How to name a TV show
A show title has to survive multiple seasons, posters and an avalanche of thumbnails. The difference with a film is duration: a title glued to the season-one plot looks weird by season three. The best TV titles point to a place, an emotion or a code (Severance, Succession, Better Call Saul) rather than an event.
- Think five seasons ahead. If your title is "The Murder of Paul", it gets weird in season two.
- Communicate the genre. Viewers scan thumbnails — thriller, comedy or drama should be clear.
- One to three words. Long titles get cut in mobile grids.
- Unique across streaming. Search Netflix, Prime, HBO Max and Apple TV. Collisions kill SEO.
- Survives merch. Does it look good on a mug, a tee, a poster? If not, drop it.
Styles by genre
- Prestige drama: short, conceptual, atmospheric (Succession, Under the Sun, The Kingdom).
- Crime / thriller: definite article + threatening noun (The Dark Line, The Protocol).
- Comedy: keys to a group or relationship (Best Friends, Impossible Neighbors).
- Sci-fi: dry codes or protocols (Severance, Subfloor 7, Reset).
- Single word: premium format, high impact (Border, Summer, Bone).
Common mistakes
Most common: overly descriptive titles that lose currency after season one. Next: names with long articles ("The Incredible Story of...") that platforms truncate. A third: foreign-language titles without a clear reason that confuse the algorithm. And: avoid worn-out mythological references — if your strong title hangs on a Greek or Norse deity, think twice; it's already saturated.
After generating
- Search IMDb, Netflix, Prime, HBO Max and JustWatch.
- Check domain availability for a campaign site.
- Mock a thumbnail: does it read at 100x140 px?
- Show it to three pilot readers: do they guess the tone?
- Five-season test: does it still work?