# TVMaze — TV Show Search & Metadata (`omao/tvmaze`) Actor

Search TV shows or look them up by ID and get clean JSON: name, genres, status, premiere/end dates, rating, network, official site, summary, IMDb ID and images. Powered by the public TVMaze API. No API key, no anti-bot.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/omao/tvmaze.md
- **Developed by:** [Marouane Oulabass](https://apify.com/omao) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.72 / 1,000 shows

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## TVMaze — TV Show Search & Metadata to JSON

**Search TV shows or look them up by ID — and get clean JSON.** Pass show titles or TVMaze IDs and get back a tidy row per show: name, genres, status, premiere/end dates, rating, network, official site, summary, IMDb ID and images. Powered by the public TVMaze API — no API key, no anti-bot.

The easy way to build TV metadata datasets for apps, recommendations and research.

### Who uses this

- 📺 **Streaming & TV apps** — enrich listings with clean show metadata.
- 🤖 **Recommendation & AI** — build datasets by genre, network or rating.
- 🔎 **Researchers & analysts** — study TV catalogs and trends.
- ✍️ **Content & media sites** — auto-fill show pages with summaries and images.
- 🧑‍💻 **Developers** — a clean TV endpoint by title or ID.

### What you get — one clean row per show

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `name` | Show title |
| `genres` + `type` | Genres & type |
| `status` | Running / Ended |
| `premiered` + `ended` | Air dates |
| `rating` | Average rating |
| `network` + `networkCountry` | Network |
| `scheduleDays` + `scheduleTime` | Air schedule |
| `officialSite` + `url` | Links |
| `summary` | Show summary |
| `imdbId` + `tvdbId` | External IDs |
| `image` | Poster image |

### Example

**Input**

```json
{ "searchQueries": ["breaking bad", "the office"], "showIds": ["169"] }
```

**Output (one item)**

```json
{
  "id": 169, "name": "Breaking Bad", "type": "Scripted",
  "genres": ["Drama", "Crime", "Thriller"], "status": "Ended",
  "premiered": "2008-01-20", "ended": "2013-09-29",
  "rating": 9.2, "network": "AMC",
  "imdbId": "tt0903747",
  "url": "https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/169/breaking-bad"
}
```

### Why this actor

- ✅ **Official source** — the TVMaze API, always current.
- 🔎 **Search *or* lookup** — by title or by TVMaze ID.
- 🏷️ **Rich metadata** — genres, status, network, schedule, rating, IMDb ID.
- 🖼️ **Images included** — poster art URLs.
- ⚡ **Fast & affordable** — pay only per show returned. No key, no anti-bot.

### Input options

- `searchQueries` — show titles to search.
- `showIds` — specific shows by TVMaze ID.
- (Provide at least one of the two.)

### FAQ

**Search or look up by ID?** Both — pass `searchQueries` or `showIds`.

**Do I get the IMDb ID?** Yes — `imdbId` and `tvdbId` are included when available.

**Looking for actors/people?** Use our separate TVMaze People actor for cast search.

**How fresh is the data?** Live from the TVMaze API on every run.

**Can I export to CSV/Excel/Google Sheets?** Yes — the dataset exports to JSON, CSV, Excel and HTML, or pull it via the API.

**What does it cost?** Pay-per-show — you're only charged for shows actually returned.

***

*Tip: pass a list of titles to enrich your catalog with genres, ratings and poster images in one run.*

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

TV show searches by name. One search per query.

## `showIds` (type: `array`):

Look up specific shows by TVMaze show ID.

## `healthCheckMode` (type: `boolean`):

Internal monitoring: run a canary search and FAIL if broken (no billing).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "the office",
    "severance"
  ],
  "showIds": [
    "169",
    "82"
  ],
  "healthCheckMode": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `shows` (type: `string`):

All TV shows (name, genres, rating, network, summary, IMDb ID, image).

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "breaking bad"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("omao/tvmaze").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "searchQueries": ["breaking bad"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("omao/tvmaze").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "breaking bad"
  ]
}' |
apify call omao/tvmaze --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=omao/tvmaze",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/pEnnzHmQz0ybdHxY9/builds/z9V4XxCzR5TcX7ODj/openapi.json