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 prints the first name, et al. when there are three or more, and the label executive producer or executive producers. 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 and shortens a range in one century to 2016–17. Type each company under Production Company, using Add publisher for each one after the first. Watched it on a streaming service? Type it in Streaming Service, and PERRLA adds it in italics at the end. The Where did the show originally air? box doesn't print in the MLA entry.
Writing about the show's creator? Add them with the Custom (No Director) role and type creator in the Role box. PERRLA starts the entry with their name and role, and your in-text citations use their last name.
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, each executive producer's name, 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 for a show that has ended.
Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.
The parts of the works cited entry
1. Series title
Start with the series title in italics and title case, followed by a period. A series is a whole, independent work, so it gets italics, the way a book or a film does.
Mercy Street.
Keep the full title, subtitle included. If the title ends with a question mark, the question mark takes the place of the period: Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
2. Creator or executive producers
MLA doesn't make you name anyone for a series, but you can add the contributors that matter to your paper, each followed by a comma and their role. MLA's own examples use the creator, with created by. Executive producers work the same way: one name and executive producer, two names joined by and, or the first name and et al. for three or more.
Ridley Scott et al., executive producers,
When your paper is about one person's work on the show, like its creator's, start the entry with that person, last name first, and their role: Adelman, Larry, creator. Then the series title follows.
3. Production company
The company that produced the series is the publisher. Separate two or more with a slash, with a space on each side.
Scott Free Productions / Lone Wolf Media,
A network is the publisher only when it's mainly responsible for producing the show. Mercy Street aired on PBS, but PBS names Scott Free Productions and Lone Wolf Media as its producers.
4. Years the series aired
Give the years the series aired, with an en dash between them, then a period. MLA's own examples shorten the second year to its last two digits when the century is the same.
2016–17.
A series that aired within one year gets that year alone: 2008. For a show that's still airing, MLA's examples don't show a form; PERRLA writes the open end as present (2025–present), which tells your reader the show was still running when you wrote.
5. Streaming service
If you watched the series on a streaming service, add the service's name in italics as a second container, then a period.
HBO Max.
Watched it on broadcast TV or on a disc? Leave this part off.
Examples
A TV series that's still airing, streamed
The Pitt, the medical drama that follows one shift in a Pittsburgh emergency department. It premiered on Max in January 2025 and was renewed for a third season in January 2026, so the date range ends in present. Warner Bros. Discovery's press page names six executive producers, led by R. Scott Gemmill, and says it's produced by John Wells Productions with Warner Bros. Television. The student streamed it on HBO Max, the service's name since July 2025.
Works Cited
The Pitt. R. Scott Gemmill et al., executive producers, John Wells Productions / Warner Bros. Television, 2025–present. HBO Max.
- In-text citation(Pitt)
- Narrative citationThe Pitt follows …
A TV series that has ended
Mercy Street, the PBS drama set in a Union Army hospital in occupied Alexandria, Virginia, that follows two volunteer nurses on opposite sides of the Civil War. It ran for two seasons, from 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.
Works Cited
Mercy Street. Ridley Scott et al., executive producers, Scott Free Productions / Lone Wolf Media, 2016–17.
- In-text citation(Mercy Street)
- Narrative citationMercy Street portrays …
A documentary series listed under its creator
Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?, the PBS documentary series on how the conditions people live and work in shape their health. It aired in the spring of 2008, so the date is that one year. The credits name Larry Adelman as creator and executive producer, and California Newsreel produced it with Vital Pictures. A paper about the series' argument can start with its creator, so Adelman's name leads and the in-text citation is (Adelman).
Works Cited
Adelman, Larry, creator. Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? California Newsreel / Vital Pictures, 2008.
- In-text citation(Adelman)
- Narrative citationAdelman argues that …
In-text citations
An MLA 9 in-text citation for a TV series uses the first thing in its Works Cited entry. For most series, that's the title in italics.
- Title first: the series title in italics: (Mercy Street). A long title can be shortened to its first noun and any words describing it, leaving off a starting A, An, or The: (Unnatural Causes).
- Creator first: the creator's last name: (Adelman)
- Title in your sentence: no parentheses needed: Mercy Street follows two volunteer nurses on opposite sides of the Civil War.
A series entry has no time stamp, because a series is many episodes. To quote a line or point to a scene, cite the episode it's in, with its own entry.
Common mistakes
- Gemmill, R. S., Wyle, N., Wells, J., Jontow, E., Baidwan, S., & Hissrich, M. (Executive Producers). (2025–present). The Pitt [TV series].The Pitt. R. Scott Gemmill et al., executive producers, John Wells Productions / Warner Bros. Television, 2025–present.That's APA. MLA starts with the title, writes contributors' names in normal order with a lowercase role, and puts the years at the end.
- "Mercy Street."Mercy Street.A whole series goes in italics. Quotation marks are for one episode.
- Mercy Street. PBS, 2016–17.Mercy Street. Ridley Scott et al., executive producers, Scott Free Productions / Lone Wolf Media, 2016–17.The publisher is the company that produced the show. PBS aired Mercy Street, but Scott Free Productions and Lone Wolf Media made it.
- Unnatural Causes. California Newsreel / Vital Pictures, 2008.Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? California Newsreel / Vital Pictures, 2008.Keep the whole title with its subtitle in the Works Cited entry. Shorten it only in the in-text citation.
- (Mercy Street, 2016–17)(Mercy Street)MLA in-text citations don't take the years. The title is enough to find the entry.
Quick checklist
- Series title in italics and title case, subtitle included
- Creator or executive producers in normal order, with a lowercase role, if you include them
- Production companies, not the network, separated by a spaced slash
- The years it aired, with an en dash
- Streaming service in italics at the end, if you streamed it
- In-text: the title in italics, or the creator's last name if the entry starts with it
Questions students ask
How do I cite a TV show in MLA?
Decide first whether you're citing the whole show or one episode. For the whole show, give the title in italics, any key contributors, the production company, and the years it aired. For one episode, start with the episode title in quotation marks, and the series title becomes the container.
Who is the author of a TV series in MLA?
Usually no one goes in the author's spot: the entry starts with the title. If your paper focuses on one person's work on the show, like its creator, you can start with that person's name and role: Adelman, Larry, creator.
How do I cite a TV series that's still airing?
Give the year it premiered and an open end. MLA's examples don't show a form for this, and PERRLA writes it 2025–present. If the series ends before you finish your paper, change present to the final year.
Do I include Netflix, Hulu, or HBO Max?
Yes, if that's where you watched it. Add the service's name in italics at the end of the entry, as a second container. If the service produced the show itself, it can also be the production company.
Do I have to list the executive producers?
No. MLA lets you choose the contributors that matter to your discussion. Many entries name the creator, some name executive producers, and some name no one. If you include three or more people in one role, give the first and et al.
How do I cite a limited series, miniseries, or docuseries?
Like any TV series: the title in italics, any key contributors, the production company, and the year or years it aired. If you write about one episode, cite that episode instead.
Related guides
Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, the Contributor element, containers, and publishers) and chapter 6 (in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center's posts on television episodes (its whole-series example, Victoria, created by Daisy Goodwin, Mammoth Screen, 2016-17), styling titles of online works, titles that end in a question mark, broadcasters as publishers, date ranges for websites, works streamed through apps, audio commentary (a contributor in the Author element), and shortening titles. Example sources are the ones verified for the APA 7 page: Warner Bros. Discovery's press page and Deadline for The Pitt, with its January 2026 renewal; PBS's season two announcement and the 2017 cancellation reports for Mercy Street (announcement re-checked October 29, 2026); and the credits on unnaturalcauses.org (re-checked October 29, 2026). The Max to HBO Max rename confirmed in July 2025 news reports.