Server Version#: 1.18.9.2578
Player Version#:n/a (for now)
I recently added Steven Universe Future to my Plex Drive, but at first, even after following the usual naming conventions, the episodes didn’t appear at all. I then made a Season 1 subfolder, moved them into it, and they added as alternate versions of the first twenty episodes of the original show, with the titles from Future overwriting the originals (i.e. Episode 1 is listed as “Little Homeschool” rather than “Gem Glow” even though both are on my server and both under different series folders.) TheTVDB has Future listed under its own show, so why is Plex just lumping it in with OG Steven?
The primary problem is that you are not following the recommended naming structure.
Follow the guidelines explicitly. Plex is very picky with TV shows. If you vary from the recommendations, things may work, but you are just getting lucky.
Read the documentation I linked and follow it.
Use a dash between the file name and season/episode numbers.
Use a dash between the season/episode numbers and any descriptive information.
Use a space on each side of the dash.
For multi-part episodes, use a preceding “e” for each number in the episode range
Use two digits for the season and show numbers
Incorrect: Steven Universe Future s1e01 Little Homeschool.mp4
Correct: Steven Universe Future - s01e01 - Little Homeschool.mp4
Regarding metadata, check the order of your agents. If enabled, move Local Media Assets (TV) to the lowest enabled agent. See example below. Do this for both TheTVDB and The Movie Database.
After you fix naming, structure, & agents, re-scan the library and refresh the metadata.
If things are not fixed, then Plex Dance both shows. Follow the steps exactly as written. The Plex Dance clears out incorrect metadata, etc from Plex’s database.
I corrected everything, replaced the dual episodes with singles, rearranged the agents, even did the Plex Dance, but now we have the reverse situation, with the episodes being listed under their season 1 names, but two versions of both, with the Future episodes playing automatically.
Check the metadata in some of the episodes for each show. Make sure it is correct and not full of extraneous information. For example, make sure the episodes for Steven Universe Future do not have their show name listed as Steven Universe. Also, depending on where you obtained the files, it may have extraneous information embedded, such as download location, initials of the person who posted the files, etc. All of which can mess with Plex’s ability to correctly identify the show.
Assuming the metadata is OK, here’s a couple of ideas:
First idea:
Take Steven Universe out of the library, Then scan the library, empty the trash, and clean bundles.
Steven Universe Future should be displayed with correct seasons, episode names, etc.
If it is correct, then add Steven Universe back to the library and re-scan.
If it is not correct, then it needs to be fixed before adding Steven Universe back to the library.
Adding two similarly named shows can sometimes confuse Plex. If it happens, adding them one at a time generally straightens things out.
Second idea:
Hover over one of the episodes, click on the three vertical dots in lower right corner, and choose Split Apart. This will split them into two separate entries.
On the episode that is incorrectly matched, try Fix Match, from the same menu.
Alternately, you might try Analyze and then Refresh Metadata instead of Fix Match.
The second way will obviously take longer. Hopefully the first way works.
I took a look at the metadata earlier, and put “Steven Universe Future” in the “Artist” field.
I tried selecting an episode, but neither “Split Apart” nor “Fix Match” are not available for the individual episodes. (I checked Plex’s official documentation, and it said that those features are not available at the episode level.) I also tried the “Analyze and Refresh Metadata” approach, but it didn’t work either.
Thanks for the info. Wasn’t aware of that. I’ve used it for Movies occasionally.
Did you try taking out Steven Universe out of the library? If you do so, does Steven Universe Future show up OK?
The only other thing I can think of is to put the year in the folder/file names. This works sometimes when Plex gets confused with reboots such as Magnum PI, Hawaii 5-0, etc. It usually is not required when TV shows are similar, like yours.
I’d try it with Steven Universe Future, just because there are less episodes.
Remove Steven Universe Future from the library, then scan, empty trash, clean bundles (like with Plex Dance). Steven Universe should be displayed correctly.
Rename Steven Universe Future to:
/Steven Universe Future (2019)
/Season 01
/Steven Universe Future (2019) - s01e01 - Little Homeschool.mp4
etc for remaining episodes
Then add back just the first episode. Rescan to update the library and see what happens.
If it works then you can follow up with the rest of the episodes.
I removed both SU and Future into a “Plex Dance” folder, and after naming everything to your specifications, I started by putting Future in first. Plex auto-matched it to classic Steven, but since Future was the only part that was in the TV folder, I was able to manually match it to Future. I then added classic Steven back, and all the episodes matched perfectly. Consider this problem solved. Thanks!
