Series
Group related videos into a structured series with seasons and episodes — ideal for episodic content, courses, and recurring shows.
What is a Series?
A Series is a named collection of videos organized by season and episode number. It's the right format for episodic content — recurring shows, multi-part educational courses, documentary series, or any content where viewing order and structure matter. Series are different from Playlists: a Playlist is an ordered queue of any videos, while a Series is a structured container with season and episode metadata built in.
Series are managed under Media → Series & Playlists in the app sidebar.
Creating a Series
To create a new series:
- Go to Media → Series & Playlists in the sidebar.
- Click New Series.
- Give the series a name — this is what appears on your VideoNest website and in distribution feeds.
- Optionally, add a series description and a cover image.
- Click Create Series.
The series now exists as a container. It won't have any videos until you assign them (see below).
Adding Videos to a Series
There are two ways to assign a video to a series:
From the video's extended metadata: Open any video in your Media Library, scroll to the distribution metadata section, and find the Series, Season, and Episode fields. Set the series name, season number, and episode number. Save the video. It will now appear in the series at the position you assigned.
From the series page: Open the series from Media → Series & Playlists, then use the Add Video button to search for and assign videos directly. You'll be prompted to set a season and episode number for each video you add.
Episode numbers control how videos are ordered within a season. Season numbers control how seasons are ordered within the series. VideoNest sorts automatically based on these values — you don't need to drag and drop.
How Series Appear to Viewers
On your VideoNest website, series display as grouped collections with season tabs and episode ordering. Viewers can see the full series structure at a glance and step through episodes in order. Each episode page shows the episode title, number, and a link back to the series hub.
In distribution feeds, series metadata is passed through to partner platforms that support it. CTV platforms like Roku and Amazon Fire TV can surface season and episode structure in their native browse interfaces when this metadata is correctly set. Make sure your episode numbers and season numbers are filled in on each video's Metadata & Tagging page before submitting to CTV feeds.
Series vs. Playlists
Use a Series when your content has a defined episode structure with season and episode numbers — recurring shows, courses, documentary arcs. Use a Playlist when you want to group videos in a custom order without the overhead of episode numbering — highlight reels, topic collections, recommended viewing queues.
| Feature | Series | Playlist |
|---|---|---|
| Season & episode numbers | Yes | No |
| Automatic episode ordering | Yes | Manual |
| Shown as episodic on website | Yes | No |
| Filterable in distribution feeds | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Shows, courses, documentary arcs | Collections, highlights, topic queues |
CTV platforms and podcast directories that support episodic content surface season and episode numbers in their browse interfaces. Getting this metadata in before you submit your feed makes a meaningful difference in how your content is presented to viewers.