Apocalypse is Channel 4’s survival experiment series: fourteen people from the UK and Australia enter an abandoned town in two groups, initially unaware of each other. Channel 4 lists seven episodes and announced a UK start of Sunday, September 13, 2026, at 9 p.m. Channel 4’s programme announcement

How does the programme work?

The setting is a town with the remains of everyday life, rather than a remote island. Participants must find supplies and make useful things from what is already there, without the utilities they normally rely on. The Garden, which produces the series, describes the central question as whether the groups can cooperate when resources are scarce. The Garden’s production page

Part of the format What it means
Two groups Eastside and Westside begin separately, without knowing the other group exists
Urban setting An abandoned town provides buildings and materials to explore and reuse
Limited resources Access to supplies creates a conflict between the groups
Mixed practical experience Participants include a mechanic, paramedic, farmer and social media creator

The September 10 press pack describes the groups and their competition for supplies. Channel 4 describes the experiment as lasting 28 days; that is the participants’ challenge, not the number of episodes or a four-week broadcast promise. Channel 4’s September 11 announcement

Are there seven episodes or eight?

Use seven for the current series listing. Channel 4’s September 10 press pack says seven, and The Garden’s current production page lists seven hour-long instalments.

An earlier commissioning post from The Garden described an eight-part order. Neither page explains why the count changed. The hour-long format listing does not establish the exact runtime of each stream.

Where can you watch it?

Channel 4 announced television and streaming access from September 13 at 9 p.m. UK time (BST). Official broadcast and streaming notice, published September 3

Open the Channel 4 programme page or search for Apocalypse in its app. Check the episode list for full programmes, playback availability and the next television listing. The announced start alone does not establish that all seven episodes are available together.

For viewers in the US, Canada or Australia, these announcements identify Channel 4 but do not name a local streaming service or release date. The Australian participants do not establish Australian distribution.

If the service itself fails to load, our guide to checking whether a website or app is down helps separate a service fault from an unavailable programme. Find other programme explainers in Entertainment.

FAQ

Is Apocalypse a drama or a reality programme?

It is a survival experiment involving ordinary participants. The abandoned-town scenario is the programme’s setup, rather than a report of a real disaster. The Garden describes the format here.

Does the press pack give a complete weekly schedule?

No. The September 10 pack gives the September 13 start and seven-episode count, without a full list of later air dates. Use Channel 4’s current listings for the next episode.

Official sources