TV Tango General FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Search Questions
Why can't I find Marley and Me (or any other theatrical film)?
We get this question all the time; so don't feel bad. TV Tango is a site for TV shows, not theatrical films. We don't have show pages for any movie that first showed in a movie theater. If that film later appeared on TV, you might see it in our TV listings but it won't link to its own page. If you really want info about movies like Marley and Me, then stick with IMDb. But we'd really prefer you stay with TV Tango and discover more about TV.
Why do some searches take a long time while other searches are very fast?
If you do a basic search, search results typically appear in two seconds. If you got lucky and you got your results much faster than that, then someone else recently did the same search and the results were still cached on our servers! Basic search should never take longer than three seconds. If basic searches are consistently taking longer than that, check your internet connection.
Some advanced searches do take a long time — sometimes up to 35 seconds to return results. If you are just searching for TV shows or TV people and you Enable Ratings, then that search takes a long time. Only use the Ratings feature if you're willing to wait more than a few seconds. Don't forget that the search engine is evaluating nearly one million records to see if each record has a rating (or share) that meets your criteria.
Our engineers are always working hard to make all searches run faster.
I'm having a hard time using advanced search, but it looks pretty cool and useful. What kind of searches can I do?
First off, are you looking for a person or a show (series, movie, miniseries)? Just use the first few dropdown boxes to make your selection. Be as specific or as general as you like.
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Sample searches for TV Movies & Miniseries using Insider Advanced Search:
- Give me a list of all the TV Miniseries based on a True Story (SUBJECT MATTER) on ABC.
- Give me a list of all the TV Movies & Miniseries that were Musicals (GENRE).
- Find TV Movies & Miniseries about Lou Gehrig's Disease (KEYWORD).
- Give me a list of all the Movies & Miniseries that Steven Spielberg (FIRST NAME, LAST NAME) was Executive Producer (CAST/CREW TYPE).
- Give me a list of all the TV Movies & Miniseries based on the books by Barbara Taylor Bradford (ENTER NAME OF AUTHOR).
- Was the book "Gold Coast" (ENTER NAME OF BOOK OR PLAY) made into a TV Movie or Miniseries?
- Give me a list of all the TV Movies & Miniseries about True Crime (SUBJECT MATTER) on CBS that got higher than a 15 share (ENABLE RATINGS FILTER). Note: This search may take a bit longer than most other searches.
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Sample searches for TV Series using Insider Advanced Search:
- Give me a list of all TV Series that are military sitcoms (SUBJECT MATTER, GENRE).
- Give me a list of all TV Series that are medical dramas (SUBJECT MATTER, GENRE) that premiered on NBC (NETWORK) from 1/1/1983 to 1/1/2024 (START DATE, END DATE).
- Give me a list of all TV Series that could be classified as anime (KEYWORD). The KEYWORD option searches tags related to all shows and plot summaries.
- Give me a list of all celebrity family reality TV Series (KEYWORD=celebrity; SUBJECT MATTER=family; GENRE=reality).
- Give me a list of TV Series based on books by Charles Dickens (ENTER NAME OF AUTHOR).
Why can't I find Marley and Me (or any other theatrical film)?
We get this question all the time; so don't feel bad. TV Tango is a site for TV shows, not theatrical films. We don't have show pages for any movie that first showed in a movie theater. If that film later appeared on TV, you might see it in our TV listings but it won't link to its own page. If you really want info about movies like Marley and Me, then stick with IMDb. But we'd really prefer you stay with TV Tango and discover more about TV.
Why do some searches take a long time while other searches are very fast?
If you do a basic search, search results typically appear in two seconds. If you got lucky and you got your results much faster than that, then someone else recently did the same search and the results were still cached on our servers! Basic search should never take longer than three seconds. If basic searches are consistently taking longer than that, check your internet connection.
Some advanced searches do take a long time — sometimes up to 35 seconds to return results. If you are just searching for TV shows or TV people and you Enable Ratings, then that search takes a long time. Only use the Ratings feature if you're willing to wait more than a few seconds. Don't forget that the search engine is evaluating nearly one million records to see if each record has a rating (or share) that meets your criteria.
Our engineers are always working hard to make all searches run faster.
I'm having a hard time using advanced search, but it looks pretty cool and useful. What kind of searches can I do?
First off, are you looking for a person or a show (series, movie, miniseries)? Just use the first few dropdown boxes to make your selection. Be as specific or as general as you like.
-
Sample searches for TV Movies & Miniseries using Insider Advanced Search:
- Give me a list of all the TV Miniseries based on a True Story (SUBJECT MATTER) on ABC.
- Give me a list of all the TV Movies & Miniseries that were Musicals (GENRE).
- Find TV Movies & Miniseries about Lou Gehrig's Disease (KEYWORD).
- Give me a list of all the Movies & Miniseries that Steven Spielberg (FIRST NAME, LAST NAME) was Executive Producer (CAST/CREW TYPE).
- Give me a list of all the TV Movies & Miniseries based on the books by Barbara Taylor Bradford (ENTER NAME OF AUTHOR).
- Was the book "Gold Coast" (ENTER NAME OF BOOK OR PLAY) made into a TV Movie or Miniseries?
- Give me a list of all the TV Movies & Miniseries about True Crime (SUBJECT MATTER) on CBS that got higher than a 15 share (ENABLE RATINGS FILTER). Note: This search may take a bit longer than most other searches.
-
Sample searches for TV Series using Insider Advanced Search:
- Give me a list of all TV Series that are military sitcoms (SUBJECT MATTER, GENRE).
- Give me a list of all TV Series that are medical dramas (SUBJECT MATTER, GENRE) that premiered on NBC (NETWORK) from 1/1/1983 to 1/1/2024 (START DATE, END DATE).
- Give me a list of all TV Series that could be classified as anime (KEYWORD). The KEYWORD option searches tags related to all shows and plot summaries.
- Give me a list of all celebrity family reality TV Series (KEYWORD=celebrity; SUBJECT MATTER=family; GENRE=reality).
- Give me a list of TV Series based on books by Charles Dickens (ENTER NAME OF AUTHOR).
Site Questions
Where does all the data come from? Do you scrape data from other sites?
All of our data is entered by human hands. Yes, it's true. It takes forever, but we think you deserve it.
We definitely do not scrape data. First of all, we are very concerned about copyright protection and don't want to take something that doesn't belong to us — we hope others reciprocate. Plus, hand-entering data is kind of our shtick! We've all seen sites that aggregate data using bots to scrape multiple sites, and the presentation is just ugly since so many of the same things are repeated in slightly different forms.
-
TV Movies and Miniseries:
Someone watched nearly every movie and miniseries in the TV Tango database and entered the credits as they appeared on-screen. Sometimes we even called production companies to fill-in missing data for writers, etc. Since a professional writer watched them, you understand why TV Tango has some of the best plot summaries on the web!
-
TV Series:
TV Tango has way too many TV series for us to have watched every one of them, which is why many TV series have missing data. We'll continue to update all of the shows in our database as TV Tango grows. It might take a while longer for us to post plot summaries, since we will only present summaries that we write ourselves. (And we'll only write the plot summaries if we watch the show.) For the data that we do have, we've researched over 2,000 sources — including many primary sources — to bring you the most correct information possible.
How often do you update the TV Tango database?
We update the database all the time since there's always new data to enter. We just never sleep.
I think I found a mistake on TV Tango, what do I do? I have information or data that's missing from TV Tango, what do I do?
Contact us. I know. It's so web 1.0 of us, isn't it? But it's the constant struggle between the shared knowledge of the masses and a researcher's ability to verify the information before posting it.
When I'm on a TV series/movie overview page and I click on one of the tabs to see content on another site, sometimes it takes a long time for me to see the page. Why?
Unfortunately, we have no control over how quickly the pages appear from other sites. We show you the site exactly as it appears as if you opened the page in a separate browser, which means it loads fast sometimes and slowly other times, depending on server load for the other site, ads being served, etc.
When I click to see a video, a browser opens but I can't see the video. What do I do?
Sometimes the video is no longer available. We try to catch as many of these as we can, but we're only human. If the link is no longer valid, let us know.
If the video is available and you still can't see it, check the browser requirements for that site. TV Tango opens a new browser for you to watch or buy downloads, which means that you're having a problem with the site that delivers video. You'll have to contact the video site for additional help.
If none of that worked and you live in a foreign country, you're probably out of luck. Most video delivery sites in the United States do not deliver video to persons in foreign countries. Some sites tell you that you're SOL; other sites don't let you in on the secret.
Those maps are sweet! Can I go there and see homes of the stars? Can I see where a show was filmed?
Thanks. We think the maps are pretty sweet, too.
Unfortunately for you, the TV Tango maps are not Star Maps. We don't show where Sally Field or Blake Lively live. You'll have to visit Los Angeles or New York and get Star Maps from someone on a street corner.
Also, the TV Tango maps are not maps of filming locations. That would be pretty cool to have a map that shows which TV series and movies are filming on location today. But that's not what we do.
If the show is a reality series, then, yes, you can see where it was filmed. Shows like Real World and Hell's Kitchen appear on the TV Tango maps, and those locations are the actual locations.
If the show is a scripted series, the balloon marker on the map shows where the TV character would have lived or worked if the TV character was in the real world! It's often just based on a street address (or description) in the show. Sometimes, and only sometimes, the exterior shots were actually taken at that address. But don't count on it. If you go there, you'll likely be very disappointed.
Where does all the data come from? Do you scrape data from other sites?
All of our data is entered by human hands. Yes, it's true. It takes forever, but we think you deserve it.
We definitely do not scrape data. First of all, we are very concerned about copyright protection and don't want to take something that doesn't belong to us — we hope others reciprocate. Plus, hand-entering data is kind of our shtick! We've all seen sites that aggregate data using bots to scrape multiple sites, and the presentation is just ugly since so many of the same things are repeated in slightly different forms.
- TV Movies and Miniseries: Someone watched nearly every movie and miniseries in the TV Tango database and entered the credits as they appeared on-screen. Sometimes we even called production companies to fill-in missing data for writers, etc. Since a professional writer watched them, you understand why TV Tango has some of the best plot summaries on the web!
- TV Series: TV Tango has way too many TV series for us to have watched every one of them, which is why many TV series have missing data. We'll continue to update all of the shows in our database as TV Tango grows. It might take a while longer for us to post plot summaries, since we will only present summaries that we write ourselves. (And we'll only write the plot summaries if we watch the show.) For the data that we do have, we've researched over 2,000 sources — including many primary sources — to bring you the most correct information possible.
How often do you update the TV Tango database?
We update the database all the time since there's always new data to enter. We just never sleep.
I think I found a mistake on TV Tango, what do I do? I have information or data that's missing from TV Tango, what do I do?
Contact us. I know. It's so web 1.0 of us, isn't it? But it's the constant struggle between the shared knowledge of the masses and a researcher's ability to verify the information before posting it.
When I'm on a TV series/movie overview page and I click on one of the tabs to see content on another site, sometimes it takes a long time for me to see the page. Why?
Unfortunately, we have no control over how quickly the pages appear from other sites. We show you the site exactly as it appears as if you opened the page in a separate browser, which means it loads fast sometimes and slowly other times, depending on server load for the other site, ads being served, etc.
When I click to see a video, a browser opens but I can't see the video. What do I do?
Sometimes the video is no longer available. We try to catch as many of these as we can, but we're only human. If the link is no longer valid, let us know.
If the video is available and you still can't see it, check the browser requirements for that site. TV Tango opens a new browser for you to watch or buy downloads, which means that you're having a problem with the site that delivers video. You'll have to contact the video site for additional help.
If none of that worked and you live in a foreign country, you're probably out of luck. Most video delivery sites in the United States do not deliver video to persons in foreign countries. Some sites tell you that you're SOL; other sites don't let you in on the secret.
Those maps are sweet! Can I go there and see homes of the stars? Can I see where a show was filmed?
Thanks. We think the maps are pretty sweet, too.
Unfortunately for you, the TV Tango maps are not Star Maps. We don't show where Sally Field or Blake Lively live. You'll have to visit Los Angeles or New York and get Star Maps from someone on a street corner.
Also, the TV Tango maps are not maps of filming locations. That would be pretty cool to have a map that shows which TV series and movies are filming on location today. But that's not what we do.
If the show is a reality series, then, yes, you can see where it was filmed. Shows like Real World and Hell's Kitchen appear on the TV Tango maps, and those locations are the actual locations.
If the show is a scripted series, the balloon marker on the map shows where the TV character would have lived or worked if the TV character was in the real world! It's often just based on a street address (or description) in the show. Sometimes, and only sometimes, the exterior shots were actually taken at that address. But don't count on it. If you go there, you'll likely be very disappointed.
