Search by TMDB ID (/search/tmdb) for some existing show returns empty array

[UweTrottmann]

Creating an issue based on my email to support@ on 8 May 2026 ("API: lookup by TMDB ID for existing show fails") to share updates here:

Searching by TMDB ID to look up some shows (still and) consistently (though may be due to caching at Cloudflare) returns an empty array, for example:

https://api.trakt.tv/search/tmdb/313395?type=show&extended=full&page=1&limit=1

However, this show has an entry on Trakt and also links to this TMDB ID:

https://app.trakt.tv/shows/the-regression-of-great-sage-riddle
https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/313395

The following shows are also affected, but one appears to be a duplicate at TMDB of the other (yet to be moderated):

https://app.trakt.tv/shows/the-supreme-body-refining-master
TMDB ID 312395
https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/312395-the-supreme-body-refining-master

https://app.trakt.tv/shows/2026-315209 (deleted since)
TMDB ID 312386
https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/312386 ("original" of the above, but not sure, yet, which one TMDB mods will keep)

This was originally reported by a user at https://discuss.seriesgui.de/t/unable-to-mark-unaired-episodes-as-watched-works-in-trakt-ios-not-in-seriesguide/2790. I don't know if other shows are affected. I don't see a pattern, yet.

Example requests:

--> GET https://api.trakt.tv/search/tmdb/313395?type=show&extended=full&page=1&limit=1 h2
Content-Type: application/json
trakt-api-key: REDACTED
trakt-api-version: 2
Authorization: Bearer REDACTED
Host: api.trakt.tv
Connection: Keep-Alive
Accept-Encoding: gzip
User-Agent: okhttp/4.12.0
--> END GET
<-- 200 https://api.trakt.tv/search/tmdb/313395?type=show&extended=full&page=1&limit=1 (289ms)
date: Thu, 21 May 2026 05:18:53 GMT
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
content-length: 2
access-control-allow-origin: *
cache-control: public, max-age=3600, s-maxage=43200
vary: type, Origin, accept-encoding
access-control-expose-headers: X-Pagination-Page,X-Pagination-Page-Count,X-Pagination-Limit,X-Pagination-Item-Count,X-Trending-User-Count,X-Start-Date,X-End-Date,X-Sort-By,X-Sort-How,X-Private-User,X-Ratelimit,Retry-After,X-Upgrade-URL,X-Applied-Sort-By,X-Applied-Sort-How,Cache-Control,Pragma,Expires
cache-tag: search
x-content-type-options: nosniff
x-download-options: noopen
x-frame-options: SAMEORIGIN
x-permitted-cross-domain-policies: none
speculation-rules: "/cdn-cgi/speculation"
server: cloudflare
cf-ray: 9ff11f7daef1dbc8-FRA

[]
<-- END HTTP (2-byte body)

--> GET https://api.trakt.tv/search/tmdb/312395?type=show&extended=full&page=1&limit=1 h2
Content-Type: application/json
trakt-api-key: REDACTED
trakt-api-version: 2
Authorization: Bearer REDACTED
Host: api.trakt.tv
Connection: Keep-Alive
Accept-Encoding: gzip
User-Agent: okhttp/4.12.0
--> END GET
<-- 200 https://api.trakt.tv/search/tmdb/312395?type=show&extended=full&page=1&limit=1 (303ms)
date: Thu, 21 May 2026 05:25:54 GMT
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
content-length: 2
access-control-allow-origin: *
cache-control: public, max-age=3600, s-maxage=43200
vary: type, Origin, accept-encoding
access-control-expose-headers: X-Pagination-Page,X-Pagination-Page-Count,X-Pagination-Limit,X-Pagination-Item-Count,X-Trending-User-Count,X-Start-Date,X-End-Date,X-Sort-By,X-Sort-How,X-Private-User,X-Ratelimit,Retry-After,X-Upgrade-URL,X-Applied-Sort-By,X-Applied-Sort-How,Cache-Control,Pragma,Expires
cache-tag: search
x-content-type-options: nosniff
x-download-options: noopen
x-frame-options: SAMEORIGIN
x-permitted-cross-domain-policies: none
speculation-rules: "/cdn-cgi/speculation"
server: cloudflare
cf-ray: 9ff129c609f03681-FRA

[]
<-- END HTTP (2-byte body)