Thanks for the clarification. You're absolutely right.

I've also asked the mod who replied if they could fix season one.

For season 1, do you have an official proof that the first season was originally broadcasted as only 6 episodes ?

There's the BBC Programme Index which also highlights the gaps in production and transmission (although by its nature is difficult to link to because it used dynamic searches), The BBC Shakespeare Plays book (1991) which was researched using original documentation related to the series and talks about it season by season in relation to production changes behind the scenes and the change in producers from Cedric Messina to Jonathan Miller to Elijah Moshinsky also says on page 18, "Messina used six directors for the first season of six shows".

It's also how they packaged together in the Season by Season release of the series in Australia: https://www.ezydvd.com.au/DVD/The-Shakespeare-Collection-The-Acclaimed-BBC-TV-Series-Series-1/dp/6197642

@feelinglistless said:

There's the BBC Programme Index which also highlights the gaps in production and transmission (although by its nature is difficult to link to because it used dynamic searches),

Neither the Genome, nor the current version of the BBC page of that series use season numbers. A gap doesn't necessary mean a season change.

The BBC Shakespeare Plays book (1991) which was researched using original documentation related to the series and talks about it season by season in relation to production changes behind the scenes and the change in producers from Cedric Messina to Jonathan Miller to Elijah Moshinsky also says on page 18, "Messina used six directors for the first season of six shows".

This book has been written 6 years after the end of the series. So, unless it include explicit indication by the BBC, it can't be used as a proof.

It's also how they packaged together in the Season by Season release of the series in Australia: https://www.ezydvd.com.au/DVD/The-Shakespeare-Collection-The-Acclaimed-BBC-TV-Series-Series-1/dp/6197642

They don't necessary split the show on DVD the same way that it was originally broadcasted, especially when the DVD are released in anoter country.

In short, we need proof from the time of the original broadcast.

In the introduction of a copy of Romeo and Juliet which was published by BBC Books simultaneously with broadcast in 1978, the first producer Cedric Messina writes:

"The plays that form the first sequence will be Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Measure for Measure and Henry VIII. The guiding principle behind The BBC Television Shakespeare is to make the plays, in permanent form, accessible to audiences throughout the world, and to bring to these many millions the sheer delight and excitement of seeing them in performance — in many cases, for the first time. For students, these productions will offer a wonderful opportunity to study the plays performed by some of the greatest classical actors of our time. But it is a primary intention that the plays are offered as entertainment, to be made as vividly alive as it is possible for the production teams to make them. They are not intended to be museum-like examples of past productions. It is this new commitment, for six plays of Shakespeare per year for six years, that makes the project unique."

I have opened an internal discussion with other moderators. We will have to wait a little here.

Thanks. Note also that the plays have all be entered as separate "TV movies" because of how they've subsequently been released. In the dvd boxset, they're in alphabetical order. But this is how they were originally broadcast.

The British Film Institute (a reliable source) lists the episodes in their respective series, albeit with the more conventional titles used in advertising etc.

The same series divisions are listed on TVDB, IMDB and TVMaze, and bar a few variations/errors, the original titles used in this series productions are relatively intact.

Although Wikipedia is generally considered unreliable, the extent of sources referenced on this page, along with the extensive detail, mean it shouldn't be dismissed. For example, it goes into extensive detail about partial US funding through to US publicity and displays original airing dates for both the UK and US. I mention this because it highlights how US broadcasting is more regimented in allocating time slots, as well as season placements. This highlights season allocation to episodes to remain synchronised. Further insight on scheduling here, and it should be noted that the producer changed after seasons 2 and 4.