The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is on after Graham Norton tonight

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is on television tonight, giving fans the chance to revisit the dystopian world of Panem and discover the origins of one of its most notorious characters.

The 2023 film, which stars Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, takes viewers back decades before Katniss Everdeen’s fight for survival, focusing on a young Coriolanus Snow before he becomes the ruthless President of Panem.

But what time is it on, which channel is showing it, and can you stream it online? Here is everything you need to know.

What time is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes on TV tonight?

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes airs on BBC One at 11.30pm on Friday, 13 November 2026.

The scheduled broadcast is listed as running until 1.55am on Saturday morning.

Viewers in Scotland have a separate listing, with the film scheduled for midnight on BBC One Scotland. The 11.30pm listing applies to BBC One in England and Wales.

How to watch and stream The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

The film is being shown on BBC One and is expected to become available on BBC iPlayer shortly after its television broadcast.

If you miss the late-night showing, check BBC iPlayer for catch-up availability.

The film is also available to rent or buy digitally through services including Apple TV, Amazon Video, Rakuten TV and Sky Store. Prices and availability can vary between platforms.

What is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes about?

Set 64 years before the events of the original Hunger Games story, the film explores the early life of Coriolanus Snow, long before he becomes the authoritarian leader of Panem.

At 18, Snow is struggling to restore the fortunes of his once-powerful family. With the tenth annual Hunger Games approaching, he is given the responsibility of mentoring Lucy Gray Baird, a young tribute from the impoverished District 12.

Lucy Gray attracts the attention of the nation after singing defiantly at the reaping ceremony. Snow soon recognises that her talent and charisma could give them both an advantage in the deadly competition.

As the pair work together, their relationship becomes increasingly complicated. Snow must balance his growing feelings for Lucy Gray with his ambition, political instincts and desire to secure his family’s future.

Their alliance takes them into a world of manipulation, violence and shifting loyalties, as the film explores the events that help shape Snow into the man audiences know from the original films.

The story combines the spectacle of the Hunger Games arena with a closer look at the political machinery behind the competition. It also examines the beginnings of the Capitol’s increasingly elaborate approach to turning the Games into a national spectacle.

Who stars in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes?

The film features a high-profile cast, led by Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler.

The main cast includes:

• Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow
• Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird
• Viola Davis as Dr Volumnia Gaul
• Peter Dinklage as Dean Casca Highbottom
• Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow
• Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus Plinth
• Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius ‘Lucky’ Flickerman
• Fionnula Flanagan as Grandma’am
• Burn Gorman as Commander Hoff
• Ashley Liao as Clemensia Dovecote
• Jerome Lance as Marcus
• Clemens Schick as the Respectable Man

Francis Lawrence, who directed several previous Hunger Games films, returns behind the camera. The screenplay was written by Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt, based on Suzanne Collins’s novel of the same name.

When was The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes released?

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was released in cinemas in November 2023.

It is the fifth film in The Hunger Games franchise, but its story takes place before the events of the original films starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.

The film runs for approximately two hours and 37 minutes and carries a 12A certificate in the UK.

Is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes worth watching?

For fans of the franchise, the prequel offers a different perspective on the world of Panem. Rather than following a tribute fighting to survive the Games, it places the focus on a young man who will eventually become one of the series’ central villains.

Tom Blyth takes on the challenging role of the younger Snow, while Rachel Zegler brings a musical and rebellious energy to Lucy Gray Baird. Their partnership sits at the heart of the story, with Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage adding further star power as influential figures in the Capitol.

The film also provides more background on how the Hunger Games developed into the elaborate televised event seen in the original trilogy.

Whether you are watching for the first time or returning to Panem, it is an intriguing addition to the franchise – and a chance to see how the rise of President Snow began.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is on BBC One at 11.30pm tonight, Friday 13 November 2026.

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