Release Order (Recommended)Recommended
0 / 8 watchedSeasons in broadcast order with each film at its release point.
Early run (ABC)
- 1 Recess Season 1 (1997-1998), 13 episodes 13 episodes, 26 segments. Start here.
- 2 Recess Season 2 (1998-1999), 13 episodes 13 episodes, 25 segments.
One Too run (ABC and UPN)
- 3 Recess Season 3 (1999-2000), 26 episodes 26 episodes, 52 segments, split across ABC and UPN.
- 5 Recess Season 4 (2000-2001), 13 episodes 13 episodes, 24 segments. Final broadcast season, ending November 5, 2001.
Theatrical film
- 4 Recess: School's Out Theatrical film. The gang fights anti-recess villains over summer vacation. Released during season 4, placed here for story fit.
Direct-to-video
- 6 Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street Direct-to-video compilation of four episodes told as flashbacks in a snowstorm.
- 7 Recess: All Growed Down Direct-to-video. The gang recalls kindergarten, with one new story.
Direct-to-video finale
- 8 Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade Direct-to-video. New stories in fifth grade. Watch last; latest released entry.
About Recess
Recess follows six fourth graders at Third Street Elementary who run their own society on the playground. It aired 65 episodes across four seasons on ABC and UPN from September 1997 to November 2001. One theatrical film and three direct to video films extend the run through 2003.
Watch the seasons in order with School's Out placed after season 3, then the remaining films at release. Taking the Fifth Grade closes the story with the gang entering fifth grade.
Good to know
Broadcast order is four seasons: 1 (1997 to 1998, 13 episodes), 2 (1998 to 1999, 13), 3 (1999 to 2000, 26), 4 (2000 to 2001, 13). Some streaming guides split or relabel these runs, which is where larger season counts come from; this guide follows the broadcast packaging order. School's Out opened theatrically February 16, 2001 during season 4; it is set over summer vacation, so it sits between seasons 3 and 4 here. Christmas: Miracle on Third Street (November 6, 2001) compiles four episodes as flashbacks. All Growed Down and Taking the Fifth Grade both arrived December 9, 2003; the latter is the finale. Co-creator Joe Ansolabehere said in 2022 that revival angles were in development, but no series has been greenlit.
