This has been bugging me for a while, and I did attempt a google search on "British word for TV series" but I was unable to unearth anything helpful.
In the US, a season of a TV show refers to the group of episodes produced in a single run. Each year a show can be renewed for a new season. In the UK, this is called a series.
In the US, a series is the group of all the seasons together; a series might culminate after seven seasons. The series refers to the entirety of the show itself; it is a compilation of all seven of those seasons.
So, to get to my question: what is the British term for the American series? The US has a series composed of multiple seasons; for the UK, a series of series(es?) doesn't make much sense. So I imagine there has to be another term for it, but I've never heard it and can't seem to find it through google. Is there a Brit in the house who can shed some light on the matter?
Best Answer
Confusingly, in British English series refers to both an indiviual season and the collection of all seasons (or to the show itself, in the abstract).
For example, here's the Series history section of the Wikipedia article on Grange Hill:
However, the US English usage season is also widely understood, and can be used to distinguish between the two concepts without sounding "American" (in the same way that sidewalk for pavement would).