PERRLA/Guides/APA 7/TV series

How to Cite a TV Series in APA 7

An APA 7 TV series reference lists the series' executive producers with the label (Executive Producer) or (Executive Producers), the years the series aired in parentheses with an en dash between them, the series title in italics and sentence case, the description [TV series] in square brackets, and the production companies, separated by semicolons. For a show that's still airing, the second year is the word present: (2025–present). The streaming service and its link stay out. The in-text citation is the first executive producer's last name and the years: (Gemmill et al., 2025–present).

The format

Producer, A. A., & Producer, B. B. (Executive Producers). (Year–Year). Title of the series [TV series]. Production Company; Second Production Company.

PERRLA APA Experts · Updated October 21, 2026
Checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Choose Television, then An entire television series. Add each executive producer in the Executive Producer role, using Add contributor for each one after the first, in the order the credits list them. PERRLA adds one (Executive Producer) or (Executive Producers) label after the names. Type the title in Series Title, and type the years in Years the Series Aired, like 2016-2017 or 2025-present: PERRLA turns the hyphen into an en dash. Type each company under Production Company, using Add publisher for each one after the first. If you type the title in title case, PERRLA points it out and offers Fix it for me to switch it to sentence case.

The Where did the show originally air? and Streaming Service boxes are for MLA and Turabian. You can type PBS, Max, or Netflix there, and PERRLA leaves them out of the APA reference.

PERRLA can also look a series up: type its name followed by the words tv series (for example, Mercy Street tv series) or paste its IMDb link into the reference search. It fills in the title, the years, some of the executive producers, and a company. Before you save it, check it against the credits or the network's press materials: the full title with any subtitle, in sentence case (use Fix it for me); each executive producer's name and initials, adding any that are missing; the production companies in place of a network like PBS; and the years, typing present after the dash for a show that's still airing, or the end year (or just the one year) for a show that has ended.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same reference by hand.

The parts of the reference

1. Executive producers

For a whole series, the executive producers take the author's spot. Write each one's last name and initials, separate the names with commas, and put an ampersand (&) before the last one. Then add one label for all of them: (Executive Producer) for one person, (Executive Producers) for two or more.

Scott, R., Zucker, D. W., Wolfinger, L. Q., & Zabel, D. (Executive Producers).

Find them in the end credits or in the network's or studio's press materials, and keep the order they're listed in. The creator goes here only as an executive producer, and the stars, the network, and the streaming service don't go here at all. APA doesn't set a limit on how many executive producers to list or say what to do when the list changes from season to season; using the list in the show's official press materials, as these examples do, is a solid choice.

2. Years the series aired

Give the years the series aired, in parentheses, with an en dash (–) between the first and last year and no spaces. Then a period.

(2016–2017).

If the series is still airing when you write your paper, use the word present for the second year: (2025–present). A series that aired within one year, like a limited series or a documentary series, gets just that year: (2008). Use the years the show aired, not the year you watched it.

3. Title and [TV series]

Italicize the series title and put it in sentence case: capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. Then add the description [TV series], not italicized, and a period.

Unnatural causes: Is inequality making us sick? [TV series].

APA 7 changed the 6th edition's [Television series] to [TV series]. APA's examples use [TV series] for every kind of show, and that label is always safe for a miniseries or a documentary series too.

4. Production companies

End with the company or companies that produced the series. Separate two or more with semicolons, and leave off endings like Inc. and LLC.

Scott Free Productions; Lone Wolf Media.

The production company isn't the network. Mercy Street aired on PBS, but PBS names Scott Free Productions and Lone Wolf Media as its producers, so those are the companies in the reference. A TV series reference ends here, with no streaming service and no URL.

Examples

A TV series that's still airing

The Pitt, the medical drama that follows one shift in a Pittsburgh emergency department. It premiered on Max in January 2025, and HBO Max renewed it for a third season in January 2026, so the date range ends in present. Warner Bros. Discovery's press page names six executive producers and says it's produced by John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

  • Parenthetical citation(Gemmill et al., 2025–present)
  • Narrative citationGemmill et al. (2025–present)

A TV series that has ended

Mercy Street, the PBS drama set in Mansion House, a Union Army hospital in occupied Alexandria, Virginia, that follows two volunteer nurses on opposite sides of the Civil War, Mary Phinney and Emma Green. It ran for two seasons, from January 2016 until PBS ended it in 2017. PBS's season two announcement lists four executive producers, Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, and co-creators Lisa Q. Wolfinger and David Zabel, and calls it a production of Scott Free Productions and Lone Wolf Media.

  • Parenthetical citation(Scott et al., 2016–2017)
  • Narrative citationScott et al. (2016–2017)

A documentary series with one executive producer

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?, the four-hour PBS documentary series on how the conditions people live and work in shape their health. It aired on four Thursdays in the spring of 2008, so the date is that one year. The credits name Larry Adelman as creator and executive producer, so the label is singular, and the series was produced by California Newsreel with Vital Pictures.

  • Parenthetical citation(Adelman, 2008)
  • Narrative citationAdelman (2008)

In-text citations

An APA 7 in-text citation for a TV series uses the executive producers' last names and the years the series aired, exactly as they appear in the reference.

  • One executive producer: (Adelman, 2008) or Adelman (2008)
  • Two executive producers: both names every time, joined by & in parentheses and by and in your sentence: (Producer & Producer, 2016–2017)
  • Three or more: the first executive producer and et al., starting with the first citation: (Scott et al., 2016–2017) or Scott et al. (2016–2017)
  • Still airing: keep present in the citation too: (Gemmill et al., 2025–present)
  • No executive producer credited: the series title in italics and title case, and the years: (Title of the Series, 2016–2017)

A series reference has no timestamp, because a series is many episodes. To quote a line or point to a scene, cite the episode it's in. Name the show in your sentence as often as you like: Mercy Street follows two volunteer nurses on opposite sides of the Civil War (Scott et al., 2016–2017).

Common mistakes

  • Gemmill, R. S. (2025). The Pitt [TV series]. Max.Gemmill, R. S., Wyle, N., Wells, J., Jontow, E., Baidwan, S., & Hissrich, M. (Executive Producers). (2025–present). The Pitt [TV series]. John Wells Productions; Warner Bros. Television.List the executive producers with their label, give the full range of years the show has aired, and end with the production companies. The streaming service isn't the producer.
  • (2025–).(2025–present).A series that's still airing gets the word present after the dash. Free generators and movie databases often leave the range open.
  • Scott, R. (Executive Producer), Zucker, D. W. (Executive Producer), Wolfinger, L. Q. (Executive Producer), & Zabel, D. (Executive Producer).Scott, R., Zucker, D. W., Wolfinger, L. Q., & Zabel, D. (Executive Producers).When everyone has the same role, the label goes once, after the last name, in the plural, the same way (Eds.) works for an edited book.
  • (2016-2017). Mercy Street [Television series].(2016–2017). Mercy Street [TV series].Years in a range take an en dash, not a hyphen, and APA 7 uses [TV series], not the 6th edition's [Television series].
  • Adelman, L. (Executive Producer). (2008). Unnatural Causes [TV series]. PBS.Adelman, L. (Executive Producer). (2008). Unnatural causes: Is inequality making us sick? [TV series]. California Newsreel; Vital Pictures.Keep the whole title with its subtitle, in sentence case, and name the companies that produced the series, not the network that aired it.

Quick checklist

  • Executive producers' last names and initials, then (Executive Producer) or (Executive Producers) once
  • The years the series aired, with an en dash, or Year–present for a show still airing
  • Series title in italics and sentence case, subtitle included
  • [TV series] in square brackets, not italic
  • Production companies separated by semicolons, not the network
  • No streaming service, IMDb link, or URL

Questions students ask

How do I cite a TV show in APA?

Decide first whether you're citing the whole show or one episode. For the whole show, list the executive producers, the years it aired, the title in italics, [TV series], and the production companies. For one episode, the writer and director come first, and the series title moves to the In part.

How do I cite a TV series that's still airing?

Use the year it premiered, an en dash, and the word present: (2025–present). Use the same range in your in-text citations. If the series ends before you finish your paper, change present to the final year.

Who is the author of a TV series in APA?

The executive producers, with (Executive Producer) or (Executive Producers) after their names. The creator is listed only as one of the executive producers, and the network, the streaming service, and the actors never go in the author's spot.

How many executive producers do I list?

APA doesn't set a limit. Use the list in the credits or the network's press materials, in that order. The in-text citation still uses only the first name and et al. when there are three or more.

Do I include Netflix, Hulu, or Max?

No. APA 7 leaves the streaming service and its link out of the reference. If the streaming service is credited as one of the production companies, it goes in the list of companies like any other company.

How do I cite a limited series, miniseries, or docuseries?

Like any TV series. Give the year or years it aired, use [TV series], and list its executive producers and production companies. If you write about one episode, cite that episode instead.

Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Sections 8.17, 9.8, 9.10, 9.12, 9.14, 9.19, 9.21, 9.29, and 10.12, and the APA Style website's film and television reference examples and elements of reference list entries. Executive producers, years, and production companies verified on October 21, 2026, at Warner Bros. Discovery's press page and Deadline's premiere report for The Pitt (with its January 2026 season 3 renewal in TVLine and The Wrap), PBS's season two announcement and the 2017 cancellation reports for Mercy Street, and the credits and press release on unnaturalcauses.org for Unnatural Causes.

PERRLA builds the TV series reference with the executive producers, the year range, [TV series], and the production companies in place, and leaves the streaming service out.

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