"TV Shows is empty" message despite folder containing media and proper structure

Plex Media Server
,
1

I recently set up Plex. I noticed a few days ago that one of my shows is only partially appearing in TV Shows (i.e., 4 episodes appear despite the fact that there are 12 episodes in the folder). That folder contained the correct structure, but also contained .iso files.

With that in mind, I moved the episodes to a new folder and updated the TV Shows library to point to that folder (and only that folder).

At that point, though, nothing showed up. TV Shows simply said “TV Shows is empty”. I re-scanned but that didn’t resolve the issue.

Next, I deleted the TV Shows library altogether and set up a new library also called “TV Shows”. The new folder pointed to the updated location. However, even then nothing showed up in Plex. I re-scanned and updated metadata but nothing appeared.

Finally, I decided to leave everything overnight with the hope that Plex just needed some time but this morning nothing is appearing. Also, when I use the Plex app on mobile devices, nothing appears there either.

Any suggestions for resolving this issue would be greatly appreciated!

Server Version#: 1.42.2.10156
Player Version#: N/A
Logs:

Plex Media Server Logs_2026-01-03_11-15-09.zip (4.0 MB)

2

Kinda feel like it is guess the show time.

Need to rip the dvd into episodes and organize properly.

/TV Shows
   /Sherlock Holmes (1984)
      /Season 01
           /Title S01E01.x  (where x is whatever container you rip to)
     /Season 02
        /Title  S02E01.x
       .....
3

Your media does not follow the proper structure. /Volumes/Starck/Media/TV Shows/BATMAN_THE_ANIMATED_SERIES/VIDEO_TS/VTS_01_0.BUP

Folder name should be Batman The Animated Series (1992) {tvdb-76168}
and file names should be like Batman The Animated Series - 01x01 - The Cat and the Claw (1).mkv

Fix your naming and structure and you will not have issues.

4

https://support.plex.tv/articles/201426506-why-are-iso-video-ts-and-other-disk-image-formats-not-supported/

5

Thank you for your response! Allow me to clarify: the media that isn’t appearing does follow the correct structure and is in an acceptable format (.mp4).

The reason I decided to direct TV Shows to a different directory was because I suspected that the cause was the structure of the directory. However, after switching the directory, nothing appears despite using the correct directory structure and the correct file format (and only that format—no .iso files).

6

I should clarify my original post: I understand that .iso files won’t be recognized by Plex. The files that aren’t showing up are in the .mp4 format. Additionally, at this point the directory I’m using for tv shows only contains .mp4 files—no .iso and nothing else.

7

In this case, there are no seasons, just discs. Because of that, I have used a similar (but different) structure:

/TV Shows/Sherlock Holmes (1984)/disc 01/episode title.mp4

For context, here’s the collection I’m working with: Amazon.com: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Boxed Set Collection) : Jeremy Brett: Movies & TV

nevertheless, will try changing changing “disc 1” to season 1 (and I will use the naming format that you suggested for the file) to see if that helps! I’ll report back later.

Thanks for your guidance!

…

8

Plex has no concept of “discs” in TV series. There are Shows, Seasons, and Episodes.
The file names of series episodes need to follow a certain naming pattern, or they won’t get recognized.
Read carefully: https://support.plex.tv/articles/categories/your-media/
Failure to follow this will result in unexpected and/or erratic behavior.

9

Can you use this for your naming convention (select DVD order)

10

Thank you! I had seen this article before but I didn’t realize the importance of both the directory structure and the names.

I renamed everything (directories and files) and now everything appears.

Thanks again!