A British trope in particular, these are quiet, inoffensive drama series, often of the CostumeDrama variety, that Creator/TheBBC or Creator/{{ITV}} sticks on Sunday evening (5:30 pm to 8:30 pm). They are designed for all the family to watch before the stress of Monday.

Sunday dramas are also well-established in the United States through the medium of cable. {{Creator/HBO}}, Creator/{{Showtime}}, and Creator/{{AMC}} reserve most (if not all) of their original programming for this night. In America, however, the Sunday Evening Drama Series is more likely to be [[HotterAndSexier racier]] and [[DarkerAndEdgier more violent]]. These shows also tend to be AwardBait.

Depending on the channel's scheduling and executive decisions, they can easily be a DramaticHalfHour or a DramaticHourLong. Compare and contrast with the SaturdayMorningKidsShow, a VarietyShow aimed at children. Contrast {{Watershed}}, the time when you can start showing uncensored content.
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!!Examples:

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[[folder:UK Version]]

* ''Series/{{Ballykissangel}}''
* ''Series/TheBrothers''
* ''Series/Casualty1906'': Although it arguably pushes the boundaries of this trope by being post-{{watershed}} and therefore slightly HarmfulToMinors.
* ''Series/{{Cranford}}''
* ''Series/DowntonAbbey'': It airs on Sundays in ''both'' the US and the UK.
* ''Series/{{Heartbeat}}''
* ''Series/HowardsWay''
* ''Series/Kingdom2007''
* ''Series/TheLakes'': It had to be screened very late for several very good reasons.
* ''Series/{{Lark Rise to Candleford}}''
* ''Series/TheMagiciansHouse''
* ''Series/TheNo1LadiesDetectiveAgency''
* ''Series/{{Poldark}}''
* ''Series/WildAtHeart''
* ''Series/WhereTheHeartIs''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:US Version]]

* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire''
* ''Series/BreakingBad''
* ''Series/{{Deadwood}}''
* ''Series/DesperateHousewives''
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}''
* ''Series/GameOfThrones''
** ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon''
* ''Series/{{Girls}}'': It's [[{{Dramedy}} technically a comedy]], but arguably falls into the confines of the trope for being an {{Creator/HBO}} show that's AwardBait and HotterAndSexier, and for having a similar audience to the other US examples here.
* ''Series/HellOnWheels''
* ''Series/{{Homeland}}''
* ''Series/MadMen''
* ''Series/MasterpieceTheatre'': It has aired many of the British series.
* ''Series/SixFeetUnder''
* ''Series/TheSopranos''
* ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010''
* ''Series/{{Westworld}}''
* ''Series/TheWire''
* ''Series/TrueBlood''

[[/folder]]

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