diff --git a/web/src/components/player/series-player-chrome.tsx b/web/src/components/player/series-player-chrome.tsx
index 2c9ebbc..b838b67 100644
--- a/web/src/components/player/series-player-chrome.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/player/series-player-chrome.tsx
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { usePlayerControlsVisible } from "@/components/player/use-player-control
 import {
   episodesForSeason,
   findNextEpisode,
-  uniqueSeasons,
+  seasonNumbersForMenu,
   type SeriesEpisodeOption,
 } from "@/lib/series-nav";
 import { SkipIntroAction } from "@/components/player/skip-intro-action";
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ type SeriesPlayerChromeProps = {
   currentEpisode: number;
   showName: string;
   episodes: SeriesEpisodeOption[];
+  /** Season numbers from show catalog (preferred over inferring from loaded episodes). */
+  catalogSeasons?: number[];
   seasonsLoading?: boolean;
   onSelectEpisode: (path: string) => void;
   onUploadSubtitle?: (file: File) => Promise<void>;
@@ -48,6 +50,7 @@ export function SeriesPlayerChrome({
   currentEpisode,
   showName,
   episodes,
+  catalogSeasons,
   seasonsLoading,
   onSelectEpisode,
   onUploadSubtitle,
@@ -62,7 +65,10 @@ export function SeriesPlayerChrome({
   const fileRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);
   const [dismissedKey, setDismissedKey] = useState<string | null>(null);
 
-  const seasons = useMemo(() => uniqueSeasons(episodes), [episodes]);
+  const seasons = useMemo(
+    () => seasonNumbersForMenu(catalogSeasons, episodes),
+    [catalogSeasons, episodes],
+  );
   const seasonEpisodes = useMemo(
     () => episodesForSeason(episodes, currentSeason),
     [episodes, currentSeason],
diff --git a/web/src/components/player/videojs-player.tsx b/web/src/components/player/videojs-player.tsx
index 3f0f9c9..c208075 100644
--- a/web/src/components/player/videojs-player.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/player/videojs-player.tsx
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ type SeriesChrome = {
   episode: number;
   showName: string;
   episodes: SeriesEpisodeOption[];
+  catalogSeasons?: number[];
   seasonsLoading?: boolean;
   onSelectEpisode: (path: string) => void;
 };
@@ -190,6 +191,7 @@ export function VideoJSPlayer({
                 currentEpisode={seriesChrome.episode}
                 showName={seriesChrome.showName}
                 episodes={seriesChrome.episodes}
+                catalogSeasons={seriesChrome.catalogSeasons}
                 seasonsLoading={seriesChrome.seasonsLoading}
                 onSelectEpisode={seriesChrome.onSelectEpisode}
                 onUploadSubtitle={onUploadSubtitle}
diff --git a/web/src/lib/series-nav.ts b/web/src/lib/series-nav.ts
index a655ef7..1049c20 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/series-nav.ts
+++ b/web/src/lib/series-nav.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,16 @@ export type SeriesNavResult = {
   seriesComplete: boolean;
 };
 
+/** Normalize media paths for equality (route params vs catalog JSON). */
+export function normalizeMediaPath(path: string): string {
+  const trimmed = path.replace(/^\/+/, "").replaceAll("\\", "/");
+  try {
+    return decodeURIComponent(trimmed);
+  } catch {
+    return trimmed;
+  }
+}
+
 /** Flat list of episodes sorted by season then episode number. */
 export function sortEpisodes(episodes: SeriesEpisodeOption[]): SeriesEpisodeOption[] {
   return [...episodes].sort((a, b) => {
@@ -26,7 +36,8 @@ export function findNextEpisode(
   currentPath: string,
 ): SeriesNavResult {
   const sorted = sortEpisodes(episodes);
-  const index = sorted.findIndex((ep) => ep.path === currentPath);
+  const needle = normalizeMediaPath(currentPath);
+  const index = sorted.findIndex((ep) => normalizeMediaPath(ep.path) === needle);
   if (index < 0) {
     return { next: null, seasonComplete: false, seriesComplete: false };
   }
@@ -49,3 +60,15 @@ export function episodesForSeason(
 export function uniqueSeasons(episodes: SeriesEpisodeOption[]): number[] {
   return [...new Set(episodes.map((ep) => ep.season))].sort((a, b) => a - b);
 }
+
+/** Prefer catalog season headers; fall back to seasons inferred from loaded episodes. */
+export function seasonNumbersForMenu(
+  catalogSeasons: number[] | undefined,
+  episodes: SeriesEpisodeOption[],
+): number[] {
+  if (catalogSeasons && catalogSeasons.length > 0) {
+    return [...new Set(catalogSeasons)].sort((a, b) => a - b);
+  }
+
+  return uniqueSeasons(episodes);
+}
diff --git a/web/src/pages/player/index.tsx b/web/src/pages/player/index.tsx
index 8e9ad35..c7d306f 100644
--- a/web/src/pages/player/index.tsx
+++ b/web/src/pages/player/index.tsx
@@ -173,34 +173,53 @@ export default function PlayerPage() {
     },
   });
 
-  const seasons = showQuery.data?.seasons ?? [];
+  const catalogSeasonNumbers = useMemo(() => {
+    const list = showQuery.data?.seasons ?? [];
+    return list.map((season) => season.season ?? 0);
+  }, [showQuery.data?.seasons]);
   const episodesQuery = useQuery({
     queryKey: [
       "player-series-episodes",
       series?.librarySlug,
       series?.showKey,
-      seasons.map((s) => s.season).join(","),
+      catalogSeasonNumbers.join(","),
     ],
-    enabled: Boolean(series?.librarySlug && series?.showKey && seasons.length > 0),
+    enabled: Boolean(series?.librarySlug && series?.showKey && catalogSeasonNumbers.length > 0),
     queryFn: async () => {
-      const pages = await Promise.all(
-        seasons.map(async (season) => {
+      const current = series!.season;
+      const ordered = [...catalogSeasonNumbers].sort((a, b) => {
+        if (a === current) {
+          return -1;
+        }
+        if (b === current) {
+          return 1;
+        }
+        return a - b;
+      });
+
+      // allSettled: one slow/failing season must not wipe the whole menu (Melrose = 7×~32).
+      const settled = await Promise.allSettled(
+        ordered.map(async (season) => {
           const response = await getApiCatalogByLibrarySlugShowsByShowKeySeasonsBySeasonEpisodes({
             path: {
               librarySlug: series!.librarySlug,
               showKey: series!.showKey,
-              season: season.season ?? 0,
+              season,
             },
           });
           if (response.error || !response.data) {
-            throw new Error("season episodes failed");
+            throw new Error(`season ${season} episodes failed`);
           }
           return response.data.episodes ?? [];
         }),
       );
+
       const options: SeriesEpisodeOption[] = [];
-      for (const page of pages) {
-        for (const ep of page) {
+      for (const result of settled) {
+        if (result.status !== "fulfilled") {
+          continue;
+        }
+        for (const ep of result.value) {
           if (!ep.path) {
             continue;
           }
@@ -242,10 +261,12 @@ export default function PlayerPage() {
       episode: series.episode,
       showName: series.showName,
       episodes: episodesQuery.data ?? [],
+      catalogSeasons: catalogSeasonNumbers,
       seasonsLoading: showQuery.isLoading || episodesQuery.isLoading,
       onSelectEpisode: selectEpisode,
     };
   }, [
+    catalogSeasonNumbers,
     episodesQuery.data,
     episodesQuery.isLoading,
     mediaPath,