What’s on Grit tonight? Here is the full Grit schedule for Tuesday, October 27, 2026, with times in Eastern Time (ET).

Grit gives the whole of primetime to The Searchers

See also: What's on tonight across all channels | Wednesday's TV guide

Grit has cleared its 8pm ET slot for a single movie, and it’s the right call. The Searchers, John Ford’s 1956 picture with John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles and Ward Bond, runs 180 minutes and takes the channel to 11pm ET. Nothing else on Grit tonight comes close to it, and it is the clear pick of the day.

It is also an easy evening to choose. Against it, ABC has Dancing with the Stars and CBS has NCIS at 8pm ET. Neither asks for three hours.

McLintock! follows at 11pm ET, a 1963 comedy Western directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, with Wayne again alongside Maureen O’Hara.

Earlier, Shane runs from 8:30am ET. After that it is half-hour Westerns through the afternoon, and nothing needs planning around them.


Also on TV tonight at 8pm ET

  • ABC: Dancing with the Stars
  • NBC: NBA Basketball
  • CBS: NCIS
  • FOX: 2026 World Series
  • PBS: Finding Your Roots
  • The CW: WWE NXT
  • ION: Chicago Fire
  • TCM: Arsenic and Old Lace
  • AMC: A Nightmare on Elm Street (from 7pm ET)
  • FX: Independence Day (from 6pm ET)

Every channel tonight, side by side · Movies on TV this week · Tomorrow’s TV


Frequently asked questions

What’s on Grit tonight?

On Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Grit shows The Searchers at 8pm ET.

Is there a movie on Grit tonight?

Yes: The Searchers (1956) at 8pm ET and McLintock! (1963) at 11pm ET.

What’s on Grit late tonight?

After 11pm ET, Grit has McLintock! at 11pm ET.

What time does Grit’s evening start?

The evening schedule starts with Tales of Wells Fargo at 6pm ET.

Westerns, and very little else

Grit is a westerns channel, and it means it. Across the week we tracked, almost every hour went to a western: half-hour cowboy series from the 1950s and 1960s in the daytime, and western films in the evening and most of the weekend. It showed about 24 films a week, more than three a day.

It is less repetitive than most classic-TV channels. Only 43% of its airtime went to titles that came back on three or more days, because the films change every night while the daytime series hold their slots.

What a weekday on Grit looks like

The weekday has three parts, and they barely move.

Mornings are films. On most weekdays a half-hour of Death Valley Days opens at 6am, then Grit runs two westerns back to back, the second starting at around 8:30am.

From 11am to 8pm the channel switches to a block of TV westerns, each in its own fixed slot:

  • 11am: The Rifleman
  • Noon: The Lone Ranger
  • 1pm: Tombstone Territory
  • 2pm: Death Valley Days
  • 3pm: Zane Grey Theatre
  • 4pm: Bat Masterson
  • 5pm: Tales of Wells Fargo, for two hours
  • 7pm: Wanted: Dead or Alive

Then, at 8pm Eastern, the film starts. Grit’s primetime is a western film every weeknight, usually followed by a second one at around 10:30pm or 11pm. On the weeknights we tracked, the 8pm film included John Wayne in Chisum (1970), The Searchers (1956) and Fort Apache (1948), with Stagecoach (1939), McLintock! (1963) and The Train Robbers (1973) in the later slot.

Weekends are all films

On Saturday and Sunday the series block disappears. After The Texan and The Lone Ranger on Saturday morning, the rest of the weekend is western films, one after another, often seven or eight of them in a day. Sunday in the week we tracked went from Johnny Reno (1966) at 6am to Three Hours to Kill (1954) at 10pm without a single series.

The weekend films mix studio westerns of the 1950s and 1960s with later TV movies. Tom Selleck turns up often: The Sacketts (1979), The Shadow Riders (1982), Last Stand at Saber River (1997) and Monte Walsh (2003) all aired in the week we tracked.

Popular shows on Grit

The Lone Ranger is a western series that began on ABC in 1949 and ran for five seasons and 221 episodes, with Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. It is the most regular title on Grit, at noon on weekdays and on Saturday mornings.

Death Valley Days is a western anthology that began in 1952 and ran in syndication for 18 seasons and 452 episodes. Stanley Andrews, Robert Taylor and Ronald Reagan were among its hosts and cast. Grit runs it at 2pm and in odd slots around the day.

Bat Masterson is a western series that began on NBC in 1958, starring Gene Barry, and ran for three seasons and 108 episodes. It has Grit’s 4pm slot.

The Texan is a western series starring Rory Calhoun that began on CBS in 1958 and ran for two seasons and 79 episodes. Grit gives it Saturday mornings.

John Wayne films are the closest thing Grit has to a signature. In a single week it showed Stagecoach (1939), Fort Apache (1948), The Searchers (1956), McLintock! (1963), Chisum (1970), The Train Robbers (1973) and Angel and the Badman (1947).

How to watch Grit

Grit is a free over-the-air channel. You can watch it with a TV antenna, with no subscription, on a digital subchannel of a local station in most of the country. The channel number depends on your area, so rescan your TV if you can’t find it.

It is also carried on some live TV streaming services. Lineups differ between services, so check the channel list of the one you use.

Channels like Grit

  • Outlaw is the closest match: a western channel that runs films nearly around the clock, with Bonanza on Saturday mornings.
  • MeTV has a weekday western block of its own, with Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Rifleman and Wagon Train every afternoon.
  • H&I opens its weekdays with a run of TV westerns before moving on to action and Star Trek.
  • TCM is the place for older Hollywood films of every kind, westerns among them.

Who it’s for

Grit is for western fans, and for no one else. If you want a John Wayne film at 8pm or an afternoon of half-hour cowboy shows, it delivers that every day, free with an antenna. If westerns are not your thing, there is nothing here for you.

How can I watch Grit without cable?

With a TV antenna: Grit is free over the air on a local station’s subchannel in most markets. Some live TV streaming services carry it too.

What time does the movie start on Grit?

On weeknights the main western film starts at 8pm Eastern, with a second one after it at around 10:30pm or 11pm. The schedule above names each film.

Does Grit show TV series as well as movies?

Yes, on weekdays. From 11am to 8pm it runs classic western series, including The Rifleman, The Lone Ranger, Bat Masterson and Wanted: Dead or Alive. Weekends are almost all films.