# TV Shows Scraper (`scrapers_lat/tvmaze-shows-scraper`) Actor
Scrape TV shows with genres, language, network, country, status, runtime, premiere and end dates, rating and summary. Search by title or browse the catalog. Export to JSON, CSV or Excel.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapers\_lat/tvmaze-shows-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Scrapers Lat](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat) (community)
- **Categories:** News, Developer tools, Social media
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
from $2.55 / 1,000 results
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 a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
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.
In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):
```bash
npm install apify-client
```
In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):
```bash
pip install apify-client
```
In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):
````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash
In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).
If your project is in a different language, use 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
## TV Shows Scraper
> Search or browse TV shows and export clean, structured data: genres, language, network, country, status, runtime, premiere and end dates, rating and a plain-text summary. Ready for catalogs, recommendation engines and research.
Search or browse the show catalog
Genres, network, rating plus summary
JSON / CSV / Excel output formats
### What you get
Each record is one show, ready for a catalog, an app or a spreadsheet:
- **name**, **type**: the show and its format (Scripted, Reality and so on)
- **language**: primary language
- **genres**: list of genres
- **status**: Running, Ended or upcoming
- **runtime**: episode length in minutes
- **premiered**, **ended**: first and last air dates
- **rating**: average rating
- **networkName**, **networkCountry**: the network or web channel and its country
- **officialSite**: the show's official website
- **summary**: plain-text synopsis (HTML stripped)
- **imageUrl**: poster image URL
- **url**: link to the show page
- **id** and **observedAt**: identifier and freshness
### Who is it for
| Use case | Who benefits |
|---|---|
| Catalog building | Teams collecting show metadata for a media app |
| Recommendations | Builders training or seeding a recommendation engine |
| Research | Analysts studying genres, networks and ratings |
| Dashboards | Anyone tracking shows by network, status or rating |
### How to use it
1. Enter a **search query** (a show title) to find matching shows, or leave it empty to browse the full catalog.
2. Set **Max Items** to cap how many shows to collect.
3. Run it. Export as JSON, CSV or Excel, or pull it through the Apify API.
### Frequently Asked Questions
**Can I get many shows at once?**
Yes. Leave the search query empty to browse the catalog and set Max Items high to collect shows in bulk across many pages.
**Is the summary plain text?**
Yes. The summary is cleaned of HTML so it drops straight into a spreadsheet, a database or a UI.
**What does the rating mean?**
It is the average community rating for the show, on a 0 to 10 scale, where available.
**How fresh is the data?**
Shows are read live at run time, so each record reflects the catalog at the moment of the run (see observedAt).
### Related scrapers
- [iTunes & App Store Search Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/itunes-search-scraper)
- [Google News Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/google-news-scraper)
- [App Store Reviews Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/app-store-reviews-scraper)
### More scrapers at scrapers.lat
This actor is built and maintained by [scrapers.lat](https://scrapers.lat), where we publish scrapers for public platforms: finance, news, real estate, jobs, e-commerce and government data. Browse the full catalog or ask us for a custom scraper at [scrapers.lat](https://scrapers.lat).
---
> This actor is an independent tool and has no affiliation with TVmaze. It only accesses publicly available show data. Use the results in accordance with the source's terms.
# Actor input Schema
## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):
Title to search for, for example 'breaking bad'. Leave empty to browse the full show catalog.
## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):
Maximum number of shows to collect.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"searchQuery": "breaking bad",
"maxItems": 50
}
````
# Actor output Schema
## `results` (type: `string`):
No description
# 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 '' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
token: '',
});
// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
"searchQuery": "breaking bad",
"maxItems": 50
};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scrapers_lat/tvmaze-shows-scraper").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 '' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("")
# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
"searchQuery": "breaking bad",
"maxItems": 50,
}
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scrapers_lat/tvmaze-shows-scraper").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 '{
"searchQuery": "breaking bad",
"maxItems": 50
}' |
apify call scrapers_lat/tvmaze-shows-scraper --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrapers_lat/tvmaze-shows-scraper",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
```json
{
"openapi": "3.0.1",
"info": {
"title": "TV Shows Scraper",
"description": "Scrape TV shows with genres, language, network, country, status, runtime, premiere and end dates, rating and summary. Search by title or browse the catalog. Export to JSON, CSV or Excel.",
"version": "0.1",
"x-build-id": "xJ0iLQmo7gLY6HUdE"
},
"servers": [
{
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
}
],
"paths": {
"/acts/scrapers_lat~tvmaze-shows-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-scrapers_lat-tvmaze-shows-scraper",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
},
"/acts/scrapers_lat~tvmaze-shows-scraper/runs": {
"post": {
"operationId": "runs-sync-scrapers_lat-tvmaze-shows-scraper",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK",
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
}
}
}
}
}
}
},
"/acts/scrapers_lat~tvmaze-shows-scraper/run-sync": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-scrapers_lat-tvmaze-shows-scraper",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
}
},
"components": {
"schemas": {
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"searchQuery": {
"title": "Search query",
"type": "string",
"description": "Title to search for, for example 'breaking bad'. Leave empty to browse the full show catalog."
},
"maxItems": {
"title": "Max Items",
"minimum": 1,
"maximum": 1000000,
"type": "integer",
"description": "Maximum number of shows to collect."
}
}
},
"runsResponseSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"data": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"id": {
"type": "string"
},
"actId": {
"type": "string"
},
"userId": {
"type": "string"
},
"startedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"finishedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"status": {
"type": "string",
"example": "READY"
},
"meta": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"origin": {
"type": "string",
"example": "API"
},
"userAgent": {
"type": "string"
}
}
},
"stats": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"inputBodyLen": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2000
},
"rebootCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"restartCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"resurrectCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"computeUnits": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"options": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"build": {
"type": "string",
"example": "latest"
},
"timeoutSecs": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 300
},
"memoryMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1024
},
"diskMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2048
}
}
},
"buildId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultDatasetId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultRequestQueueId": {
"type": "string"
},
"buildNumber": {
"type": "string",
"example": "1.0.0"
},
"containerUrl": {
"type": "string"
},
"usage": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"usageTotalUsd": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"usageUsd": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
```