# Struggling with TV shows

**URL:** <https://forums.plex.tv/t/struggling-with-tv-shows/341080>\
**Category:** General Discussions\
**Created:** [December 3, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/struggling-with-tv-shows/341080 "2018-12-03T19:41:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Pad070](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@Pad070](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Pad070)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/struggling-with-tv-shows/341080/1 "2018-12-03T19:41:06Z")

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Sorry if this is the wrong place to post but wasn’t sure.

I’m really struggling to add some older TV shows to Plex. I’ve copied show names and episode info exactly from TVDB but they’re still not showing.

It’s older, 70s stuff shows like CHiPs, Alias Smith & Jones, BJ and the Bear and some others that are affected.

Is this a known issue or could anyone offer any tips?

thanks

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**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/struggling-with-tv-shows/341080/2 "2018-12-03T19:55:05Z")

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# Preparation 1

[Edit your tv shows library](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200289266-editing-libraries/ "Edit your tv shows library"),  
go to the ‘Add Folders’ tab  
and make sure that the path in there only points to a general folder `TV Shows`. It must **not** point to one or several particular tv show titles.

# Preparation 2

Go to

- Settings - Server - Agents - Shows - TheTVDB

In there, grab the line ‘Local Media Assets’ with your mouse and drag it downwards, so it ends up being at the bottom of the stack of active agents.  
Repeat the same under

- Settings - Server - Agents - Shows - TheMovieDatabase
- Settings - Server - Agents - Movies - Plex Movie
- Settings - Server - Agents - Movies - TheMovieDatabase

This steps is to prevent embedded metadata in mp4 / m4v files becoming a problem, because very often they contain nonsense.

# File and Folder Naming

1. Look up your show on [TheTVDB](http://thetvdb.com/ "TheTVDB")
2. Take the title as it is used on TheTVDB. If there is something in parentheses behind the title, take that too. If the title contains invalid characters (depends on your file system), like `§ : % *`, simply leave them out.
3. Check the [naming and the folder structure](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200220687-naming-series-season-based-tv-shows/ "naming and the folder structure") of your show. Name the top folder of the show exactly after the title on TheTVDB. No abbreviations. No additional subfolders. No aliases. Add the (year) in parentheses when episode 1 of season 1 of this show was aired.
4. Name the episode files according to the above linked naming guide. Use the same title as for the top folder. `Show's Title - s01e01 - additional info.ext` (’- additional info’ can be left out)
5. After you corrected the naming and folder structure, perform the [Plex Dance](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-incorrectly-identifying-tv-episodes/100265/4 "Plex Dance") with all files for this show.

so:

```auto
TV Shows / <-- this is the folder from 'Preparation 1' above
   Alias Smith and Jones / <-- a 'tv show title' folder
      Season 01 / 
         Alias Smith and Jones - s01e01 - Alias Smith and Jones.ext
         Alias Smith and Jones - s01e02 - The McCreedy Bust.ext
         Alias Smith and Jones - s01e03 - Exit from Wickenburg.ext
         ...

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Pad070](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@Pad070](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Pad070)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/struggling-with-tv-shows/341080/3 "2018-12-03T20:05:23Z")

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Thanks but I already know how to add TV shows. I’ve got 57 shows with various number of seasons in my TV folder. It’s not finding everything though.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/struggling-with-tv-shows/341080/4 "2018-12-03T20:17:06Z")

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The above is all there’s to it.  
Even if you already have quite a few shows in your lib: it doesn’t mean that you may have missed one or two (seemingly minor) things. Which may only come into effect once your library grows over a certain size.  
Or if you happen to add some shows which have problematic titles, which require you to follow the rules stricter, to prevent mismatches.

If your server is on Linux or on a NAS, folder access permissions could be a factor in your troubles.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/struggling-with-tv-shows/341080/5 "2019-03-03T20:20:19Z")

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