How to quote a show in an essay

If you’re researching television or simply need to refer to a TV broadcast in your work, it is important to know how to cite a TV series or episode from a show properly. And to help you do this, in this post, we’re looking at how to cite a TV show or episode in Harvard referencing.

Citing a TV Show in Harvard Referencing

To cite a TV show in a document, you need to give the name of the show in italics and the date of broadcast in brackets. For example:

The announcement was met with confusion (ITV News at Ten, 2018).

And if you name the source in the text, simply give the date in brackets:

It was announced on ITV News at Ten (2018), causing confusion.

However, if you are citing a named episode of a TV series, you should give the episode name in quote marks instead of the show title:

This episode of Friends is well remembered for its catchphrases (‘The One with The Morning After’, 1997).

And if you quote part of an episode or broadcast, give a timestamp:

It is in this episode that Ross first says ‘we were on a break’, a line that would become much repeated in later seasons (‘The One with The Morning After’, 1997, 18:34).

Here, for example, we’re citing a line from 18 minutes and 34 seconds into the episode. And by including the timestamp in the citation, readers can find the quoted section themselves if they need to.

Adding a TV Show or Episode to a Harvard Reference List

The format for a TV show in a Harvard reference list depends on the information available. The most basic details to provide for a TV broadcast, though, are as follows:

Title of Show (Year of broadcast) Channel, date of transmission.

For example, we could cite a news broadcast like this:

ITV News at Ten (2018) ITV, 6 August.

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In other cases, you will need to provide more information. The format for a scripted TV episode would be more like this:

‘Title of Episode’ (Year of Broadcast) Title of TV show, series number (if available), episode number (if available). Directed by Director’s Name. Written by Writer’s Name. Channel, date of transmission.

So, for instance, we would list an episode of Friends as follows:

‘The One with The Morning After’ (1997) Friends, season 3, episode 16. Directed by James Burrows. Written by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. Channel 4, 20 February.

And if the show or episode is available online, make sure to include a URL and date of access in the reference:

ITV News at Ten (2018) ITV, 6 August [Online]. Available at https://www.itv.com/hub/itv-news-at-ten/ (Accessed 10 September 2019).

Referencing a TV Show on DVD

If you watched a TV show on DVD, the reference should look like this:

‘Title of episode’ (year of release on DVD) Title of TV show, series number if available, episode number if available. Directed by Director’s Name. Written by Writer’s Name. Date of original broadcast, if available [DVD]. Place of distribution if known, Distribution company.

So the Friends episode on DVD would be listed as follows:

‘The One with The Morning After’ (2010) Friends, season 3, episode 16. Directed by James Burrows. Written by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. First broadcast 20 February 1997 [DVD]. Burbank, Warner Bros.

Harvard Variations and Proofreading

The guidelines above are based on the Open University version of Harvard referencing [PDF]. However, your university may use its own version of this system, so you should always check your style guide for advice, if you have one available, and use the format suggested there.

Whichever version of Harvard referencing you use, though, our academic proofreading experts can help make sure your work is clear, consistent, and error free. Why not submit a free trial document for proofreading today?

Narrative vs Parenthetical In-text citations:

A narrative citationgives the author name as part of the sentence.

• Narrative citation: According to Edwards (2017), although Smith and Carlos's protest at the 1968 Olympics initially drew widespread criticism, it also led to fundamental reforms in the organizational structure of American amateur athletics.

A parenthetical citation gives the source information in parentheses - first or last - but not as part of the narrative flow.

• Parenthetical citation: Although Tommie Smith and John Carlos paid a heavy price in the immediate aftermath of the protests, they were later vindicated by society at large (Edwards, 2017).

Full citation for this source:

Edwards, H. (2017). The Revolt of the Black Athlete: 50th Anniversary Edition. University of Illinois Press.

Sample In-text Citations

Note: This example is a direct quote. It is an exact quotation directly from the text of the article. All direct quotes should appear in quotation marks: "...."

Try to keep direct quotes to a minimum in your writing. You need to show that you understand the material from your source by being able to paraphrase and summarize it. 

List the author’slast name only (no initials) and the year the information was published, like this:

(Dodge, 2008).
(Author, Date).

If you use a direct quote, add the page number to your citation, like this: 

(Dodge, 2008, p. 125).

(Author, Date, page number)

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