The Best TV Shows on Sky Arts

Every Sky Arts Show Ranked From Best To Worst

The South Bank Show and Classic Albums represent the pinnacle of Sky Arts’s programming, launching in 1978 and 1997. Peruse our comprehensive roster of Sky Arts’s top shows, encompassing over 20 distinct series as of August 2025. Sky Arts has over 20 shows broadcast from as early as 1978 and as recent as 2024.

  • From the Basement
    From the Basement (2007)10.0

    A back-to-basics live music show where the focus is on the music, the artists and their performances.

  • Johnson and Knopfler’s Music Legends
    Johnson and Knopfler’s Music Legends (2024)8.5

    Join AC/DC singer, Brian Johnson and Dire Straits singer and guitarist, Mark Knopfler as they share their incredible knowledge and experiences with each other - and a hand-picked selection of music royalty.

  • The Art of Film with Ian Nathan
    The Art of Film with Ian Nathan (2023)8.0

    Ian Nathan explores the many layers of the world of filmmaking, discussing each episode with filmmakers, cultural commentators, historians, authors and critics; what defines these stories, how they came to be, and who were the creative forces behind them.

  • Classic Albums
    Classic Albums (1997)7.7

    A documentary series about pop and rock albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music.

  • Urban Myths
    Urban Myths (2017)7.5

    Our Urban Myths are stories that have been passed down over time and have now become part of urban folklore. But are they true? We take a slightly tongue in cheek, mischievous – and deliberately ambiguous – look at what might have happened...

  • The Legacy
    The Legacy (2014)7.3

    The death of a matriarch brings forgotten secrets out into the open and causes a prolonged battle for the family inheritance.

  • A Young Doctor's Notebook
    A Young Doctor's Notebook (2012)7.1

    A young doctor who has graduated at the top of his class from the Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry is thrust out into an isolated and impoverished country side as the village's only doctor. As he learns to adapt to his new lifestyle, he develops a morphine addiction to stay his sanity while realizing what being a doctor in the real world means.

  • Psychobitches
    Psychobitches (2013)6.8

    Sky Arts takes famous females from history and puts them in the psychiatrist's chair.

  • Landscape Artist of the Year
    Landscape Artist of the Year (2015)6.8

    It is a nationwide search to find the best landscape artist. Filmed at picturesque locations around the UK, contestants paint National Trust properties for a chance to win a £10,000 commission for a British institution's permanent collection. Through several rounds, winners are selected to advance to the semifinal, and then to the final. Judging the competition are British art historian Kate Bryan, independent curator Kathleen Soriano, and award-winning artist Tai-Shan Schierenberg.

  • Portrait Artist of the Year
    Portrait Artist of the Year (2013)6.7

    Artists from the UK and Ireland compete by creating portraits of famous people.

  • Neil Gaiman's Likely Stories
    Neil Gaiman's Likely Stories (2016)6.2

    A unique collection of extraordinary fantastical short stories from the pen of Neil Gaiman, directed by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard. With a score by Jarvis Cocker and starring a host of British acting talent led by Tom Hughes, Johnny Vegas, George MacKay, Rita Tushingham and Kenneth Cranham.

  • The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells
    The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells (2016)6.2

    The Nightmare Worlds of H. G. Wells is a 2016 horror-fantasy television miniseries, based on short stories by H. G. Wells. The four-part series of 30-minute episodes was commissioned for broadcast by Sky Arts. The series is hosted by Ray Winstone as Wells.

  • Discovering Film
    Discovering Film (2014)6.0

    Leading movie experts celebrate the lives and work of some of the most prolific and iconic Hollywood stars.

  • The South Bank Show
    The South Bank Show (1978)5.6

    The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.

  • Master of Photography
    Master of Photography (2016)2.6

    Sky Arts hosts a competition like no other to find the best European amateur or professional photographic talent. An eight-week, eight-episode trial in which finalists must convince a jury of world-famous photographers and experts of their creativity, instinct and versatility,to become the first Master of Photography. The winner will receive €150,000; a show; and a catalogue.

  • The Art of Architecture
    The Art of Architecture (2019)2.0

    An exploration of some of the world's most famous structures and the inspirations of the architects behind them.

  • What the Dickens?
    What the Dickens? (2008)N/A

    What the Dickens is a television panel game hosted by Sandi Toksvig. Team captains were Dave Gorman and Tim Brooke-Taylor for the first series and Sue Perkins and Chris Addison for the second and third. It is recorded at Sky Studios in West London.

  • Songbook
    Songbook (2008)N/A

    Exclusive interviews and acoustic performances with the legends responsible for some of the most famous songs of our times. Each acclaimed songwriter discusses their unique musical inspiration and writing processes before giving an exclusive intimate acoustic performance of some of their seminal songs.

  • Tate Britain's Great Art Walks
    Tate Britain's Great Art Walks (2017)N/A

    Danny Baker, Simon Callow, Richard E Grant, Cerys Matthews, Miriam Margolyes and Michael Sheen follow in the footsteps of their favourite British artists.

  • Bill Bailey's Master Crafters
    Bill Bailey's Master Crafters (2022)N/A

    Heritage Crafts President HRH The Prince of Wales has lent his name to a new series, The Prince’s Master Crafters: The Next Generation, set to spotlight Britain’s rich heritage of traditional crafts. Backed by Heritage Crafts and The Prince’s Foundation who put forward the featured experts from amongst Heritage Crafts members, the series sees a selection of top amateur craftspeople take on a variety of crafting challenges to supercharge their skills before each of them creates a final showcase piece to present to His Royal Highness in person.