How to Cite a TV Show

To cite a TV show, put the episode title in quotation marks, italicize the series title, and add the network or streaming platform, following whichever citation style your instructor requires. MLA, APA, and Chicago each ask for a slightly different mix of season number, episode number, director, and air date. Streaming exclusives like Netflix or Hulu series add one more wrinkle since they often skip a traditional broadcast date entirely. This guide walks through each style with copy ready examples for a single episode, a full series, and a streaming release.

TV Show Citation Formats at a Glance

Before digging into the rules, here is how the same episode looks across the three most common academic styles.

Style	Works Cited / Reference Entry	In-Text Citation
MLA	“Diversity Day.” The Office, created by Greg Daniels, season 1, episode 2, NBC, 29 Mar. 2005.	(“Diversity Day”)
APA	Daniels, G. (Writer), and Kwapis, K. (Director). (2005, March 29). Diversity day (Season 1, Episode 2) [TV series episode]. In G. Daniels (Executive Producer), The Office. NBC Universal Television.	(Daniels and Kwapis, 2005)
Chicago	The Office. Season 1, episode 2, “Diversity Day.” Directed by Ken Kwapis. Aired March 29, 2005, on NBC.	1. The Office, season 1, episode 2, “Diversity Day,” directed by Ken Kwapis, aired March 29, 2005, on NBC.

Which Citation Style Should You Use?

• MLA: the default for English, film, and most humanities courses.
• APA: standard for psychology, education, and other social science papers.
• Chicago: common in history courses and some publishing contexts.

When your assignment does not name a style, ask your instructor before defaulting to MLA. Each format changes which details come first, so picking the right one before you start saves a full rewrite later.

How to Cite a TV Show in MLA Format

To cite a TV show in MLA format, treat it as a single episode or as a full series depending on how you used it. For one episode, list the episode title in quotation marks, the series title in italics, the season and episode numbers, the network, and the air date. For the whole series, drop the episode-specific fields and cite the series entry instead.

Citing a Single Episode in MLA

The format line below shows the exact order MLA expects, starting with the title in quotation marks.

Format: “Episode Title.” Series Title, season #, episode #, Network, Air Date.

Example: “Diversity Day.” The Office, season 1, episode 2, NBC, 29 Mar. 2005.

See the MLA Style Center’s episode template for additional variations, such as citing a specific writer or director.

Citing a Full TV Series in MLA

When you reference the whole show rather than one part, drop those extra details and use the entry format below instead.

Format: Series Title. Created by Creator Name, Production Company, Start Year-End Year.

Example: The Office. Created by Greg Daniels, NBC Universal Television, 2005-2013.

The MLA Style Center’s guide to movies and television shows covers series with multiple creators or international distributors.

MLA In-Text Citations for a TV Show

Use a shortened version of the episode title in parentheses. If you are noting a specific moment, add a timestamp instead of a page number.

Example: The episode opens with an uncomfortable diversity training seminar (“Diversity Day” 00:04:12).

How to Cite a TV Show in APA Format

To cite a TV show in APA format, open the reference with the writer and director credits instead of the network, since APA 7th edition builds television references around the people who made the episode. Add the air date, the episode title in sentence case, the season and episode numbers in parentheses, the executive producer, and the production company.

Citing a Single Episode in APA

Format: Writer Last Name, F. M. (Writer), and Director Last Name, F. M. (Director). (Year, Month Day). Episode title (Season #, Episode #) [TV series episode]. In Executive Producer Name (Executive Producer), Series Title. Production Company.

Example: Daniels, G. (Writer), and Kwapis, K. (Director). (2005, March 29). Diversity day (Season 1, Episode 2) [TV series episode]. In G. Daniels (Executive Producer), The Office. NBC Universal Television.

The official APA Style guide to film and television references also covers documentaries and mini-series with a single director.

Citing a Full TV Series in APA

Format: Executive Producer Last Name, F. M. (Executive Producer). (Start Year-End Year). Series Title [TV series]. Production Company.

Example: Daniels, G. (Executive Producer). (2005-2013). The Office [TV series]. NBC Universal Television.

APA In-Text Citations for a TV Show

APA in-text citations use the credited person’s last name and the year, the same way a book citation would.

Example: The pilot episode relies heavily on mockumentary-style asides to camera (Daniels and Kwapis, 2005).

How to Cite a TV Show in Chicago Style

To cite a TV show in Chicago style, start the entry with the series title in italics, then add the season and episode numbers, the episode title in quotation marks, the director, and the air date. The exact layout depends on whether your paper uses notes-bibliography format or author-date format, so check with your instructor before picking one.

Do you need a footnote or a works cited page? Notes-bibliography style uses a numbered footnote plus a matching bibliography entry, while author-date style uses only a parenthetical in-text citation tied to a reference list entry.

Notes-Bibliography Style

Bibliography format: Series Title. Season #, episode #, “Episode Title.” Directed by Director Name. Aired Month Day, Year, on Network.

Footnote format: 1. Series Title, season #, episode #, “Episode Title,” directed by Director Name, aired Month Day, Year, on Network.

Example: 1. The Office, season 1, episode 2, “Diversity Day,” directed by Ken Kwapis, aired March 29, 2005, on NBC.

Author-Date Style

Format: Series Title. Year. Season #, episode #, “Episode Title.” Directed by Director Name. Network, Month Day.

In-text citation: (The Office 2005)

Citing a TV Show With Multiple Writers or Directors

When an episode has more than one writer or director, list all of them in the order the credits show, connecting the last two names with “and.” If a whole team is credited only under a collective name, such as a writing staff, cite that name instead of listing every individual.

MLA example: “Pilot.” Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, directed by Vince Gilligan, season 1, episode 1, AMC, 20 Jan. 2008.

APA example: Gilligan, V. (Writer and Director). (2008, January 20). Pilot (Season 1, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In V. Gilligan (Executive Producer), Breaking Bad. Sony Pictures Television.

If a citation manager or assignment limits you to one credited person, most instructors accept the director as the default when the episode was closely analyzed for its direction rather than its writing.

Citing TV Shows on Netflix, Hulu, and Other Streaming Platforms

Streaming-only shows rarely have a traditional broadcast date, so each style substitutes a different field to fill that gap.

• MLA: replace the network name with the streaming platform, and use the date the season or episode was released instead of an air date. Example: “Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers.” Stranger Things, season 1, episode 1, Netflix, 15 July 2016.
• APA: list the streaming service as the production company or distributor if no separate broadcast network exists, and use the release date shown on the platform.
• Chicago: swap “aired” for “released” or “streaming on,” since the show was never technically aired. Example: released July 15, 2016, on Netflix.

If an entire season dropped on the same day, that release date works for every episode in the season unless you are citing one specific episode with its own listed date. If you’re citing a documentary series instead of a scripted one, see our guide to citing a documentary, since the credit fields shift slightly.

Do You Need an Access Date for a Streaming Show?

You generally do not need an access date for a TV show, even one you watched on a streaming platform, because MLA, APA, and Chicago only require an access date for sources that change over time, such as a live website. A television episode is a fixed work once it is released, so the release or air date already fixed in the citation does that job.

The one exception is a URL that leads to a specific streaming page rather than the general platform. If your instructor asks for the direct link, add that URL at the end of the entry without an access date unless your assigned style guide says otherwise.

Shows re-released for home viewing on a DVD box set use a different format entirely, closer to citing a film than a streaming video, so treat that release as its own separate source if you reference it.

Citing an Episode With No Listed Title

Some shows, particularly reality series and talk shows, number their episodes without giving each one a title. When that happens, use the season and episode number in place of the title and skip the quotation marks entirely.

MLA example: Chopped, season 12, episode 4, Food Network, 3 June 2014.

APA example: Smith, J. (Executive Producer). (2014). Chopped [TV series]. Food Network.

If it has a broadcast number instead of a title (common on daytime talk shows), that number can stand in for the title field the same way.

Citing a Talk Show Interview or Segment

To cite a talk show interview, treat the segment the same way you would treat any other episode, but name the host as the interviewer and the guest as the interviewee in your surrounding sentence rather than in the citation fields. The works cited or reference entry still uses the show’s title, season and episode number, network, and air date.

MLA example: “Episode #2145.” The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, NBC, 12 May 2023.

In your paper, introduce the clip by name. For example: During the interview, the guest describes the audition process in detail (“Episode #2145” 00:03:15).

Quoting Dialogue From a TV Show

When you quote a line of dialogue rather than summarizing the plot, put the exact words in quotation marks and identify who says it in your own sentence rather than inside the quotation marks. Keep the citation itself short since the in-text format does not change just because you are quoting instead of paraphrasing.

Example: Michael tells his staff, “I am running this branch, whether they like it or not” (“Diversity Day” 00:06:40).

For longer or more formal guidance on introducing a direct quote smoothly, see our page on introducing quotations.

Common Mistakes When Citing a TV Show

• Italicizing the episode title instead of the series title. The series name gets italics, the episode name gets quotation marks.
• Leaving out the season and episode numbers, which makes it impossible for a reader to locate the exact source.
• Citing an actor as the author in APA when the style calls for the writer, director, or executive producer instead.
• Mixing citation styles within the same paper, such as using an MLA-style in-text citation in an APA reference list.
• Forgetting to note the streaming platform for shows that never aired on traditional broadcast or cable TV.
• Small grammar slips, like a missing comma before the network name, are easy to overlook but still count against you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you italicize a TV show title in a citation?

Yes. The series title is italicized in MLA, APA, and Chicago. Individual episode titles go in quotation marks instead, and that rule holds across all three styles.

Do I need the director’s name to cite a TV show?

It depends on the style. Chicago and APA both expect a director or writer credit, while MLA only requires it if the director is relevant to your discussion of the episode.

How do I cite one specific scene or moment in a TV show?

In MLA, add a timestamp after the episode title in your in-text citation, formatted as hours, minutes, and seconds. APA and Chicago typically describe the moment in your own sentence instead of listing a timestamp directly.

Can I cite a whole season instead of one episode?

Yes, if your paper discusses it as a unit rather than one specific installment. Use the full-series format shown above and note the release span in your surrounding sentence.

Do these rules apply to other media?

Yes. Documentaries, mini-series, and other video productions follow the same core citation logic, with small field swaps for things like a single director credit instead of a full writing team.

Related Citation Guides

Citing other kinds of video or audio media follows similar rules with a few field swaps, whether the clip lives on a network’s site or on YouTube. These guides cover the closest cases:

• How to Cite a Video Game
• How to Cite a Podcast
• How to Cite a YouTube Video
• How to Cite a Speech
• How to Cite a Website

Once you have your citations formatted, EssayReply’s free citation generator can help you double-check punctuation and order before you submit.