Hi everyone,
Today we introduce another long-awaited feature: better handling of specials across TVmaze.
Specials are episodes that don't have an episode number and one way or another air outside of the regular sequence of episodes. Most of the times specials are not very important, such as previews or recaps, behind the scenes interviews or "after shows". Interesting content for die-hard fans, but most people don't care for them.
Therefore we've always treated all specials a a second-class citizen by displaying them in a separate section on the episode list and hiding them from your watchlist.
But every now and then a show releases a special that does contain important content. Notorious examples are Doctor Who's Christmas specials, or South Park's recent pandemic special. Despite not having an episode number, these specials are very similar to regular episodes from that show, and in some cases they are even crucial to the show's storyline. You've rightfully been complaining that these kinds of specials didn't get the kind of attention they deserve.

To rectify this but at the same time keep the first category of specials tucked away, we've split up the episode types in three: regular episode, significant special and insignificant special. For the exact definition of (in)significant specials, check the episode policy at https://www.tvmaze.com/faq/15/episodes.
At launch, all episodes that were previously marked as "special" were converted to "insignificant special" and for them nothing changes.
But significant specials are now:
- Displayed in the episode list together with the other episodes from that season, ordered by airdate
- Shown in your watchlist
- Shown in the previous/next episode section on the show page
- Accessible via the previous/next episode links on an episode page
See it in action for example in the Doctor Who episode list: https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/210/doctor-who/episodes.
For our API users, episodes now have a new property "type" that indicates whether it's a regular episode, significant special or insignificant special.
We hope this change will ensure that you'll never miss an episode of your favorite show anymore, even if it's a special. Let us know what you think in the comments!
Great functionality...thank you. And Doctor Who is one of those shows I watch and is well-known for its "specials" which usually carry a huge story line!
Love this site! Thank you, David.
Keep up the great work!
No problem, thank you very much!!!
That would be great also. Most other forums that I sub to have that feature and would be absolutely great here.
Cheers!
Hooray, thanks so much for this! Very appreciated as an API developer.
Well done and thank you for taking this on board and adding it here. It is much appreciated!! :)
This is GREAT and a huge help, thank you so much!!!
Great job, David. This will be quite helpful.
Now, how many shows do we have on TVmaze? I suppose your next effort will be reviewing the site for significant specials. Just kidding... We all should be looking for them. When we have a question about how to list one, ask in the Data Forum.
Take care of yourself and your family in these crazy times.
Thank you, TVMaze !
How about watching our own comments we made ? Can you change that, please ?!