Icons of BBC Scotland, The Vital Spark and Life Support made their debut in 1965 and 1999, setting industry standards. Our curated list, current as of March 2026, showcases over 20 of BBC Scotland’s highest-rated series. Boasting a rich catalog, BBC Scotland features more than 20 shows, with broadcasting dates ranging from 1965 to N/A.

Documentary series following the struggles and triumphs of five very different farming families in some of Scotland's most beautiful and remote landscapes.

Cult Scottish comedy about the lives of two OAP's (Old Age Pensioners) Jack and Victor and their views on how it used to be in the old days and how bad it is now in the fictional town of Craiglang.

Comedy sketch show set in the fictional Scottish town of Burnistoun near Glasgow. The show follows the exploits of characters such as an aspiring girl band and a serial killer who is unhappy at his portrayal in the local media.

Mockumentary comedy series following the life of scottish police officers from different areas of the force in a fly on the wall style.

Welcome to Britain's biggest beat. Covering 12,000 square miles of loch, glens, islands and mountains, cutting-edge crime fighting meets traditional ways of life.

Two brothers seem to get away with a crime - but soon discover they can trust no-one, including each other, in a pitch-black, contemporary thriller.

Iconic character John Rebus is reimagined as a younger Detective Sergeant, drawn into a violent criminal conflict that turns personal when his brother Michael, a former soldier, crosses the line into criminality.

The Vital Spark is a British television comedy set in the western isles of 1930s Scotland, based on the Para Handy books by Neil Munro. Starring Roddy McMillan as Peter 'Para Handy' MacFarlane, captain of the puffer Vital Spark, the series followed its adventures around the coastal waters of west Scotland and the various schemes that Para Handy would get himself and his crew involved in. The programme first broadcast in August 1965 as an episode of Comedy Playhouse. Two series, of six and seven episodes respectively, were commissioned by BBC Scotland and transmitted in early 1966, and autumn 1967, in black-and-white. In March 1973, an hour-long TV special was made, in colour, featuring the same cast. After the success of this, a further six episodes (essentially remakes of previous scripts but in a more contemporary setting) were commissioned, broadcast in the autumn of 1974.

Modern dating is a world filled with white lies, false pretences and confusing games. It's a world that Nina, an undiagnosed autistic woman, is about to shake up.

River City is a television soap opera, first broadcast in Scotland on BBC Scotland on 24 September 2002. River City storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional district of Shieldinch in Glasgow. The series primarily centres around the residents of Shieldinch, their houses, flats and apartments and its neighbouring streets, namely Montego Street and which encompasses a pub, bistro, community centre, café and various small businesses, in addition to a subway station and basketball court. The series was originally screened as two half-hour episodes per week. Today, one hour-long episode is broadcast each week - usually Tuesday evenings on BBC One Scotland, repeated Sunday afternoons on either BBC One Scotland or BBC Two Scotland. In Australia, River City is screened 11:00am weekdays on Seven's British-oriented multichannel 7TWO.

Mia is fleeing addiction and leaving behind a professional life in tatters in Scotland. She accepts a wedding invitation from her estranged sister in New Zealand – only to find the would-be-bride dead upon arrival. Caught up in grief and pulled by a dark attraction to her late-sister's fiancé Ewan, Mia soon finds that familiarity among a small community breeds secrets and tensions, endangering the brittle fabric of the town itself.

A friendship forged between James and Tully in a small Scottish town in 1986. One weekend, they make a vow to each other to go at life differently. But then, 30 years on, half a life away, the phone rings. Tully has the worst kind of news.

Lance Corporal Davis Lindo arrives in Aberdeen Scotland as a new detective trainee. Having completed his final tour with the Royal Military Police, Lindo dreams of being a detective at New Scotland Yard. However, he finds himself being sent to train as a Detective Constable in the North East of Scotland, he must quickly adapt to his new life in Aberdeen, a world away from anything the soldier has known before.

Life Support is a 1999 British medical drama series aired across six episodes on BBC Scotland. Katherine Doone works as a clinical ethicist at Glasgow's Caledonian hospital. Her job is to make the big decisions about what's best for the patient's long-term treatment.

Landward is a long-running Scottish television programme focusing on agricultural and rural issues, produced and broadcast by BBC Scotland.

Scotland's thriving adventure sports scene - from mountain biking and kayaking, to adventure racing, surfing and mountain marathons.

BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) is a British music festival run by BBC Radio 1. It is held once a year, in a different location within the United Kingdom each time. It was the biggest free-ticketed music event in Europe, until a fee for tickets was introduced in 2018, and always includes a host of new artists.

An irreverent, sideways look at the world of Scottish Football, hosted by Craig G Telfer, Joel Sked, Shaughan Mcguigan, Craig Fowler and Robert Borthwick, as well as real fans who explore the beautiful game and all its quirks and qualities.

Documentary following the life-saving work of Scotland's paramedics.

When Niall's estranged 'brother' Ruben shows up at his wedding, it leads to an explosion of violence that catapults us back through their lives.