A British trope in particular, these are quiet, largely inoffensive dramatic series, often of the Costume Drama variety, that The BBC and ITV broadcast on Sunday evenings (5:30 pm to 8:30 pm). They are designed for all the family to watch before the stress of Monday, and might also occupy a time slot that would ordinarily be filled by a Soap Opera during the week.
Sunday dramas are also well-established in the United States through the medium of cable. HBO, Showtime, and AMC reserve most (if not all) of their original programming for this night. In America, however, the Sunday Evening Drama Series is more likely to be racier and more violent. These shows also tend to be Award Bait.
Depending on the channel's scheduling and executive decisions, they can easily be a Dramatic Half-Hour or a Dramatic Hour Long. Compare and contrast with the Saturday Morning Kids’ Show, a Variety Show aimed at children. Contrast Watershed, the time when you can start showing uncensored content.
Examples:
UK Version
- All Creatures Great and Small (1978)
- All Creatures Great & Small (2020)
- Ballykissangel
- The Brothers
- Call the Midwife
- Casualty 1906: Although it arguably pushes the boundaries of this trope by being post-watershed and therefore slightly Harmful to Minors.
- Cranford
- Downton Abbey: It airs on Sundays in both the US and the UK.
- Heartbeat
- Howards' Way
- Kingdom (2007)
- The Lakes: It had to be screened very late for several very good reasons.
- Lark Rise to Candleford
- The Magicians House
- McDonald & Dodds
- Monarch of the Glen
- The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
- Poldark
- Wild at Heart
- Where The Heart Is
- Wycliffe
US Version
- Boardwalk Empire
- Bonanza
- Breaking Bad
- Deadwood
- Desperate Housewives
- Dexter
- Game of Thrones
- Girls: It's technically a comedy, but arguably falls into the confines of the trope for being an HBO show that's Award Bait and Hotter and Sexier, and for having a similar audience to the other US examples here.
- Hell on Wheels
- Homeland
- House of the Dragon
- Mad Men
- Masterpiece Theatre: It has aired many of the British series.
- Murder, She Wrote
- Six Feet Under
- The Sopranos
- True Blood
- The Walking Dead (2010)
- Westworld
- The Wire
- Bobbinsverse: Steeple features a Show Within a Show called Clotted Crime. It airs on Sunday evenings and is, essentially, the verse's version of Midsomer Murders, what with its Cozy Mystery elements.
