The Affair: Luther star's 'addictive' steamy thriller is coming to ITV and you can stream it for free
This is the first time it's been available to stream for free in the UK
The Affair, Ruth Wilson and Dominic West’s acclaimed, steamy drama, is returning to TV – and, for the first time, you won’t need to pay anything to watch it.
Plenty of people will treat ITVX as they do BBC iPlayer. If you miss the latest episode of something – be it Gone or The Summit – you’ll hop on there to catch up.
However, it has much more on offer. In fact, while it has the likes of The Lady and After the Flood, some of the best ITVX dramas didn’t even start on ITV, whether it’s The Stolen Girl, Black Sails, or Yellowjackets.
The platform’s latest acquisition is a biggie: The Affair, an award-winning series many viewers declared to be a “masterpiece”.
What is The Affair about?
The Affair is about – you guessed it – an affair! Specifically, it follows Alison, a young, married waitress who meets a teacher from New York, and they hit it off.
“Alison, a young woman waiting tables at a popular Hamptons diner, [is] trying to piece her life back together in the wake of a tragedy,” the synopsis reads.
“Her husband Cole struggles to keep it all together, with his wife and with the financially-strained ranch that has been in his family for generations.”
However, things become complicated when Alison meets Noah, a “New York City public school teacher and aspiring novelist who is spending the summer at his in-laws’ estate out in the Hamptons.”
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He has a wife: Helen, Noah’s college sweetheart, best friend, mother of his children, lover and wife of 17 years.
The series was created by Sarah Treem and Hagai Levi. Tream was an executive producer on Netflix’s House of Cards, while Levi worked on Scenes from a Marriage.
How to watch The Affair
The Affair seasons 1-3 will be available to stream on ITVX for free from Friday, March 13.
The first episode will also air on ITV1 at 9pm on the same day. It’s unclear when (if ever) episode 2 will be broadcast. Fear not, because you can watch the rest on ITVX whenever you want.
“Bringing The Affair to ITVX gives UK viewers the chance to experience the full scope of the series – from its early romantic entanglements to the darker, more complex revelations that challenge trust, perspective and truth,” a press release reads.
The series originally aired on Showtime in the US before it was acquired by Sky in 2015, where it was shown on Sky Atlantic for its five-season run.
Who’s in The Affair cast?
Ruth Wilson plays Alice in The Affair, starring alongside Dominic West as Noah.
Wilson will be best known for her performance as Luther’s beguiling, fan-favourite Alice, as well as her appearances in Mrs Wilson and His Dark Materials. She’s also expected to reprise her role in the next Luther film (exciting!).
West has enjoyed a storied career across several acclaimed projects, whether it’s his role as Jimmy McNulty in The Wire or King Charles in The Crown. Perhaps best of all, he played Fred West in ITV’s Appropriate Adult (one of the best portrayals of a serial killer ever).
The cast also includes:
- Maura Tierney (ER, Law & Order) as Helen
- Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek, Fringe) as Cole
- Julia Goldani Telles (The Girlfriend Experience) as Whitney
- Jake Siciliano (Shame) as Martin
- Victor Williams (The King of Queens) as Detective Jeffries
- John Doman (Oz, ER) as Bruce
- Kathleen Chalfant (House of Cards) as Margaret Butler
How many episodes?
There are 53 episodes of The Affair across a total of five seasons. However, you won’t be able to watch all of it right away.
Only the first three seasons are coming to ITV and ITVX. “Series 4 will be made available this summer, and series 5 will follow in 2027,” according to a press release.
Nevertheless, that’s still 32 episodes of telly to watch. Between trying to fit in all the other ITV dramas coming out in 2026, you may not even get to series 5 before next year! Each episode is around an hour long, too, so it’s a big undertaking.
Is The Affair worth watching?
Yes! Not only has The Affair been praised as a provocative, psychologically rich drama, but it’s one of the most well-reviewed shows of the past 10 years.
The whole series has an average 85% Rotten Tomatoes score, peaking at 91% and only dropping as low as 71% (in its third season).
The awards speak for themselves, too. Wilson and Tierney both won Golden Globes, and the show took home the best TV drama award.
As ITV has promised, it boasts “innovative, multi-perspective storytelling, complex characters, and [an] unflinching exploration of love, memory, betrayal and the long-term consequences of relationships”.
Read more: The best movies you can stream for free on ITVX
