Best Letterboxd Alternative for Film and TV (2026)

If you love Letterboxd for films but still open a second app every time a season drops, you are not alone. The search for a Letterboxd alternative in 2026 usually means one thing: movies and TV in one diary, without giving up the habit of logging, rating, and deciding what is next.

This guide is for that job. It is not a clone hunt and it is not an ownership panic piece. If sale talks and export checklists are what you need, our What's On guide on Letterboxd for sale (stay, export, or switch) covers that. Here the question is simpler: which tools treat film and television as one watching life, and where does Plot fit.

Two reasons people are searching this week. First, Letterboxd is in active sale talks, which has more people asking whether their ratings home still fits. Second, and more durable, Letterboxd remains film-first. Returning TV is still the gap many households feel every night when the film diary and the show tracker refuse to talk to each other.

Sale news can nudge a comparison. The lasting reason most people want an alternative is the split workflow: films in one place, episodes and seasons somewhere else, watchlists that never quite match.

Does Letterboxd support TV shows? In short, not the way most people mean. Letterboxd's own support FAQ says it does not support returning TV shows at this time, while noting work on that as a future platform extension. For historic reasons it still carries a small selection of television content that lived in TMDB's Movies section: limited series, miniseries, TV movies, plus a few exceptions such as Black Mirror episodes and shows first marketed as limited that later gained more seasons.

That FAQ also reserves the right to remove television-related content. If something you reviewed disappears from the site, Letterboxd says the review should still sit in your account export. The practical takeaway is familiar to long-time users: treat Letterboxd as a film home with limited TV edges, not as a full series diary.

When people type Letterboxd for TV into a search bar, they rarely want a pixel-perfect copy of Letterboxd's film culture. They want one place to mark what they finished, keep a short reaction, hold a watchlist that mixes movies and shows, and get a nudge toward what is worth starting next.

Serializd grew up as the TV-shaped answer for people who loved Letterboxd's logging vibe but needed seasons. Trakt grew up as the sync and progress home for people who care about episode state across devices. Newer film-and-TV apps pitch a unified library. Plot sits in the companion lane: log film and TV together, keep private notes and ratings, build lists, and use What's On when you are stuck.

Before you switch anything, decide which jobs matter. Logging and rating both films and shows in one timeline. Space for a short, honest note rather than a performed essay. Watchlists and shared lists that your household can actually use. A release calendar so drops do not sneak up on you. Discovery that answers what is hot or new without opening seven apps.

Episode-level progress, deep social feeds, and official diary imports are different jobs. Some apps lead there. Others do not, or not yet. Prefer features you can click yourself over roundup scorecards.

Here is an honest theme map of popular options. It is not a scored ranking. Themes shift as products ship, so treat this as a starting lens, then verify in the live apps.

Keep Letterboxd if the social film layer is still the point of the hobby. Add Serializd if TV is the missing half and you like that logging culture. Reach for Trakt if episode state and sync matter more than a journal tone. Try a unified app when running two trackers has become the chore.

Plot is in that last group on purpose: one companion for everything you have watched and everything you want to watch, with private notes, ratings, lists, a release calendar, and a daily What's On briefing. It is not trying to replace Letterboxd's film-social culture overnight.

Where Plot fits is the gap between a film-only social diary and a TV-only tracker. You open one web app, log a movie you finished last night and the show you are mid-season on, keep a short note while the feeling is still fresh, and park titles on a watchlist or a shared list for later.

Plot is early and solo-built. That honesty matters. Everyday watching is framed as free on the marketing site. Native iPhone and Android apps are still landing, so the live home today is the Plot web app. Use it as a companion, not as a promise that every Letterboxd habit ports over unchanged.

A personal timeline and watch history are the spine. Films and TV titles sit in the same watching life instead of two siloed diaries. That sounds small until you try to answer what you finished this month without opening Letterboxd and something else.

You track what you have seen and save what is coming. The point is continuity: one place that remembers the rewatch, the abandoned pilot, and the film a friend swore by.

Private notes and ratings are built for journal-style reactions. Plot caps review length on purpose so you capture the immediate feeling rather than performing a measured critique the second the credits roll. Sometimes the only note worth keeping is that you loved it, or that you need it for a good cry later.

That private tone is a deliberate contrast with public film-social culture. If you want an audience for every rating, Letterboxd still wins that job. If you want a quiet home for how something landed, Plot is aimed at you.

Watchlists hold what you mean to get to. You can also create and share lists and collections, which is useful when a household is negotiating the next Friday night title or building a themed shelf together.

Deciding what to watch next is half the product. A release calendar keeps movie, TV, and cinema drops visible. When the blank-stare moment hits, What's On and trending surfaces help you see what is hot across major platforms and what is newly out, without turning the night into a seven-app scavenger hunt.

What's On is Plot's daily briefing: a public guide on theplot.tv plus the in-app habit of scanning what is worth knowing today. New Releases and top-ten style trending lists across platforms are there for the nights when you know you want something, just not which something.

That is different from claiming per-title where-to-stream filters for every catalog entry. Trend lists, new releases, and a calendar are the verified discovery tools. If a roundup promises magical availability filters everywhere, check the live product before you plan your whole setup around it.

Stay on Letterboxd when film culture is the main event: lists, social discovery, and a community that still feels like home. Keep exporting your data on a schedule either way. That habit helps whether you stay forever or add a second home.

Try Plot alongside Letterboxd when TV has been living in a spreadsheet, a notes app, or a second tracker, and you want one companion timeline for both. Switch more fully only when the dual-app tax is higher than the social film benefits you still use.

Many people will keep Letterboxd for films and add Plot for the combined journal, lists, and What's On. That dual-home outcome is honest. Replacement is optional, not mandatory.

Getting started is meant to stay light. Open the Plot web app, sign up, and start your plot. Log a few films and shows you actually finished recently, write the short notes you would text a friend, and build one watchlist you will open this week.

If you want the product story in longer form, read About on theplot.tv. If you want the daily surface, skim What's On. Soft ask only: start your plot when you are ready. No upsell here.

Does Letterboxd track TV shows? Not returning series in the full sense. Letterboxd's support FAQ says returning TV is unsupported for now, with limited historic television content and a note that broader TV is a future extension.

Is there an app like Letterboxd for TV shows? Serializd is the common TV-shaped answer for Letterboxd-style logging. Unified film-and-TV companions, including Plot, aim to cover both in one place instead of splitting the hobby.

Which apps are like Letterboxd but also track TV? Roundups usually name Serializd for TV, Trakt for sync-heavy tracking, and newer unified apps such as Matinee, Refract, Moviebase, and Binge-style peers. Themes overlap; features do not. Verify before you migrate.

Is there a free app to track movies and TV? Everyday watching on Plot is framed as free on the marketing site. Other apps mix free and paid tiers differently. Check each product's live plan screen rather than trusting a recycled pricing table.

Can I import my Letterboxd diary into Plot? Not claimed here. Import from Letterboxd, Trakt, TV Time, or IMDb is not verified as a live Plot feature in this guide. If migration matters, check the live app and only trust importers that document what they map.

What is the best Letterboxd alternative? It depends on the job. Best for film social culture is still often Letterboxd itself. Best for TV-shaped logging may be Serializd. Best for sync and progress may be Trakt. Best for a film-and-TV companion journal with notes, lists, and What's On is where Plot is aiming.

Is there an app that shows what is hot or new and lets you track? That is the Plot pairing of What's On, trending and new-release surfaces, plus your own timeline and watchlists. Other apps offer calendars or discovery in their own ways.

Do I need both Serializd and Letterboxd? Plenty of people run that pair today: Letterboxd for films, Serializd for shows. A film-and-TV companion exists to collapse that split if the two-app tax bothers you.

Where does a film-and-TV companion sit versus TV Time, Trakt, or Serializd? TV Time and similar show trackers lean episode habits. Trakt leans sync and progress. Serializd leans TV social logging. A companion like Plot leans one journal for film and TV, private notes, lists, and help deciding what is next.

Is Plot a replacement for Letterboxd or something to use alongside? Either path is valid. Use alongside when you still want Letterboxd's film culture. Lean harder on Plot when one diary for movies and TV is the missing piece.

How is this different from the Letterboxd sale article? That live What's On guide answers ownership, trust, and export. This one answers film-plus-TV feature fit. Read both if you are deciding stay, dual-home, or switch on purpose.

Letterboxd remains an extraordinary film diary. It is also still film-first on returning TV, which is why Letterboxd alternative searches keep pointing at unified companions. Pick the tool that matches the job you actually have tonight: social film culture, TV-shaped logging, sync-heavy progress, or one quiet home for everything you watch.

If that last job is yours, start your plot on the Plot web app, log what you have already seen, and let the watchlist and What's On catch the rest.