Warner Bros. Discovery will relaunch TLC as a free-to-air entertainment channel in the UK & Ireland from January 2026, pairing a bigger slate of UK originals with a primetime cushion of US scripted crowd-pleasers.
Headline shows include The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, new spin-off Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage and Mike & Molly – a package WBD is describing as its biggest scripted order for its UK FTA portfolio to date.
Alongside the scripted push, TLC’s 2026 schedule will introduce a new-look Mock the Week – the satirical panel format produced by Angst – and Zero Stars, fronted by Roisin Conaty and Sara Pascoe, which sends the duo on a globe-trotting tour of the world’s worst-reviewed spots. Core TLC staples from Dr Pimple Popper and My 600lb Life to the 90 Day Fiancé franchise (including the UK spin-off) remain in the mix.
The relaunch is part of a wider tidy-up of WBD’s UK free-to-air line-up. From January, Really will absorb a curated selection of HGTV titles, the linear channel will close in the UK market, though its programming will continue within streaming service discovery+.
The 2026 FTA portfolio will comprise six services: Quest, Quest Red, Food Network, DMAX, Really and the new-look TLC.
Commercially, the timing aligns with WBD’s new sales arrangement that brings its UK & Ireland ad inventory under Sky Media from January 2026.
TLC’s free-to-air pivot widens WBD’s reach in general entertainment as it readies a broader 2026 reshuffle that includes the UK launch of Max and continued portfolio simplification (Eurosport’s UK brands were folded into TNT Sports earlier this year).
WBD says more details on TLC’s precise channel position and launch night schedule will follow closer to January.
