TV Show & Episode Citation Generator
Cite a television episode or a whole series, whether you saw it on a network or on a streaming service. Enter the episode title, the series, the network or company and the air date, and get the reference in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and 10,834 other styles. Free, no sign-up.
How to Use the TV Show Citation Generator
- 1. Choose episode or series. An episode is cited by its own title, inside the series. A whole series is cited by the series title alone.
- 2. Fill in the form. For an episode, type its title in Title and the series in Journal / Publication. For a series, type the series title in Title. Put the network, streaming service or production company in Publisher / Site.
- 3. Add the date. Use the air date for an episode as year-month-day, or the first year for a series.
- 4. Pick a style. Choose APA, MLA, Chicago or any of the 10,834 styles.
- 5. Add season and episode. The form has no season or episode box, so add them by hand as the notes below describe.
Episode or Series, Writer or Creator
A television episode is a part of a series, so the styles cite it the way they cite an article in a journal: the episode first, then the series that contains it. The people credited differ with the style.
| Element | APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who comes first | Writer and director, each with their role | The episode title, or a person if you focus on them | The series, or a credited person |
| Episode title | Plain, sentence case, then (Season, Episode) and [TV series episode] | In quotation marks | In quotation marks |
| Series | Italic, after In and the executive producers | Italic, then season and episode | Italic, then season and episode |
| Company | Production companies, separated by semicolons | The network or distributor | The network, after aired and the date |
APA 7 (§10.12) gives the writer and the director, each in parentheses with their role, the full air date, the episode title with its season and episode in parentheses and [TV series episode] after it, then In followed by the executive producers and the series title in italics, and the production companies. MLA 9 starts with the episode's title in quotation marks, gives the series in italics with season and episode numbers, the network or distributor, and the date; add creators and directors only when your discussion needs them. Chicago 18 has no television sample in its Quick Guide, so follow its podcast pattern: the episode and the series, the season and episode numbers, the network and the air date, in a note.
TV Show Citation Examples
Fancy Party, the ninth episode of the third season of Parks and Recreation. The APA entry is the Publication Manual's own sample; the MLA and Chicago lines apply their patterns to the same episode.
A TV episode
APA 7:
Dippold, K. (Writer), & Trim, M. (Director). (2011, April 14). Fancy party (Season 3, Episode 9) [TV series episode]. In G. Daniels, H. Klein, D. Miner, & M. Schur (Executive Producers), Parks and recreation. Deedle-Dee Productions; Fremulon; 3 Arts Entertainment; Universal Media Studios.
APA in-text:
(Dippold & Trim, 2011)
MLA 9:
“Fancy Party.” Parks and Recreation, season 3, episode 9, NBC, 14 Apr. 2011.
MLA in-text:
(“Fancy Party”)
Chicago 18 note:
“Fancy Party,” Parks and Recreation, season 3, episode 9, aired April 14, 2011, on NBC.
Chicago 18 shortened note:
“Fancy Party.”
What the Generator Gives You
With the Fancy Party details entered, the generator returns Fancy party. (2011, April 14). In Parks and recreation. NBC. in APA. It does not add the roles (Writer) and (Director), the season and episode, or the descriptor, so add them. Do not use the Volume and Issue boxes for the season and episode: MLA prints them as vol. and no.. Leave the format box empty for MLA and Chicago; any text there prints as a stray sentence. A pasted person is read as an author, so use it only for a writer or creator.
Which Tool Do You Need?
- A TV episode or series — this page.
- A feature film or documentary — the Movie Citation Generator.
- A video on YouTube — the YouTube Citation Generator.
- A podcast episode — the Podcast Citation Generator.
- A radio program — the Radio Broadcast Citation Generator.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I cite a TV episode in APA 7?
- Give the writer and director with their roles, the air date, the episode title with its season and episode in parentheses and [TV series episode], then the executive producers, the series title in italics and the production companies. In text: (Dippold & Trim, 2011). A whole series is cited by its executive producers and title, followed by [TV series].
- How do I cite a TV show in MLA 9?
- Start with the episode title in quotation marks, give the series in italics, the season and episode, the network and the date: “Fancy Party.” Parks and Recreation, season 3, episode 9, NBC, 14 Apr. 2011. For a whole series, start with the title: Parks and Recreation. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, NBC, 2009–15.
- How do I cite a TV show in Chicago style?
- Use a note with the episode in quotation marks, the series in italics, the season and episode, and the air date and network: “Fancy Party,” Parks and Recreation, season 3, episode 9, aired April 14, 2011, on NBC. Chicago 18 has no TV sample in its Quick Guide, so this follows its pattern for a podcast episode.
- How do I cite a show I watched on Netflix or another streaming service?
- Cite the episode as above and name the service as the source. In APA the company that made the episode is the source, which for a streaming original is the service; in MLA and Chicago add the service and the URL after the date.
- How do I cite a whole series rather than one episode?
- Use the series title with the creator or executive producers and the years it ran. APA ends with [TV series], and MLA starts with the title in italics. Cite the series when you discuss it as a whole; cite an episode when you discuss that episode.
- Which citation styles does the TV show generator support?
- All 10,834 styles in the library, including APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18.
Related Tools
How to cite a TV Show in each style
Format rules, templates, and worked examples for the styles most often required.