tennant as Dennis Nilsen. Three episodes that refuse to sensationalise, which makes it far more unsettling than a conventional treatment would be. Our guide to true crime documentaries in the UK covers the non-fiction side of the same territory.
Appropriate Adult
From 2011, and praised for its accuracy by the investigators who were actually there. A character study rather than a crime story, built around the woman appointed to sit with Fred West during his interviews.
A Confession
Martin Freeman as a detective who breaks procedure to solve a case and loses his career for it. Haunting, and based closely on what happened.
The Long Call
A seaside whodunnit adapted from Ann Cleeves, moodier and gentler than the above, with a central relationship handled without fuss.
Mrs Biggs
From 2012, about Charmian Biggs rather than Ronnie — the Great Train Robbery from the perspective of the person left behind. Sheridan Smith is remarkable in it.
Beyond crime
- The Affair — five series of the same events told from different and incompatible points of view. A formal experiment that works.
- The Family Next Door — twisty and scenic, in the Big Little Lies mould.
- I Fought the Law — a real legal campaign, carried by its character work.
- Frauds — Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker running a heist in southern Spain. Lighter than everything else here.
- The Dark — a Scottish serial-killer investigation with Laura Donnelly as DI Monica Kennedy.
- Betrayal — Shaun Evans in a spy drama about what secrecy does to the people around the spy rather than to the spy.
These were all current when last checked in June. Drama rotates, so confirm in the app before planning an evening around one, and our guide to finding which service has a programme in the UK covers how to check.
One practical tip
Browse the Drama & Soaps category or the Binge-worthy Boxsets collection, rather than searching.
ITVX’s search is weak and tends to return single episodes and clips. The curated collections are where complete runs sit, and two minutes of browsing beats ten of searching. The same is true of Channel 4, as our guide to the best series on Channel 4 notes.
Where to start
- Broadchurch, series one. The best thing on the service.
- Mr Bates vs The Post Office, if you want something that mattered. Four episodes.
- Des, if you want to be unsettled. Three episodes.
- Believe Me, if you want the best of this year’s originals.
- Grace, if you want something with a lot of episodes and no demands.
- Frauds, if you want to enjoy yourself.
How it fits with the other free services
The three free British services have divided the territory fairly neatly, and between them they cover most of what a household needs.
- ITVX — crime drama, and new drama ahead of broadcast. No licence.
- Channel 4 — comedy, and since January the UKTV catalogue including Red Dwarf and QI. No licence.
- BBC iPlayer — the broadest and best drama, and the only one that legally requires a TV Licence, as our guide to the best series on BBC iPlayer covers.
Our comparison of free versus paid streaming in the UK makes the case that a lot of households are paying for less than they already have, and our guide to free streaming in the UK covers the whole field.
Common questions
Is ITVX free?
Yes, with adverts, and no TV Licence is required. Premium is a paid upgrade that adds BritBox and downloads, not the originals.
Do ITVX originals come out before television?
Yes. ITV runs a digital-first strategy, so originals premiere on ITVX and reach the broadcast channels six to nine months later.
What is the best series on ITVX?
Broadchurch, series one. Mr Bates vs The Post Office if you want something shorter and more consequential.
Do I need a TV Licence for ITVX?
No. Only BBC iPlayer requires one among the free UK services.
Why can’t I find box sets on ITVX?
The search is poor. Use the Drama & Soaps category or the Binge-worthy Boxsets collection instead.
Is Broadchurch on ITVX for free?
Yes, all three series, on the free tier.
The short version
ITVX is free, needs no TV Licence, and its new dramas arrive six to nine months before television rather than after it. The archive is the best free collection of British crime drama in the country — Broadchurch, Grace, Des, A Confession, Appropriate Adult — and Mr Bates vs The Post Office is four episodes that changed government policy. Browse the collections rather than searching.
For the paid upgrade, see our guide to whether ITVX Premium is worth it.
