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Let's assume that your family members are sitting to watch a sitcom / movie. They call you to join them for watching it, but you refuse it because you've already watched it and this is a repeat of the sitcom/movie. What adjective would you use for that episode of the series or that film to indicate that e.g. the movie/episode was shown just this morning and I have watched it?

Would it be possible to say:

— I've already watched it! It's a rerun / repetitive episode / movie.

I wonder what adjective would you normally use here?

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    You already used the word I would use: It's a repeat.
    – Weather Vane
    Jul 22, 2019 at 14:47
  • Well @Weather Vane we can also say: "It's a rerun" for sure! But as I mentioned, I'm looking for an adjective here. :)
    – A-friend
    Jul 22, 2019 at 14:52
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    I think a rerun would be the whole series, not an episode. You can also use the noun as an adjective: "It's a repeat episode". But movies are a bit different from episodes and series. Unsure... it's either a premiere or you've seen it before, or it's been on before.
    – Weather Vane
    Jul 22, 2019 at 14:56
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    A repeat episode, a rerun series. "This episode is a repeat of the one shown this morning". "The series is a rerun of the one shown last year".
    – Weather Vane
    Jul 22, 2019 at 15:21
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    This series, as it is usually a non-count noun, like equipment and storage.
    – Weather Vane
    Jul 23, 2019 at 8:11

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"Rerun" doesn't have the same meaning it used to have. Back before everything was on demand, and even further back, before televisions had recording devices like VCRs, televisions shows would be broadcast once and then that was it. If you missed an episode, you had to wait until the network decided to broadcast a "rerun" of that episode. "Rerun" never really applied to movies, unless they had been previously broadcast on television as some kind of special event.

Nowadays, as long as a movie or TV show is available online, you can watch it as many times as you like. I wouldn't use the term "rerun" or even "repeat" for this, since it sounds like something has been "repeated" without your conscious input.

Instead I would keep it simple, something like:

I don't want to watch that movie. I've seen it (before).

a line often heard when I'm with friends and we're trying to find something to watch. With everything online it's nearly impossible to find something that no one in a group of five or more people has not seen.

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  • Thank you @Andrew. But let's suppose some countries in which TV channels do not cover TV shows' or movies or series on the Internet and someone who has not seen it's original/first broadcast should wait for its repeat/rerun! Then I wonder what word can be used for an episode / a whole series / a movie?
    – A-friend
    Jul 22, 2019 at 15:58
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    @A-friend In places that don't have on-demand media, then "rerun" might still apply. It usually relates to a single episode of a TV show, or a single movie.
    – Andrew
    Jul 22, 2019 at 16:00
  • So my conclusion from what you @Andrew and Weather Vane have mentioned is as following: (for a sinhle episode of a series, both "repeat" and "rerun" are applicable) - (for a whole series or a movie only "rerun" applies). Do you confirm?
    – A-friend
    Jul 22, 2019 at 16:44

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