Gary Lineker

The competition will air live on the streaming platform and there is a huge cash prize at stake.

Fans of tense competitions are in for a treat as Netflix has announced a new show with a life-changing cash prize.

Netflix has unveiled an intense competition that could see one person win £501,000, with none other than Richard Osman and Gary Lineker at the helm. The show is a “high-stakes” darts competition that will see amateurs go up against the world number one, Luke Littler.

Beat Luke Littler is the name of the Netflix show in question, and it offers people one chance to win one perfect leg of 501, earning them the £501,000 prize if they are able to beat the 19-year-old champion.

A nationwide hunt to find the 20 competitors brave enough to take on the challenge has opened, with regional heats due to be held in Manchester and London in September. The show will air live on Netflix on October 30, with Lineker as host and Osman as the expert analyst.

Darts prodigy Luke ‘The Nuke became the youngest world champion in the sport’s history at just 17 years old. A two-time PDC player of the year, he was recently named in TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 list. He featured in the Netflix sports documentary series Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen and appeared as a guest on The Rest Is Football.

The show marks Lineker’s return to live sport following his departure from the BBC last year. He shared in a statement: “I am delighted to be deepening my relationship with Netflix after such a brilliant experience with The Rest Is Football at the World Cup, and Beat Luke Littler feels like exactly the kind of unpredictable, live event television that gets me excited – I cannot wait to see who fancies their chances.”

Osman, who will star in a role similar to that on Pointless, said: “As a huge darts fan, and proud owner of a signed photo of Jocky Wilson, I couldn’t be more excited to join the amazing Beat Luke Littler live show.

“He’s the greatest player in the world. But 20 legs in a row? I honestly think someone is going to win that £501k. It’s going to be an incredible night.” Littler will be asked to play 20 separate legs against the 20 different opponents, meaning each qualifier only needs one successful leg to beat him.

However, this will still be a huge challenge given the level Littler has reached in 2026. The 19-year-old has won every PDC major staged so far this year, according to dartsnews.com, retaining both the World Championship and World Matchplay, and his Blackpool title came with a record-breaking 111.04 tournament average.

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He teased to Netflix’s Tudum: “Everyone thinks they can beat me. Now they get a chance to prove it.” Fans have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts on the concept and the interesting choice of experts. One joked: “That classic darts expert… Richard Osman.” Another quipped: “So Lineker buys a dartboard for the Rest Is Football studio and is now hosting darts shows? Come on.”

To watch Beat Luke Littler, viewers just need an active Netflix subscription. Once signed in, they will just need to select the Beat Luke Littler stream to tune in.

Beat Luke Littler arrives on Netflix on October 30

Kate Winslet and Maxine Peake staring in Netflix drama in one of many new shows.

Kate Winslet will team up with Maxine Peake to play two sisters on the run in new Netflix drama The Unheard.

The five part series was announced at the Edinburgh TV Festival and has been written by Jack Thorne who co-wrote the critically acclaimed Adolescence for Netflix.

Teasing the series Anne Mensah VP of content UK on Netflix said: “Maxim Peake and Kate Winslet are coming to join us in The Unheard. It is the best script with the best talent, we couldn’t be more happy about it.”

The two sisters, played by Winslet and Peake, go on the run “after an act of vengeance goes wrong”.

Netflix bosses have also signed up Gary Lineker and Richard Osman to be involved in live darts show Beat Luke Littler.

Lineker will host with Osman helping with stats as World Champion Littler takes on 20 top amateurs. If anyone can beat him over a leg they will take home £501,000.

In 2027, there will also be two stand alone series from the world of hit drama Top Boy which ended in 2023. Barry Keoghan is reprising his role as Jonny in five part series ‘Jonny Boy’. And ‘Jaq’ will be a new series centered on the character of Jaq with Jasmine Jobson set to return.

Jig, is a new six part mockumentary comedy series from Derry Girls Creator Lisa McGee. It is set in the high-stakes world of competitive Irish dancing, will shoot in Northern Ireland next year.

Netflix will also go into the world of Roald Dahl with a new series based on the author’s short stories for adults. The cast for the untitled drama includes ‘Bridgerton’ star Nicola Coughlan, ‘The Crown’s Imelda Staunton, and ‘The Wire’ actor Dominic West with filming beginning in Manchester this month.

Writer Danny Brocklehurst said: “The short stories of Roald Dahl were what first made me want to become a writer. His enthralling, macabre and always unexpected tales gave life to vibrant, larger than life characters like The Landlady, Mister Boggis and the mysterious Fingersmith. To be given the chance to bring these characters to life in a contemporary setting is a dream come true. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be partnering with Orchid Pictures, Netflix and this outstanding cast.”

And Bella Mackie’s bestselling novel How To Kill Your Family is being made into a Netflix series with a cast which includes Clive Owen, Orlando Norman and Anya Taylor Joy.

Mensah added: “In the amazingly competitive UK landscape, it’s not good enough to be just ok. You need to swing for exceptional.

“Across drama, comedy, entertainment, live and factual programming, our slate underscores the risks we are happy to take and the extraordinary UK creativity we are proud to champion. Bring on 2027, we can’t wait.”

She would not be drawn on the Duchess of Sussex appearing in The Gentlemen series three, saying: “Everybody has talked about it, I am boring by comparison.”

Pushed on Megan’s possible appearance, Manda Levin, director of scripted series added: “All bets are off.”

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