Letterboxd is one of the best movie-tracking apps ever built. The community is engaged, the design is clean, and the film logging is genuinely enjoyable. But if you also watch TV shows — which most people do — Letterboxd leaves you without a solution. It simply doesn't track television. Here's the best alternative for people who watch both.
Quick answer: best Letterboxd alternatives for TV shows
- Matinee — tracks movies and TV shows with Letterboxd-style social features, plus streaming availability.
- Trakt — powerful tracker with deep TV support but a more complex interface.
- TV Time — great for TV tracking but weaker on movie features and social discovery.
- Serializd — strong for TV show fans but limited movie tracking depth.
- Most Letterboxd users end up running two apps. Matinee consolidates both into one.
Why Letterboxd Doesn't Track TV Shows
Letterboxd was built by film enthusiasts for film enthusiasts. Its identity is tied closely to the art of cinema — director filmographies, film journals, curated lists, and a community that takes movies seriously as an art form. TV shows were always considered out of scope.
This is a deliberate choice, not an oversight. But it creates a real problem for the majority of viewers: most people watch a lot of TV shows alongside movies, and having no single place to track everything is genuinely frustrating.
1. Matinee — Best Overall Letterboxd Alternative
Matinee is a social movie and TV tracker for iOS and Android. It was designed specifically to fill the gap Letterboxd leaves: a beautifully designed tracker that handles both movies and TV shows equally well, with strong social features and modern conveniences like streaming availability.
What Matinee has that Letterboxd doesn't:
- TV show tracking — log episodes, seasons, and series
- Streaming availability — see which platform has each title
- Smart Watchlist Optimizer — ranks your list by taste match
- Android app — Matinee has a fully native, optimised Android app
- Smart Search — natural language search like "English war movies under 2 hours"
What Letterboxd has that Matinee doesn't (yet):
- A larger film-focused community with more user reviews per title
- Deeper film list culture (curated thematic lists)
For people who watch both movies and TV shows, Matinee is the clear choice. For dedicated cinephiles who only care about films, Letterboxd's community is still special — but you'll need a second app for everything else.
2. Trakt — Best for Power Users
Trakt is the most technically capable tracker on this list. It has extremely deep TV support with granular episode tracking, scrobbling integrations with media players, and a powerful API. If you have a Plex server or use Kodi, Trakt is often the default.
The downside is the interface, which can feel dense and technical. For casual viewers who just want a clean experience, Trakt has a steeper learning curve than Matinee or Letterboxd.
3. TV Time — Best for TV-First Viewers
TV Time is focused primarily on TV shows and has a large community of TV fans. It has good episode tracking and notification features for new seasons. However, its movie tracking is weaker and its social recommendation features don't match Matinee's friend-discovery model.
4. Serializd — Best for TV Completionists
Serializd is specifically designed for TV show tracking with a Letterboxd-inspired aesthetic. It's excellent for people who watch a lot of TV and want a dedicated TV diary. Movie support exists but is limited.
The Verdict: Which App Should You Choose?
If you watch both movies and TV shows — and most people do — the answer is Matinee. It's the only app that matches Letterboxd's design quality and social features while also handling TV shows, showing streaming availability, and offering a smart watchlist that helps you pick what to watch next.
If you're a pure cinephile who rarely watches TV, staying on Letterboxd makes perfect sense. Its community and film culture are genuinely excellent. But if you want one app for everything you watch, Matinee is the one.
One app for movies and TV shows
Matinee tracks everything you watch — movies and TV shows — in one beautiful app. Free on iOS and Android.
FAQ: Letterboxd Alternatives for TV Shows
No. Letterboxd only tracks movies and films. It does not support TV show tracking, episode logging, or season progress. If you watch TV shows as well as movies, you need a different app.
Matinee is the best Letterboxd alternative for people who watch both movies and TV shows. It has Letterboxd-like features for movies (logging, rating, reviews, social) plus full TV show tracking with episode-level detail.
Yes. Matinee, Trakt, and TV Time all track both movies and TV shows. Matinee is the most modern option with the cleanest interface, social features, and a Smart Watchlist Optimizer.
You can manually add your watched movies to Matinee. Log any movie you've seen, rate it, and build your history. You can also import your Netflix watching history to get started quickly.
Matinee adds TV show tracking, streaming availability (which platform has each title), a Smart Watchlist Optimizer, and an Android app. Letterboxd is movies-only, iOS/Android but no streaming info or smart watchlist.