WatchTrail
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WatchTrail — the free alternative to track shows and movies.·BlogAboutFAQPrivacyTerms·The Movie Database (TMDB)This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

TV Time shut down on July 15, 2026

Is the IMDb watchlist enough to follow TV shows?

The IMDb watchlist is the most used tool in the world for remembering what you want to watch. The question is not its quality, it is what it is designed to do: a list of titles is not a progress tracker.

Checked on August 15, 2026

IMDb and WatchTrail, point by point

CriterionIMDbWatchTrail
What it isA list of titles, and a 'watched' marking that applies to a TITLEA progress tracker: which episode, when, and what comes next
The level of detailIMDb's help does not state whether marking reaches individual episodesThe episode, with its watch date
What is coming—A calendar of upcoming episodes and per-show alerts
Time spent—A total in hours, computed from episodes actually ticked

What IMDb does better than us

  • **The most complete database in existence**, by a wide margin: everything is there, down to the extras.
  • **Free, universal, and already part of your habits** — it is everyone's first reflex, and that counts.
  • As a memory for 'I would like to see that one day', nothing replaces it.

Where IMDb falls short

  • A list does not say where you are in a six-season show — it only says the show interests you.
  • Nothing there answers 'which episode tonight' or 'what is out this week'.

IMDb is the right pick if…

If you mostly watch films and your watchlist works as a memo, it is plenty. Adding a tool for three films a month would be needless complication.

So where does WatchTrail fit?

The need changes with the number of ongoing shows. At two shows, memory is enough; at ten, you need somewhere that remembers the episode, the date and what is coming. That is exactly what WatchTrail does, and all it does beyond a watchlist.

Frequently asked questions

Can you bring an IMDb watchlist and ratings over?

Yes. The ratings export becomes watched movies, the watchlist becomes movies to watch, and every title is matched by its IMDb identifier rather than its name. The limit is IMDb's own: it has no notion of a watched episode, so a show in an export arrives as “to watch”, never with a history. Reconstructing one would mean inventing it.

Can IMDb tick episodes?

Its help describes a title-level 'watched' marking and does not state the granularity for shows. We report what the documentation says, no more.

Can I import my IMDb watchlist?

A spreadsheet export with the right columns imports here like any other.

Should I abandon IMDb?

No — as a database it remains irreplaceable. It is a different use, not a competitor.

The real criterion: your history

Whatever tool you pick, check that it takes your TV Time export — and how. On WatchTrail, every show is matched by its ID, not by its title.

See how to move my history

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Other services' pricing and features change over time: this page shows when it was last checked. When in doubt, the service's own page is authoritative.