Episode two of Time series three is scheduled for Monday, October 12, 2026, with the finale on Sunday, October 18. The BBC’s own announcement confirms three one-hour episodes and a UK premiere on October 11: episode one launched on BBC iPlayer at 6am and BBC One at 9pm British Summer Time.
David Tennant’s arrival as prison officer Bobby Bailey and Siobhan Finneran’s return as chaplain Marie-Louise bring the drama into a young offender institution. The new setting explains why the third series is a distinct story, rather than a continuation of every earlier character’s plot. The BBC says the first two series are also on iPlayer.
BBC-confirmed UK dates
| Episode | Date | Confirmed detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunday 11 October | iPlayer 6am; BBC One 9pm BST |
| 2 | Monday 12 October | Date confirmed; clock time not specified here |
| 3 | Sunday 18 October | Date confirmed; clock time not specified here |
Three 60-minute episodes. This announcement does not establish a simultaneous complete iPlayer boxset or a US premiere time.
The episode dates and the new story
For the remaining schedule, the announcement gives October 12 and October 18 as the episode dates. It does not give their broadcast clock times in the passage checked here, so the first episode’s 9pm slot should not automatically be assigned to both. It likewise confirms the first iPlayer release at 6am, without establishing that all three episodes became available together.
The story centres on teenagers Peter and James and on adults confronting their own responsibilities after an incident inside the institution. Jimmy McGovern and Samuel Bailey wrote the series, with Paul Whittington directing. This is context from the broadcaster’s synopsis and credits, rather than a claim that the editorial team watched or reviewed all three episodes.
UK access and a separate US release question
The practical UK route is the BBC’s Time programme page on iPlayer: select Series 3 and the available episode listing. The service’s own regional message says iPlayer is available only in the UK. TV Licensing separately says viewers must be covered by a TV Licence to use iPlayer. A programme being listed online therefore does not mean access is unrestricted or licence-free.
The American release is a separate question. BBC and BritBox confirm a North American co-production, but that fact alone does not establish the US premiere day or a simultaneous BBC release. October 22 appears in a US schedule article reviewed for this guide; the corresponding US product listing could not be independently verified, so this guide does not present that date as confirmed by the platform.
Use the programme listing before planning your watch
UK viewers can use the official episode page to check what is available, and the BBC schedule information before planning to watch live. US viewers should use BritBox’s own programme listing and account terms for their territory. The links below separate the BBC announcement, the iPlayer route, the licence requirement and BritBox’s production announcement; no account registration or playback test was performed.
The useful follow-up is whether the episode listing and the broadcaster’s dates change, not whether a search snippet repeats a date. This distinction also keeps a UK broadcast time from becoming an invented US streaming time. For now, October 12 is the BBC-confirmed second-episode date, and the three-part format is the reliable basis for planning the rest of the series.
The BBC announcement confirms three one-hour episodes and the UK dates. The official iPlayer regional restriction and TV Licensing condition are separate access requirements. US co-production is confirmed; the US premiere date and a simultaneous complete boxset are not independently verified.
- BBC Media Centre — Time series three cast, schedule and credits ↗
- BBC iPlayer — official Time programme page ↗
- TV Licensing — using BBC iPlayer ↗
- BritBox — official series three production announcement ↗
- Vital Thrills — US schedule report, secondary date not independently confirmed ↗