special episode not showing in "next up"

[chenks]

I would argue that specials do belong within a season if they are needed to continue the story.

The setting only adds the specials that take place between some episodes and adds that to the counter of total episodes for that season view.

It's also more convenient being able to see a special takes place between some episodes instead of having to remember from your memory.

it's an interesting argument, but then which season would you include them in? the season before the special aired or the season after the special aired?

not sure which country you are in, but i suspect how specials are understood could differ by country.
here in the UK a special is never part of a standard season.

a prime example is Gavin & Stacey.
that had 3 standard seasons, and 3 specials.
those 3 specials are not part of any season but do continue the story line.

Season 1 - 6 episodes - May 2007 to June 2007
Season 2 - 6 episodes - March 2007 to April 2008
Special - 1 episode - december 2008
Season 3 - 6 episodes - November 2009 to January 2010
Special - 1 episode - december 2019
Special - 1 episode - december 2024

all episodes regardless of whether they were in a season or a special progress the storyline.

with jellyfin the only way to get those specials to show in the "next up" row would be to force them to be included in a season (via the setting mentioned), which makes no sense as you'd then have season 3 with 2 specials included when there is 9 and 5 years in between those episodes. they are standalone episodes that progress the storyline.

What would be nice is to have an option/toggle to not display them in seasons to satisfy your desire to keep your season view free of them. That way, both types of people can be satisfied.

You can submit a feature request for that here: https://features.jellyfin.org/

what would make more sense is to just show the "next" episode in "next up" regardless of whether it's a special or not by using the air date metadata if it's there.