By James Whittington, 25th February 2026
An action-packed mix of cult classics, popular remakes and contemporary thrillers headline LEGEND's selection of eleven Channel premieres in March, spearheaded by Kathryn Bigelow's gripping, suspenseful, and brilliantly crafted, ZERO DARK THIRTY, which dramatises the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Then there is the 2005 action-packed remake of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, starring Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne, Clint Eastwood's high-stakes assassination thriller THE EIGER SANCTION. and Frank Mitchell's survival drama ALIVE, the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team forced to eat the flesh of their dead companions following a plane crash.
Further Channel premieres include grindhouse-inspired exploitation thriller MACHETE, directed by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis, the adrenaline-fueled SAFE HOUSE, starring Ryan Reynolds and Denzil Washington, savage adventure THE ISLAND (1980), starring Michael Caine, gritty action-thriller CONTRABAND, a remake of the 2008 Icelandic film Reykjavík-Rotterdam, staring Mark Wahlberg, serial-killer thriller D-TOX, starring Sylvester Stallone, David Twohy's taut submarine supernatural horror-thriller BELOW, and Kim Lee-Woon's Neo-Western THE LAST STAND, that marks Arnold Schwarzenegger's first leading role since Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).
Let's start right at the beginning as on the 1st we have a compelling movie, ALIVE. Based on a true story of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashes in the remote Andes mountains in 1972, forcing the stranded survivors to resort to extreme measures, including cannibalism, to stay alive while awaiting rescue. It chronicles their harrowing ordeal and remarkable endurance against brutal cold and starvation. Stars Ethan Hawke, Vincent Spano, Josh Hamilton and Bruce Ramsay. Wild fantasy on the 6th in MACHETE. A former Mexican Federal agent known as Machete (Danny Trejo) roams Texas streets as a vigilante. Hired to perform a covert hit, he is double-crossed and forced to go on the run. Machete may be down, but not out, and he carves a path of blood, bullets and broken hearts in his quest to settle the score. A star-studded remake of a John Carpenter classic on the 7th, ASSAULT ON PRECINT 13. A bus carrying criminals, including Marion (Laurence Fishburne), is rerouted to Detroit's soon-to-be-closed Precinct 13. All communications with the outside world are cut off, and Jake (Ethan Hawke), an emotionally volatile police sergeant, is forced to work with the criminals to survive an attack on the precinct by a group of armed men.
ZERO DARK THIRTY is a gripping tale of determination and you can catch it on the 8th. Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden becomes one of the most-wanted men on the planet. Ultimately, it is the work of a dedicated female operative (Jessica Chastain) that proves instrumental in finally locating bin Laden. In May 2011, Navy SEALs launch a nighttime strike… Crime thrills on the 14th as we visit the SAFE HOUSE. Rookie CIA agent Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) gets the chance to prove himself when Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), a turncoat operative, is brought to Weston's safe house for debriefing. But soon after Frost's arrival, mercenaries attack, and Weston and Frost barely escape with their lives. The two men must join forces and try to stay alive long enough to figure out who wants them dead. A controversial thriller starring Michael Caine has its channel premiere on the 15th, THE ISLAND. Journalist Blair Maynard (Caine) is assigned to explore the Bermuda Triangle, where thousands of boats have disappeared in a three-year span. When he leaves with his adolescent son, their boat is shanghaied by a group of pirates who see father and son as new blood for their increasingly inbred clan.
We take a peek into the dark side of crime on the 21st in CONTRABAND. Mark Wahlberg stars as a security guard and former alcohol smuggler who is tempted back into the illicit business after encountering financial troubles. The thriller also stars Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Diego Luna, and Giovani Ribisis, and is directed by Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormakur, re-imagining his original film in this high-octane remake. Sylvester Stallone is at his best in the crime thriller D-TOX on the 22nd. He stars as a cop who goes on a suicidal alcohol binge after witnessing a brutal murder on the job. After he checks into a rehab clinic specialising in police officers, he finds that someone is murdering them one by one. The cast includes Tony Berenger and Emmy winner Charles S. Dutton. Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, THE EIGER SANCTION on the 26th concerns Dr. Jonathan Hemlock (Eastwood), a fine art professor and retired assassin, who is blackmailed back into service by a secret government agency to avenge a murdered friend, forcing him to join a climbing expedition up the treacherous Eiger North Face in Switzerland to identify and eliminate a Soviet spy among the mountaineers. THE LAST STAND on the 28th focuses on a former narcotics officer in the LAPD, Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarnegger) who has settled into a peaceful life as sheriff of a quiet border town. That peace is shattered when Gabriel Cortez, a vicious crime lord, escapes from FBI custody and speeds toward Ray's town with a band of mercenaries. Ray soon finds he must rally his team and take matters into his own hands. We end the month with the tense thriller BELOW on the 29th. The submarine U.S.S. Manta had a perfect record until the mysterious death of its captain. The next-in-command, Lt. Richard Brice (Bruce Greenwood) is determined to steer his crew back to safety. But after three battle survivors board the sub, bizarre and frightening things begin to happen as crew members begin to disappear, Ensign Douglas O'Dell (Matthew Davis) must piece together the puzzles of the submarine's past before it is too late to resurface alive.
Related show tags: ALIVE, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, ZERO DARK THIRTY, THE EIGER SANCTION, MACHETE, SAFE HOUSE, THE ISLAND, CONTRABAND, D-TOX, BELOW, THE LAST STAND MORE FEATURES De Niro, Pacino and Eastwood are starring on LEGEND in February Posted on 27th January 2026
De Niro, Pacino and Eastwood give us powerhouse performances as LEGEND celebrates the work of legendary directors this month, spearheaded by the Channel premieres of such cult classics as Brian De Palma's SCARFACE, Martin Scorcese's CAPE FEAR, Donald Seigel's THE BEGUILED, and John Frankenheimer's BLACK SUNDAY.
Other notable Channel premieres this February include Keanu Reeves' directorial debut, MAN OF TAI CHI. Leigh Wannel's tech horror thriller UPGRADE, Doug Liman's action comedy, AMERICAN MADE, starring Tom Cruise, Gary Fieder's quirky crime drama THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD, which stars Andy Garcia, Christopher Walken and Steve Buscemi, and Kevin McDonald's blistering politi...
LEGEND announces January 2026 premiere line-up! Posted on 23rd December 2025
LEGEND ushers in the new year with ten adrenaline-fuelled channel premieres, including Peter Weir's much acclaimed war drama GALLIPOLI, which solidified Mel Gibson’s stature as a leading man. Other well-known directors featured this month are The Fast and Furious helmer Rob Cohen with military science fiction action thriller STEALTH, Mike Figgis, who teams up with an outstanding Richard Gere for psychological crime thriller INTERNAL AFFAIRS, and Saturday Night Fever director John Badham, with American political thriller NICK OF TIME, starring Johnny Depp and Christopher Walken.
Other channel premieres include the box-office smash MECHANIC: RESURRECTION, the sequel...
LEGEND unwraps nine channel premieres this December Posted on 30th November 2025
It's seasonal thrills all the way as LEGEND unwraps nine channel premieres this December, including three 90's cult classics - Mike Hewell's classic crime drama DONNIE BRASCO, starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp, Paul Verhoeven's futuristic alien invasion thriller STARSHIP TROOPERS, and Robert Rodriguez's action-packed DESPARADO, with Antonio Banderas, Quentin Tarantino and Salma Hayak.
Favourite LEGEND action heroes showcased this month are Steven Seagal in crime vengeance thriller THE ASIAN CONNECTION, Jason Statham in gangster actioner WILD CARD, and Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in boxing drama THE FIGHTER.
Other crackers include Gerard Bulter in heroic fantasy GODS...
LEGEND line-up for November brings Stone, Gibson, Willis and Van Damme Posted on 23rd October 2025
It's thrills, kills and spills all the way on LEGEND this November with sixteen channel premieres, including Sam Raimi's comic-book Western THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, starring Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio, Walter Hill's buddy action comedy RED HEAT, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Belushi, Roland Emmerich's epic historical drama THE PATRIOT, starring Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger, Robert Harmon's cult classic THE HITCHER, starring Rutger Hauer, and Barbet Schroeder's outstanding crime thriller KISS OF DEATH, starring David Caruso, Samuel L. Jackson and Nicolas Cage. Samuel L. Jackson also stars in disturbing psychological thriller, UNTHINKABLE...
Heroes, assassins, warriors and rogues descend on LEGEND in October Posted on 27th September 2025
Heroes, assassins, warriors and rogues descend on LEGEND in October, with thirteen channel premieres, including Xavier Gens’ exuberant computer game adaptation HITMAN, sci-fi bad-ass action movie RIDDICK, starring Vin Diesel, historical action-adventure THE 13TH WARRIOR, based on Michael Crichton's 1976 novel Eaters of the Dead and Sylvester Stallone’s Veteran warrior John Rambo returns for one final battle as he seeks ferocious vengeance on a drug cartel targeting his family in the Channel premiere of RAMBO: LAST BLOOD.
Other favourite LEGEND action heroes are out for revenge this month, including Dwayne Johnson in FASTER, Craig Fairbrass in LONDON HEIST, Eric Roberts in...
RAMBO, ZORRO and CONAN join LEGEND schedule for September Posted on 21st August 2025
LEGEND is firing on all action cylinders in September, presenting fifteen channel premieres, including the highly-rated serial killer thriller THE BONE COLLECTOR, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, the post-apocalyptic REIGN OF FIRE with Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale, and Keanu Reeves and Denzel Washington starring in tech thriller CHAIN REACTION.
Sylvester Stallone’s famous portrayal of the PTSD-plagued John Rambo is given the full-bloodied treatment in the Channel premiere of RAMBO (2008), which Stallone directed and co-wrote. Another favourite action franchise, given a new interpretation, is CONAN THE BARBARIAN (2011) with Jason Momoa in the title r...
CHARLIE’S ANGELS fly onto LEGEND in August plus seven movie premieres Posted on 25th July 2025
There is sizzling, summer action on LEGEND this August with seven premieres, including the UK TV premiere of ACCELERATION, a tense Dolph Lundgren thriller, which also stars Natalie Burns in brilliant action-hero form, and the Channel premiere of Nicolas Winding-Refn’s stylish crime-noir DRIVE, which solidified Ryan Gosling's status as a leading man.
Other Channel premieres include sharp-shooting retro Western, BIG KILL, starring Lou Diamond Phillips, mystic adventure PATHFINDER, starring Karl Urban, Renny Harlin's action pounder 12 ROUNDS, starring John Cena, swashbuckling adventure ROBIN HOOD: THE REBELLION, starring Brian Blessed and prison thriller HOW I SPENT MY SU...
The heat is on this July on LEGEND Posted on 26th June 2025
July is an explosive month on LEGEND, with seven high-octane primetime Channel premieres guaranteed to keep audiences on the edge of their sofas.
Leading the way is IN THE LINE OF DUTY, an explosive, round-the clock, real-time thriller starring Aaron Eckhart, and D.O.A., a suspense neo-noir thriller, a remake of the 1950 film, starring Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan and Charlotte Rampling. Also keeping the sparks flying is BURNING RUBBER, a high-speed thriller, staring John Travolta, Michael Madsen and Shania Twain, and TERMINAL VELOCITY, sky-diving gripper starring Charlie Sheen and Nastassja Kinski.
Plus, there is BEST OF THE BEST, an edge of the mat showdown martial a...
‘80s hit The Fall Guy lands on LEGEND on 9 June and the original Charlie’s Angels TV series storms the Channel in August Posted on 2nd June 2025
Joining LEGEND’s beloved line-up are the cult ‘80s series THE FALL GUY - which inspired a 2024 film adaptation – and the original 1970s CHARLIE'S ANGELS, the show that launched a global media franchise.
From 9 June, on weekdays at 7pm, Lee Majors returns as Colt Seavers, a maverick Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter, in the Channel premiere of THE FALL GUY. This marks the first time the original series will be available on both TV and on-demand since 2013. Viewers can look forward to spectacular stunt work, crunching vehicle chases, and Colt's iconic GMC pickup truck mark with an irresistible mix of crime-fighting and Hollywood satire.
... PICK OF THE WEEK
