diff --git a/.changes/tmdb-cyrillic-search-spelling.md b/.changes/tmdb-cyrillic-search-spelling.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bd7fb6d05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/tmdb-cyrillic-search-spelling.md
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+---
+type: fix
+area: tmdb
+---
+
+Russian titles containing "й" or "ё" ("Фейк", "Волшебный участок", "Молодой
+Шерлок") and Arabic titles with hamza letters ("أطرق بابي") now match on TMDB.
+The search used to send a folded spelling ("феик") that TMDB never recognised
+and cached the miss for a week; those cached misses are cleared on the next
+start.
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 8900c0793..d14547d51 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -1617,7 +1617,7 @@ stream_id`); it drops `series_id`/`movie_id`, so the builder pins the
 - Opt-in via `Settings > Metadata (TMDB)` (sends titles to TMDB); the section also has a "check key" button and a cache panel (row count + payload size, with a clear button). Distributed builds ship without a shared key; users supply their own. `DEFAULT_TMDB_API_KEY` in `libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-config.ts` is empty by default; `tools/tmdb/inject-tmdb-key.mjs` still supports optional CI injection from `TMDB_API_KEY`, but is a no-op when it is unset. A user key takes precedence over any injected default; without either key, enrichment stays inactive even when enabled. Requiring a personal key is project policy, not a categorical TMDB terms restriction; see the canonical "Settings and API Key" section in `docs/architecture/tmdb-metadata-enrichment.md`.
 - Match confidence: a provider `tmdb_id` is a strong hint, not gospel — its payload is weighed against the item (`assessProviderId`: title or year agrees → use it; both years known and incompatible → the search may take over; title-only mismatch → keep it, since TMDB localizes titles). A 404 marks the id dead (`badProviderId:<id>` row); transient failures never do. Without a usable id: normalized-title + year (±1) search with a strict gate — no confident match means no enrichment
 - Detail views render provider data immediately; enrichment patches the selection asynchronously (staleness-guarded)
-- Cached in SQLite `tmdb_metadata` (Electron, via DB worker ops `DB_GET/SET_TMDB_METADATA`, plus `DB_GET_TMDB_CACHE_STATS` / `DB_CLEAR_TMDB_METADATA` behind the settings cache panel) or in-memory (PWA); localized via the app language setting. Search-match lookup keys are versioned, and connection startup removes obsolete unversioned rows once through the `migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v2-cache-cleanup:v1` app-state marker.
+- Cached in SQLite `tmdb_metadata` (Electron, via DB worker ops `DB_GET/SET_TMDB_METADATA`, plus `DB_GET_TMDB_CACHE_STATS` / `DB_CLEAR_TMDB_METADATA` behind the settings cache panel) or in-memory (PWA); localized via the app language setting. Search-match lookup keys are versioned (`|v3`), and connection startup removes the rows of every retired generation once, each under its own app-state marker (`migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v2-cache-cleanup:v1` for unversioned rows, `migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v3-cache-cleanup:v1` for `|v2` rows). The TMDB search query is `cleanTitleForSearch` (provider spelling, tags/brackets/season/year stripped), NOT the folded `normalizeTitle` key used by `pickConfidentMatch`; variant deduplication uses the lowercased query (`searchQueryIdentity`) and every attempted variant is cached under its own key, since "Феик"/"Фейк" fold to one key but are different searches and two items can share an original title while walking different variant lists: NFD folding rewrites Cyrillic "й"→"и" and "ё"→"е" and splits Arabic hamza forms, and TMDB answers such a query with nothing ("Фейк (10 серий)" never matched). Never send the folded key over the wire.
 - Service layer: `libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/`; store glue: `libs/portal/xtream/data-access/src/lib/stores/xtream-tmdb-enrichment.ts` and `libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/stalker-tmdb-enrichment.ts` (hooked in `withStalkerSelection().setSelectedItem`)
 - TMDB attribution (logo + disclaimer) is required and shown in the settings TMDB section and About
 - See `docs/architecture/tmdb-metadata-enrichment.md`
diff --git a/docs/architecture/tmdb-metadata-enrichment.md b/docs/architecture/tmdb-metadata-enrichment.md
index 9bbf515b3..9390b9db7 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/tmdb-metadata-enrichment.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/tmdb-metadata-enrichment.md
@@ -456,7 +456,7 @@ tmdb_metadata (
   media_type  'movie' | 'tv' | 'person',
   lookup_key  'id:<tmdbId>|v2'               -- details payload row
               'id:<tmdbId>|season:<n>'       -- season payload row
-              'title:<normalized>|year:<y>|v2' -- search resolution row
+              'title:<query lowercased>|year:<y>|v3' -- search resolution row
               'person:<personId>'            -- person payload row
               'trending:week'                -- trending list row
               'badProviderId:<tmdbId>'       -- id confirmed 404 by TMDB
@@ -471,14 +471,46 @@ tmdb_metadata (
 TTLs (enforced at read time in `TmdbCacheService.isFresh`): details and
 positive matches 30 days, negative matches 7 days.
 
-Search and details keys carry a `|v2` version suffix (`buildDetailsLookupKey`
-in `tmdb-matcher.ts`): for search rows so normalization changes cannot reuse
-stale positive or negative resolutions, for details rows because payloads now
-include videos via `append_to_response` and pre-videos cache rows had to be
-invalidated. Database startup deletes the obsolete
-unversioned search rows once and records
-`migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v2-cache-cleanup:v1` in `app_state`; details and
-person cache rows are unaffected.
+Search keys carry a `|v3` and details keys a `|v2` version suffix
+(`buildSearchLookupKey` / `buildDetailsLookupKey` in `tmdb-matcher.ts`): for
+search rows so normalization or query changes cannot reuse stale positive or
+negative resolutions, for details rows because payloads now include videos
+via `append_to_response` and pre-videos cache rows had to be invalidated.
+Search v2 → v3 retired the rows written while the folded comparison key was
+also the wire query (see "Search query vs. comparison key" below). Database
+startup deletes the rows of every retired search-key generation once, each
+under its own `app_state` marker so a skipped release still runs the cleanups
+it missed (`migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v2-cache-cleanup:v1` for the
+unversioned rows, `migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v3-cache-cleanup:v1` for the
+`|v2` rows; `LEGACY_TMDB_SEARCH_CACHE_CLEANUPS` in `connection.ts`); details
+and person cache rows are unaffected.
+
+### Search query vs. comparison key
+
+`buildSearchTitleVariants` yields `{ query, normalized }` pairs. `normalized`
+is `normalizeTitle` — the folded key used for `pickConfidentMatch`, where
+both sides fold the same way. `query` is `cleanTitleForSearch`
+(`libs/shared/interfaces`): the same tag, bracket, season and trailing-year
+stripping, but the letters left as the provider wrote them. The search's
+identity is the query with only its case removed (`searchQueryIdentity`):
+variants are deduplicated by it and every attempted variant is cached under
+its own key (`title:<identity>|year:<y>|v3`, in the language that variant
+was searched in), never by the folded key and never only under the first
+variant — "Феик" and "Фейк" fold to one key but are different searches with
+different answers, so a verdict for one must not be read back for the other;
+a misspelled original title must not swallow the display title that TMDB
+actually knows; and two items that share an original title but not a display
+title walk different variant lists, so a row keyed on the first variant alone
+would hand the second item the first one's answer, or its cached miss. The two must differ because folding is lossy outside Latin: NFD
+splits Cyrillic "й" into "и" + a combining breve and "ё" into "е" + a
+diaeresis, and Arabic hamza forms ("أ") into a bare alef + a combining hamza
+that the punctuation step then turns into a space inside the word. The key
+drops or splits on those marks, and TMDB's `/search` does not fold them the
+same way — a query of `феик` returns zero results while `Фейк` returns the
+show. Under the old single-form design every Russian title with "й"/"ё"
+("Фейк (10 серий)", "Волшебный участок", "Молодой Шерлок") was searched
+folded, missed, and cached as missing for the 7-day negative TTL. Compare
+results only through `normalized`; never send it over the wire.
 
 Electron IPC path (follows the standard DB worker contract, see
 [SQLite DB Worker](./sqlite-db-worker.md)):
diff --git a/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-id-resolver.service.spec.ts b/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-id-resolver.service.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aa9549eef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-id-resolver.service.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,220 @@
+import { Injector, runInInjectionContext } from '@angular/core';
+import { TmdbApiService } from './tmdb-api.service';
+import { TmdbCacheService } from './tmdb-cache.service';
+import { TmdbIdResolverService } from './tmdb-id-resolver.service';
+import { TmdbRuntimeService } from './tmdb-runtime.service';
+import { TmdbSearchResult } from './tmdb.types';
+
+/**
+ * Regression coverage for the search wire format. The comparison key folds
+ * diacritics — Cyrillic "й" becomes "и" — and that key used to be sent as
+ * the TMDB query, which matched nothing for any title carrying "й"/"ё" and
+ * cached the miss for a week ("Фейк (10 серий)", "Волшебный участок").
+ */
+describe('TmdbIdResolverService.resolveBySearch', () => {
+    const fake2026: TmdbSearchResult = {
+        id: 317869,
+        name: 'Фейк',
+        original_name: 'Фейк',
+        first_air_date: '2026-07-16',
+        vote_count: 3,
+    };
+    const fake2024: TmdbSearchResult = {
+        id: 322696,
+        name: 'Фейк',
+        original_name: 'Фейк',
+        first_air_date: '2024-12-05',
+        vote_count: 0,
+    };
+
+    let searchTv: jest.Mock;
+    let searchMovie: jest.Mock;
+    let cacheGet: jest.Mock;
+    let cacheSet: jest.Mock;
+
+    // The services Jest target has no @angular/core/testing — build the
+    // service in a plain injection context instead of TestBed.
+    function createService(): TmdbIdResolverService {
+        const injector = Injector.create({
+            providers: [
+                {
+                    provide: TmdbRuntimeService,
+                    useValue: {
+                        apiKey: () => 'key',
+                        appLanguage: () => 'en',
+                    },
+                },
+                {
+                    provide: TmdbApiService,
+                    useValue: { searchTv, searchMovie },
+                },
+                {
+                    provide: TmdbCacheService,
+                    useValue: {
+                        get: cacheGet,
+                        set: cacheSet,
+                        isFresh: () => false,
+                    },
+                },
+            ],
+        });
+        return runInInjectionContext(
+            injector,
+            () => new TmdbIdResolverService()
+        );
+    }
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        searchTv = jest.fn(async (query: string) =>
+            // TMDB does not fold Cyrillic: only the provider spelling hits
+            query === 'Фейк' ? [fake2026, fake2024] : []
+        );
+        searchMovie = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([]);
+        cacheGet = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(null);
+        cacheSet = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+    });
+
+    it('sends the provider spelling to TMDB and matches on the folded key', async () => {
+        const service = createService();
+
+        const id = await service.resolveBySearch('tv', {
+            title: 'Фейк (10 серий)',
+            year: 2026,
+        });
+
+        expect(id).toBe(317869);
+        expect(searchTv).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(searchTv).toHaveBeenCalledWith('Фейк', null, 'ru-RU', 'key');
+        expect(cacheSet).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+            mediaType: 'tv',
+            lookupKey: 'title:фейк|year:2026|v3',
+            language: 'ru-RU',
+            tmdbId: 317869,
+            payload: null,
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('caches the miss under the folded v3 key', async () => {
+        searchTv.mockResolvedValue([]);
+        const service = createService();
+
+        const id = await service.resolveBySearch('tv', {
+            title: 'Молодой Шерлок',
+            year: 2026,
+        });
+
+        expect(id).toBeNull();
+        expect(searchTv).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            'Молодой Шерлок',
+            null,
+            'ru-RU',
+            'key'
+        );
+        expect(cacheSet).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            expect.objectContaining({
+                lookupKey: 'title:молодой шерлок|year:2026|v3',
+                tmdbId: null,
+            })
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('reads the cache before searching', async () => {
+        cacheGet.mockResolvedValue({ tmdbId: 317869 });
+        const service = createService();
+        const cacheService = (service as unknown as { cache: TmdbCacheService })
+            .cache;
+        jest.spyOn(cacheService, 'isFresh').mockReturnValue(true);
+
+        const id = await service.resolveBySearch('tv', {
+            title: 'Фейк (10 серий)',
+            year: 2026,
+        });
+
+        expect(id).toBe(317869);
+        expect(cacheGet).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            'tv',
+            'title:фейк|year:2026|v3',
+            'ru-RU'
+        );
+        expect(searchTv).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    it('searches a display spelling that a misspelled original title folds onto', async () => {
+        const service = createService();
+
+        const id = await service.resolveBySearch('tv', {
+            title: 'Фейк',
+            originalTitle: 'Феик',
+            year: 2026,
+        });
+
+        expect(id).toBe(317869);
+        expect(searchTv.mock.calls.map(([query]) => query)).toEqual([
+            'Феик',
+            'Фейк',
+        ]);
+        // Each attempted variant records its own verdict
+        expect(
+            cacheSet.mock.calls.map(([row]) => [row.lookupKey, row.tmdbId])
+        ).toEqual([
+            ['title:феик|year:2026|v3', null],
+            ['title:фейк|year:2026|v3', 317869],
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it("does not let one variant's cached verdict answer for another", async () => {
+        // Item A (original "Феик", display "Феик") cached a miss under
+        // "феик". Item B shares the original title but displays "Фейк":
+        // the cached miss must not suppress B's own second variant.
+        cacheGet.mockImplementation(async (_type: string, key: string) =>
+            key === 'title:феик|year:2026|v3' ? { tmdbId: null } : null
+        );
+        const service = createService();
+        const cacheService = (service as unknown as { cache: TmdbCacheService })
+            .cache;
+        jest.spyOn(cacheService, 'isFresh').mockImplementation(
+            (row) => row !== null && row !== undefined
+        );
+
+        const id = await service.resolveBySearch('tv', {
+            title: 'Фейк',
+            originalTitle: 'Феик',
+            year: 2026,
+        });
+
+        expect(id).toBe(317869);
+        expect(searchTv).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(searchTv).toHaveBeenCalledWith('Фейк', null, 'ru-RU', 'key');
+        expect(cacheGet.mock.calls.map(([, key]) => key)).toEqual([
+            'title:феик|year:2026|v3',
+            'title:фейк|year:2026|v3',
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('tries the language-prefix-stripped fallback with its own spelling', async () => {
+        searchMovie = jest.fn(async (query: string) =>
+            query === 'Amélie'
+                ? [
+                      {
+                          id: 194,
+                          title: 'Amélie',
+                          original_title: 'Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain',
+                          release_date: '2001-04-25',
+                      },
+                  ]
+                : []
+        );
+        const service = createService();
+
+        const id = await service.resolveBySearch('movie', {
+            title: 'FR Amélie',
+            year: 2001,
+        });
+
+        expect(id).toBe(194);
+        expect(searchMovie.mock.calls.map(([query]) => query)).toEqual([
+            'FR Amélie',
+            'Amélie',
+        ]);
+    });
+});
diff --git a/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-id-resolver.service.ts b/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-id-resolver.service.ts
index d8e90051a..d6b37cf19 100644
--- a/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-id-resolver.service.ts
+++ b/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-id-resolver.service.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
     tmdbSearchLanguageForTitle,
 } from './tmdb-config';
 import {
+    SearchTitleVariant,
     buildBadProviderIdLookupKey,
     buildSearchLookupKey,
     buildSearchTitleVariants,
@@ -37,7 +38,12 @@ export class TmdbIdResolverService {
 
     /**
      * Resolve a title/year to a TMDB id via /search with the confidence
-     * gate. Both hits and misses are cached; misses use a shorter TTL.
+     * gate. Every attempted variant is cached under its own key — hits for
+     * 30 days, misses for 7 — because a verdict belongs to the search that
+     * produced it, not to the item that asked: two items sharing an
+     * original title but not a display title walk different variant lists,
+     * and a row keyed on the first variant alone would hand the second item
+     * the first one's answer, or its cached miss.
      */
     async resolveBySearch(
         mediaType: TmdbMediaType,
@@ -49,22 +55,39 @@ export class TmdbIdResolverService {
             query.title,
             query.originalTitle
         );
-        if (variants.length === 0) {
-            return null;
+        const year = query.year ?? extractYear(null, query.title);
+
+        for (const variant of variants) {
+            const resolved = await this.resolveVariant(
+                mediaType,
+                variant,
+                year
+            );
+            if (resolved !== null) {
+                return resolved;
+            }
         }
 
-        const year = query.year ?? extractYear(null, query.title);
-        const cacheLanguage = tmdbSearchLanguageForTitle(
-            variants[0],
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    /** One variant's cached or freshly searched verdict; null on a miss. */
+    private async resolveVariant(
+        mediaType: TmdbMediaType,
+        variant: SearchTitleVariant,
+        year: number | null
+    ): Promise<number | null> {
+        // Cyrillic (and other non-app-script) titles search in their own
+        // language so TMDB returns comparable titles — see
+        // tmdbSearchLanguageForTitle. The cache row carries the same
+        // language, since the answer depends on it.
+        const language = tmdbSearchLanguageForTitle(
+            variant.normalized,
             this.runtime.appLanguage()
         );
-        const lookupKey = buildSearchLookupKey(variants[0], year);
+        const lookupKey = buildSearchLookupKey(variant.query, year);
 
-        const cached = await this.cache.get(
-            mediaType,
-            lookupKey,
-            cacheLanguage
-        );
+        const cached = await this.cache.get(mediaType, lookupKey, language);
         const ttl =
             cached?.tmdbId !== null && cached?.tmdbId !== undefined
                 ? TMDB_MATCH_CACHE_TTL_MS
@@ -73,46 +96,36 @@ export class TmdbIdResolverService {
             return cached?.tmdbId ?? null;
         }
 
-        let match = null;
-        for (const variant of variants) {
-            // Cyrillic (and other non-app-script) titles search in their
-            // own language so TMDB returns comparable titles — see
-            // tmdbSearchLanguageForTitle. Search by title only: TMDB's
-            // year params filter strictly; the ±1/season tolerance lives
-            // in pickConfidentMatch instead.
-            const language = tmdbSearchLanguageForTitle(
-                variant,
-                this.runtime.appLanguage()
-            );
-            const results =
-                mediaType === 'movie'
-                    ? await this.api.searchMovie(
-                          variant,
-                          null,
-                          language,
-                          this.runtime.apiKey()
-                      )
-                    : await this.api.searchTv(
-                          variant,
-                          null,
-                          language,
-                          this.runtime.apiKey()
-                      );
+        // Search by title only: TMDB's year params filter strictly; the
+        // ±1/season tolerance lives in pickConfidentMatch instead. The wire
+        // query is the provider's own spelling (`variant.query`), never the
+        // folded comparison key: TMDB does not fold Cyrillic "й" the way
+        // the key does, and a folded query finds nothing.
+        const results =
+            mediaType === 'movie'
+                ? await this.api.searchMovie(
+                      variant.query,
+                      null,
+                      language,
+                      this.runtime.apiKey()
+                  )
+                : await this.api.searchTv(
+                      variant.query,
+                      null,
+                      language,
+                      this.runtime.apiKey()
+                  );
 
-            match = pickConfidentMatch(
-                results,
-                { title: variant, year },
-                mediaType
-            );
-            if (match) {
-                break;
-            }
-        }
+        const match = pickConfidentMatch(
+            results,
+            { title: variant.normalized, year },
+            mediaType
+        );
 
         await this.cache.set({
             mediaType,
             lookupKey,
-            language: cacheLanguage,
+            language,
             tmdbId: match?.id ?? null,
             payload: null,
         });
diff --git a/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-matcher.spec.ts b/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-matcher.spec.ts
index 7a3b737a1..4bc8860a1 100644
--- a/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-matcher.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-matcher.spec.ts
@@ -79,11 +79,26 @@ describe('extractYear', () => {
 
 describe('lookup keys', () => {
     it('builds stable search and details keys', () => {
-        expect(buildSearchLookupKey('the matrix', 1999)).toBe(
-            'title:the matrix|year:1999|v2'
+        expect(buildSearchLookupKey('The Matrix', 1999)).toBe(
+            'title:the matrix|year:1999|v3'
         );
-        expect(buildSearchLookupKey('the matrix', null)).toBe(
-            'title:the matrix|year:|v2'
+        expect(buildSearchLookupKey('The Matrix', null)).toBe(
+            'title:the matrix|year:|v3'
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('keys search rows by the wire spelling, not the folded key', () => {
+        // "Феик" and "Фейк" fold to one comparison key but are different
+        // searches with different answers; a verdict cached for one must
+        // never be read back for the other.
+        expect(buildSearchLookupKey('Фейк', 2026)).toBe(
+            'title:фейк|year:2026|v3'
+        );
+        expect(buildSearchLookupKey('Феик', 2026)).not.toBe(
+            buildSearchLookupKey('Фейк', 2026)
+        );
+        expect(buildSearchLookupKey('THE BOYS', 2019)).toBe(
+            buildSearchLookupKey('The Boys', 2019)
         );
         expect(buildDetailsLookupKey(603)).toBe('id:603|v2');
     });
@@ -92,35 +107,71 @@ describe('lookup keys', () => {
 describe('buildSearchTitleVariants', () => {
     it('orders original title before display title', () => {
         expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('Пацаны', 'The Boys')).toEqual([
-            'the boys',
-            'пацаны',
+            { query: 'The Boys', normalized: 'the boys' },
+            { query: 'Пацаны', normalized: 'пацаны' },
         ]);
     });
 
     it('adds a language-prefix-stripped fallback variant', () => {
         expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('DE Batman', null)).toEqual([
-            'de batman',
-            'batman',
+            { query: 'DE Batman', normalized: 'de batman' },
+            { query: 'Batman', normalized: 'batman' },
         ]);
-        expect(
-            buildSearchTitleVariants('English The Godfather', null)
-        ).toEqual(['english the godfather', 'the godfather']);
+        expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('English The Godfather', null)).toEqual(
+            [
+                {
+                    query: 'English The Godfather',
+                    normalized: 'english the godfather',
+                },
+                { query: 'The Godfather', normalized: 'the godfather' },
+            ]
+        );
     });
 
     it('keeps titles that merely look like prefixed ones as the primary variant', () => {
         // "It Follows" must be searched as-is first; the stripped variant
         // is only a fallback
-        expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('It Follows', null)[0]).toBe(
-            'it follows'
-        );
+        expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('It Follows', null)[0]).toEqual({
+            query: 'It Follows',
+            normalized: 'it follows',
+        });
     });
 
-    it('deduplicates and drops empty values', () => {
+    it('sends the provider spelling to the search but compares on the folded key', () => {
+        // The folded key rewrites "й" as "и"; TMDB finds nothing for it.
+        expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('Фейк (10 серий)', null)).toEqual([
+            { query: 'Фейк', normalized: 'феик' },
+        ]);
+        // Arabic hamza forms fold into a space inside the word
+        expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('إيمان', null)).toEqual([
+            { query: 'إيمان', normalized: 'ا يمان' },
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('deduplicates by the wire spelling and drops empty values', () => {
         expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('The Boys', 'The Boys')).toEqual([
-            'the boys',
+            { query: 'The Boys', normalized: 'the boys' },
+        ]);
+        // Case alone is not a different search
+        expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('the boys', 'The Boys')).toEqual([
+            { query: 'The Boys', normalized: 'the boys' },
         ]);
         expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('', null)).toEqual([]);
     });
+
+    it('keeps spellings that fold to one key but differ on the wire', () => {
+        // A misspelled original title must not swallow the display title:
+        // TMDB knows "Фейк" and not "Феик", and only the second variant
+        // would find it.
+        expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('Фейк', 'Феик')).toEqual([
+            { query: 'Феик', normalized: 'феик' },
+            { query: 'Фейк', normalized: 'феик' },
+        ]);
+        expect(buildSearchTitleVariants('Amelie', 'Amélie')).toEqual([
+            { query: 'Amélie', normalized: 'amelie' },
+            { query: 'Amelie', normalized: 'amelie' },
+        ]);
+    });
 });
 
 describe('parseProviderTmdbId', () => {
diff --git a/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-matcher.ts b/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-matcher.ts
index 390e373a9..98977beb0 100644
--- a/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-matcher.ts
+++ b/libs/services/src/lib/tmdb/tmdb-matcher.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import {
     TmdbMediaType,
+    cleanTitleForSearch,
     extractYear,
     normalizeTitle,
 } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
@@ -36,22 +37,58 @@ function stripLeadingLanguageToken(raw: string): string | null {
     return null;
 }
 
+/**
+ * One search candidate: what to SEND to TMDB and what to COMPARE its
+ * answers against. The two differ on purpose — see `cleanTitleForSearch`:
+ * a folded query ("феик") finds nothing on TMDB while the folded key is
+ * exactly what the confidence gate and the cache need.
+ */
+export interface SearchTitleVariant {
+    /** Provider spelling with tags/brackets/season/year stripped */
+    query: string;
+    /** `normalizeTitle` of the same text; cache key and comparison form */
+    normalized: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * The identity of one search on the wire: the query with only the case
+ * removed, since TMDB matches case-insensitively and nothing else about
+ * the spelling may be folded away — "Феик" and "Фейк" are different
+ * searches with different answers, however alike their comparison keys.
+ * Both the variant deduplication and the cache row use this, so a cached
+ * verdict can never be read back for a search that was never sent.
+ */
+export function searchQueryIdentity(query: string): string {
+    return query.toLowerCase();
+}
+
 /**
  * Ordered search-title candidates for one provider item: the original
  * title, the display title, then the same values with a leading
  * language-looking token dropped. The confidence gate still applies to
  * every variant, so extra candidates cannot produce wrong matches — only
- * extra searches on misses.
+ * extra searches on misses. Deduplicated by the wire identity, never by
+ * the folded comparison key: two spellings that fold to one key can still
+ * be different searches, and dropping the second would silently skip the
+ * one TMDB actually knows.
  */
 export function buildSearchTitleVariants(
     title: string | null | undefined,
     originalTitle?: string | null
-): string[] {
-    const variants: string[] = [];
+): SearchTitleVariant[] {
+    const variants: SearchTitleVariant[] = [];
     const push = (raw: string | null | undefined) => {
         const normalized = normalizeTitle(raw);
-        if (normalized && !variants.includes(normalized)) {
-            variants.push(normalized);
+        const query = cleanTitleForSearch(raw);
+        const identity = searchQueryIdentity(query);
+        if (
+            normalized &&
+            query &&
+            !variants.some(
+                (variant) => searchQueryIdentity(variant.query) === identity
+            )
+        ) {
+            variants.push({ query, normalized });
         }
     };
 
@@ -66,14 +103,25 @@ export function buildSearchTitleVariants(
     return variants;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Cache row for one search verdict, keyed by the wire query's identity
+ * (`searchQueryIdentity`), not by the folded comparison key: the verdict
+ * depends on what was sent, and two spellings sharing a folded key ("Все"
+ * / "Всё") may get different answers.
+ */
 export function buildSearchLookupKey(
-    normalizedTitle: string,
+    query: string,
     year: number | null
 ): string {
     // v2: normalizeTitleKeys learned to strip appended language/quality
     // tags; the version suffix invalidates cached (incl. negative) match
-    // resolutions keyed on the old polluted titles
-    return `title:${normalizedTitle}|year:${year ?? ''}|v2`;
+    // resolutions keyed on the old polluted titles.
+    // v3: the search query stopped being the folded key ("феик" for
+    // "Фейк"), which TMDB answered with nothing; every negative row recorded
+    // under v2 for a title with "й"/"ё" is that bug, not a missing title, and
+    // must not block the retry for its 7-day TTL. Rows are keyed by the
+    // query since then.
+    return `title:${searchQueryIdentity(query)}|year:${year ?? ''}|v3`;
 }
 
 export function buildDetailsLookupKey(tmdbId: number): string {
@@ -108,9 +156,7 @@ export function parseProviderTmdbId(
  *   name mismatch alone says more about our own inputs than about the id.
  */
 export type ProviderIdVerdict =
-    | 'corroborated'
-    | 'contradicted'
-    | 'inconclusive';
+    'corroborated' | 'contradicted' | 'inconclusive';
 
 /** The same tolerance the search gate uses, applied in reverse */
 function yearsAgree(
@@ -135,7 +181,11 @@ export function assessProviderId(
         original_name?: string;
         first_air_date?: string;
     },
-    query: { title?: string | null; originalTitle?: string | null; year?: number | null },
+    query: {
+        title?: string | null;
+        originalTitle?: string | null;
+        year?: number | null;
+    },
     mediaType: TmdbMediaType
 ): ProviderIdVerdict {
     // Same effective year the search would use, so the two agree on what
@@ -171,7 +221,9 @@ export function detailsMatchProviderTitle(
     query: { title?: string | null; originalTitle?: string | null }
 ): boolean {
     const variants = new Set(
-        buildSearchTitleVariants(query.title, query.originalTitle)
+        buildSearchTitleVariants(query.title, query.originalTitle).map(
+            (variant) => variant.normalized
+        )
     );
     if (variants.size === 0) {
         // Nothing to compare against — never call that a mismatch
diff --git a/libs/shared/database/src/lib/connection-migrations.spec.ts b/libs/shared/database/src/lib/connection-migrations.spec.ts
index c89ba825b..5a6c115bb 100644
--- a/libs/shared/database/src/lib/connection-migrations.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/shared/database/src/lib/connection-migrations.spec.ts
@@ -139,8 +139,16 @@ describe('runMigrations error tolerance', () => {
     });
 });
 
-describe('TMDB search lookup v2 cache cleanup', () => {
-    it('deletes legacy search rows and records the migration atomically', () => {
+describe('TMDB search lookup cache cleanup', () => {
+    function deleteStatements(sqlite: SqliteHandle): string[] {
+        return (sqlite.prepare as jest.Mock).mock.calls
+            .map(([statement]) => compactSql(statement))
+            .filter((statement) =>
+                statement.includes('DELETE FROM tmdb_metadata')
+            );
+    }
+
+    it('deletes every retired key generation and records each migration atomically', () => {
         const deleteRun = jest.fn();
         const markerRun = jest.fn();
         const { sqlite, transaction } = createSqliteMock([
@@ -151,22 +159,51 @@ describe('TMDB search lookup v2 cache cleanup', () => {
 
         cleanupLegacyTmdbSearchCache(sqlite);
 
-        expect(transaction).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-        expect(deleteRun).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-        expect(markerRun).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-            'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v2-cache-cleanup:v1'
-        );
-        const deleteSql = compactSql(
-            (sqlite.prepare as jest.Mock).mock.calls.find(([statement]) =>
-                statement.includes('DELETE FROM tmdb_metadata')
-            )?.[0]
-        );
-        expect(deleteSql).toContain(
+        expect(transaction).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+        expect(deleteRun).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+        expect(markerRun.mock.calls.map(([key]) => key)).toEqual([
+            'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v2-cache-cleanup:v1',
+            'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v3-cache-cleanup:v1',
+        ]);
+        const [unversionedDelete, v2Delete] = deleteStatements(sqlite);
+        expect(unversionedDelete).toContain(
             "lookup_key LIKE 'title:%|year:%' AND lookup_key NOT LIKE 'title:%|year:%|v%'"
         );
+        // Only v2 search rows: the v3 rows the resolver writes now, and the
+        // `id:`/`person:`/`badProviderId:` rows, must survive.
+        expect(v2Delete).toContain("WHERE lookup_key LIKE 'title:%|year:%|v2'");
+        expect(v2Delete).not.toContain('v3');
     });
 
-    it('does nothing after the migration has completed', () => {
+    it('runs only the generations that have not completed yet', () => {
+        const markerRun = jest.fn();
+        const { sqlite, transaction } = createSqliteMock([
+            [
+                'SELECT value FROM app_state',
+                {
+                    get: (key: unknown) =>
+                        key ===
+                        'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v2-cache-cleanup:v1'
+                            ? { value: 'done' }
+                            : undefined,
+                },
+            ],
+            ['INSERT INTO app_state', { run: markerRun }],
+        ]);
+
+        cleanupLegacyTmdbSearchCache(sqlite);
+
+        expect(transaction).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(markerRun).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(markerRun).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v3-cache-cleanup:v1'
+        );
+        expect(deleteStatements(sqlite)).toEqual([
+            expect.stringContaining("lookup_key LIKE 'title:%|year:%|v2'"),
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('does nothing after every migration has completed', () => {
         const { sqlite, prepare, transaction } = createSqliteMock([
             completedMigrationStateRule,
         ]);
@@ -174,7 +211,8 @@ describe('TMDB search lookup v2 cache cleanup', () => {
         cleanupLegacyTmdbSearchCache(sqlite);
 
         expect(transaction).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
-        expect(prepare).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        // One marker read per retired generation, nothing else
+        expect(prepare).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
     });
 });
 
diff --git a/libs/shared/database/src/lib/connection.ts b/libs/shared/database/src/lib/connection.ts
index a2c5a4158..ff040e9ea 100644
--- a/libs/shared/database/src/lib/connection.ts
+++ b/libs/shared/database/src/lib/connection.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@ const EPG_PROGRAM_SOURCE_URL_BACKFILL_MIGRATION_KEY =
     'migration:epg-program-source-url-backfill:v1';
 const TMDB_SEARCH_LOOKUP_V2_CACHE_CLEANUP_MIGRATION_KEY =
     'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v2-cache-cleanup:v1';
+const TMDB_SEARCH_LOOKUP_V3_CACHE_CLEANUP_MIGRATION_KEY =
+    'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v3-cache-cleanup:v1';
 const EPG_PROGRAM_SOURCE_URL_BACKFILL_BATCH_SIZE = 50_000;
 
 function readTraceFlag(name: string): boolean {
@@ -963,50 +965,82 @@ function widenTmdbMetadataMediaTypeCheck(sqliteDb: Database.Database): void {
 }
 
 /**
- * Search-match cache keys gained a v2 suffix when title normalization changed.
- * Remove the now-unreachable unversioned rows once rather than leaving negative
- * resolutions and other legacy search matches in long-lived installations.
+ * Every search-match cache key generation that has been retired, oldest
+ * first, each with the predicate selecting exactly the rows written under
+ * it. A retired generation's rows are unreachable — the resolver only ever
+ * reads the current key — so they would otherwise sit in long-lived
+ * installations forever, negative resolutions included.
+ *
+ * - unversioned → v2: title normalization learned to strip appended
+ *   language/quality tags.
+ * - v2 → v3: the search query stopped being the folded comparison key. Under
+ *   v2 every title with a Cyrillic "й"/"ё" was searched folded ("феик" for
+ *   "Фейк", "елки" for "Ёлки"), got no answer, and was cached as missing for
+ *   7 days.
+ */
+const LEGACY_TMDB_SEARCH_CACHE_CLEANUPS: ReadonlyArray<{
+    migrationKey: string;
+    rowPredicate: string;
+}> = [
+    {
+        migrationKey: TMDB_SEARCH_LOOKUP_V2_CACHE_CLEANUP_MIGRATION_KEY,
+        rowPredicate: `lookup_key LIKE 'title:%|year:%'
+                       AND lookup_key NOT LIKE 'title:%|year:%|v%'`,
+    },
+    {
+        migrationKey: TMDB_SEARCH_LOOKUP_V3_CACHE_CLEANUP_MIGRATION_KEY,
+        rowPredicate: `lookup_key LIKE 'title:%|year:%|v2'`,
+    },
+];
+
+/**
+ * Remove search-match rows written under a retired key generation, once per
+ * generation, recorded in `app_state`. Each generation is its own marker so
+ * an installation that skipped a release still runs every cleanup it missed,
+ * in order.
  */
 function cleanupLegacyTmdbSearchCache(sqliteDb: Database.Database): void {
-    try {
-        const migrationState = sqliteDb
-            .prepare(`SELECT value FROM app_state WHERE key = ?`)
-            .get(TMDB_SEARCH_LOOKUP_V2_CACHE_CLEANUP_MIGRATION_KEY) as
-            { value?: unknown } | undefined;
+    for (const cleanup of LEGACY_TMDB_SEARCH_CACHE_CLEANUPS) {
+        try {
+            const migrationState = sqliteDb
+                .prepare(`SELECT value FROM app_state WHERE key = ?`)
+                .get(cleanup.migrationKey) as { value?: unknown } | undefined;
 
-        if (migrationState?.value === 'done') {
-            return;
+            if (migrationState?.value === 'done') {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            const executeCleanup = sqliteDb.transaction(() => {
+                sqliteDb
+                    .prepare(
+                        `DELETE FROM tmdb_metadata
+                         WHERE ${cleanup.rowPredicate}`
+                    )
+                    .run();
+                sqliteDb
+                    .prepare(
+                        `INSERT INTO app_state (key, value, updated_at)
+                         VALUES (?, 'done', datetime('now'))
+                         ON CONFLICT(key) DO UPDATE SET
+                            value = excluded.value,
+                            updated_at = excluded.updated_at`
+                    )
+                    .run(cleanup.migrationKey);
+            });
+
+            executeCleanup();
+        } catch (error) {
+            const message =
+                typeof error === 'object' &&
+                error !== null &&
+                'message' in error
+                    ? String((error as { message?: unknown }).message ?? error)
+                    : String(error);
+
+            console.warn(
+                `Legacy TMDB search cache cleanup failed (continuing): ${message}`
+            );
         }
-
-        const executeCleanup = sqliteDb.transaction(() => {
-            sqliteDb
-                .prepare(
-                    `DELETE FROM tmdb_metadata
-                     WHERE lookup_key LIKE 'title:%|year:%'
-                       AND lookup_key NOT LIKE 'title:%|year:%|v%'`
-                )
-                .run();
-            sqliteDb
-                .prepare(
-                    `INSERT INTO app_state (key, value, updated_at)
-                     VALUES (?, 'done', datetime('now'))
-                     ON CONFLICT(key) DO UPDATE SET
-                        value = excluded.value,
-                        updated_at = excluded.updated_at`
-                )
-                .run(TMDB_SEARCH_LOOKUP_V2_CACHE_CLEANUP_MIGRATION_KEY);
-        });
-
-        executeCleanup();
-    } catch (error) {
-        const message =
-            typeof error === 'object' && error !== null && 'message' in error
-                ? String((error as { message?: unknown }).message ?? error)
-                : String(error);
-
-        console.warn(
-            `Legacy TMDB search cache cleanup failed (continuing): ${message}`
-        );
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/libs/shared/database/src/lib/tmdb-search-cache-cleanup.spec.ts b/libs/shared/database/src/lib/tmdb-search-cache-cleanup.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..137f453a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/shared/database/src/lib/tmdb-search-cache-cleanup.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import { createRequire } from 'node:module';
+import { resolve } from 'node:path';
+import { pathToFileURL } from 'node:url';
+
+/**
+ * Real-SQLite coverage for the retired search-key cleanups, run inside
+ * Electron so better-sqlite3 links against the ABI the app ships with. The
+ * mock-based spec proves the SQL shape; this one proves what a persisted
+ * database looks like after an upgrade — from a release that skipped every
+ * cleanup, from the previous release, on a fresh database, and on the next
+ * startup after that.
+ */
+it('drops only retired search rows across skipped, previous, pre-person, fresh and repeated startups', () => {
+    const electron = createRequire(__filename)('electron') as string;
+    const connectionUrl = pathToFileURL(
+        resolve(__dirname, 'connection.ts')
+    ).href;
+    const result = execFileSync(
+        electron,
+        [
+            '--import',
+            'tsx',
+            '--eval',
+            `
+        const { default: Database } = await import('better-sqlite3');
+        const { __databaseConnectionTestHooks: hooks } = await import(${JSON.stringify(connectionUrl)});
+        console.log = () => undefined;
+        const V2_MARKER = 'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v2-cache-cleanup:v1';
+        const V3_MARKER = 'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v3-cache-cleanup:v1';
+        const ROWS = [
+            ['tv', 'title:феик|year:2026', 'ru-RU', null],
+            ['tv', 'title:феик|year:2026|v2', 'ru-RU', null],
+            ['tv', 'title:the boys|year:2019|v2', 'en-US', 76479],
+            ['tv', 'title:фейк|year:2026|v3', 'ru-RU', 317869],
+            ['tv', 'id:317869|v2', 'ru-RU', 317869],
+            ['tv', 'id:317869|season:1', 'ru-RU', 317869],
+            ['person', 'person:287', 'en-US', 287],
+            ['movie', 'badProviderId:999', 'any', null],
+            ['movie', 'trending:week', 'en-US', null],
+        ];
+        function openDb(markers) {
+            const db = new Database(':memory:');
+            hooks.createTables(db);
+            const insert = db.prepare('INSERT INTO tmdb_metadata (media_type, lookup_key, language, tmdb_id, payload) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)');
+            for (const [type, key, lang, id] of ROWS) insert.run(type, key, lang, id, id === null ? null : '{"id":' + id + '}');
+            const mark = db.prepare("INSERT INTO app_state (key, value, updated_at) VALUES (?, 'done', datetime('now'))");
+            for (const marker of markers) mark.run(marker);
+            return db;
+        }
+        function snapshot(db) {
+            return {
+                keys: db.prepare('SELECT lookup_key FROM tmdb_metadata ORDER BY lookup_key').all().map((r) => r.lookup_key),
+                payloads: db.prepare("SELECT payload FROM tmdb_metadata WHERE lookup_key LIKE 'id:%' ORDER BY lookup_key").all().map((r) => r.payload),
+                markers: db.prepare("SELECT key FROM app_state WHERE key LIKE 'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-%' AND value = 'done' ORDER BY key").all().map((r) => r.key),
+            };
+        }
+        // Skipped every release since the unversioned keys: both cleanups run
+        // through the real initialization path
+        const skipped = openDb([]);
+        hooks.runMigrations(skipped);
+        const skippedAfter = snapshot(skipped);
+        // Next startup: a row written meanwhile under the current key survives
+        skipped.prepare("INSERT INTO tmdb_metadata (media_type, lookup_key, language, tmdb_id) VALUES ('tv', 'title:гудовы|year:2026|v3', 'ru-RU', 318894)").run();
+        hooks.runMigrations(skipped);
+        const repeated = snapshot(skipped);
+        // Previous release: the unversioned cleanup already ran; only v2 rows go
+        const previous = openDb([V2_MARKER]);
+        hooks.runMigrations(previous);
+        const previousAfter = snapshot(previous);
+        hooks.runMigrations(previous);
+        const previousRepeated = snapshot(previous);
+        // Oldest historical schema: the pre-'person' CHECK. That migration
+        // rebuilds the pure-cache table empty by design; the cleanups must
+        // still record their markers on the rebuilt table and stay idempotent.
+        const prePerson = new Database(':memory:');
+        hooks.createTables(prePerson);
+        prePerson.exec("DROP TABLE tmdb_metadata; CREATE TABLE tmdb_metadata (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT, media_type TEXT NOT NULL CHECK (media_type IN ('movie', 'tv')), lookup_key TEXT NOT NULL, language TEXT NOT NULL, tmdb_id INTEGER, payload TEXT, fetched_at TEXT DEFAULT (datetime('now'))); CREATE UNIQUE INDEX tmdb_metadata_lookup_unique ON tmdb_metadata(media_type, lookup_key, language)");
+        prePerson.prepare("INSERT INTO tmdb_metadata (media_type, lookup_key, language, tmdb_id) VALUES ('tv', 'title:феик|year:2026', 'ru-RU', NULL)").run();
+        hooks.runMigrations(prePerson);
+        const prePersonAfter = { ...snapshot(prePerson), check: prePerson.prepare("SELECT sql FROM sqlite_master WHERE name = 'tmdb_metadata'").get().sql.includes("'person'") };
+        hooks.runMigrations(prePerson);
+        const prePersonRepeated = snapshot(prePerson);
+        // Fresh database through the real initialization path
+        const fresh = new Database(':memory:');
+        hooks.createTables(fresh);
+        hooks.runMigrations(fresh);
+        const freshAfter = snapshot(fresh);
+        hooks.runMigrations(fresh);
+        const freshRepeated = snapshot(fresh);
+        process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify({ skippedAfter, repeated, previousAfter, previousRepeated, prePersonAfter, prePersonRepeated, freshAfter, freshRepeated }));
+    `,
+        ],
+        {
+            cwd: process.cwd(),
+            encoding: 'utf8',
+            env: {
+                ...process.env,
+                ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE: '1',
+                TSX_TSCONFIG_PATH: resolve(process.cwd(), 'tsconfig.base.json'),
+            },
+        }
+    );
+
+    const V2_MARKER = 'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v2-cache-cleanup:v1';
+    const V3_MARKER = 'migration:tmdb-search-lookup-v3-cache-cleanup:v1';
+    const survivors = [
+        'badProviderId:999',
+        'id:317869|season:1',
+        'id:317869|v2',
+        'person:287',
+        'title:фейк|year:2026|v3',
+        'trending:week',
+    ];
+    const detailsPayloads = ['{"id":317869}', '{"id":317869}'];
+
+    expect(JSON.parse(result)).toEqual({
+        skippedAfter: {
+            keys: survivors,
+            payloads: detailsPayloads,
+            markers: [V2_MARKER, V3_MARKER],
+        },
+        repeated: {
+            keys: [...survivors, 'title:гудовы|year:2026|v3'].sort(),
+            payloads: detailsPayloads,
+            markers: [V2_MARKER, V3_MARKER],
+        },
+        previousAfter: {
+            // The unversioned row is that generation's business, already done
+            keys: [...survivors, 'title:феик|year:2026'].sort(),
+            payloads: detailsPayloads,
+            markers: [V2_MARKER, V3_MARKER],
+        },
+        previousRepeated: {
+            keys: [...survivors, 'title:феик|year:2026'].sort(),
+            payloads: detailsPayloads,
+            markers: [V2_MARKER, V3_MARKER],
+        },
+        prePersonAfter: {
+            keys: [],
+            payloads: [],
+            markers: [V2_MARKER, V3_MARKER],
+            check: true,
+        },
+        prePersonRepeated: {
+            keys: [],
+            payloads: [],
+            markers: [V2_MARKER, V3_MARKER],
+        },
+        freshAfter: { keys: [], payloads: [], markers: [V2_MARKER, V3_MARKER] },
+        freshRepeated: {
+            keys: [],
+            payloads: [],
+            markers: [V2_MARKER, V3_MARKER],
+        },
+    });
+});
diff --git a/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/title-normalization.util.spec.ts b/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/title-normalization.util.spec.ts
index 1345f10c3..ee31eef2f 100644
--- a/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/title-normalization.util.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/title-normalization.util.spec.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import {
+    cleanTitleForSearch,
     normalizeTitle,
     normalizeTitleKeys,
     titleYearsCompatible,
@@ -429,3 +430,80 @@ describe('titleYearsCompatible', () => {
         expect(titleYearsCompatible(1982, 2049)).toBe(false);
     });
 });
+
+describe('cleanTitleForSearch', () => {
+    it('keeps Cyrillic letters that folding would rewrite', () => {
+        // NFD splits "й" into "и" + a breve and "ё" into "е" + a diaeresis;
+        // the comparison key drops both marks, and TMDB answers the folded
+        // spelling with nothing (issue: "Фейк (10 серий)" never matched).
+        expect(normalizeTitle('Фейк (10 серий)')).toBe('феик');
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('Фейк (10 серий)')).toBe('Фейк');
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('Ёлки 2010')).toBe('Ёлки');
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('Волшебный участок s02')).toBe(
+            'Волшебный участок'
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('keeps Arabic hamza forms that folding splits into two words', () => {
+        // "أ" decomposes into a bare alef + U+0654, which is outside the
+        // stripped mark range and so becomes a SPACE in the key. TMDB finds
+        // "أطرق بابي" and nothing for "ا طرق بابي".
+        expect(normalizeTitle('AR| أطرق بابي')).toBe('ا طرق بابي');
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('AR| أطرق بابي')).toBe('أطرق بابي');
+    });
+
+    it('keeps Latin diacritics and casing', () => {
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('Amélie (2001)')).toBe('Amélie');
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('THE LAST OF US')).toBe('THE LAST OF US');
+    });
+
+    it('recomposes decomposed input and keeps marks attached to their letter', () => {
+        // Providers ship "Dönüş" as "o" + U+0308; the key folds it away but
+        // the query must not split the word on the combining mark.
+        expect(
+            cleanTitleForSearch(
+                '1942\u2032ye Do\u0308nu\u0308s\u0327 (2012) TR'
+            )
+        ).toBe('1942 ye Dönüş');
+        expect(
+            normalizeTitle('1942\u2032ye Do\u0308nu\u0308s\u0327 (2012) TR')
+        ).toBe('1942 ye donus');
+        // No precomposed form exists for "ọ̀": the mark stays on the letter
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('AR - Ìjọ̀gbọ̀n (2023)')).toBe('Ìjọ̀gbọ̀n');
+        expect(normalizeTitle('AR - Ìjọ̀gbọ̀n (2023)')).toBe('ijogbon');
+    });
+
+    it('applies the same tag, bracket, season and year stripping as the key', () => {
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('EN - The Matrix (1999) 4K')).toBe(
+            'The Matrix'
+        );
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('|DE| Breaking Bad-DE')).toBe(
+            'Breaking Bad'
+        );
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('The Boys s05')).toBe('The Boys');
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('Пацаны 2 сезон')).toBe('Пацаны');
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('The Matrix 1999')).toBe('The Matrix');
+        // A leading token that is the film's own name survives on both tiers
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('AKA - 2023')).toBe('AKA');
+        expect(normalizeTitle('AKA - 2023')).toBe('aka');
+    });
+
+    it('normalizes to the same key as the text it was derived from', () => {
+        for (const raw of [
+            'Фейк (10 серий)',
+            'EN - The Matrix (1999) 4K',
+            'Ёлки 2010',
+            'Amélie (2001)',
+            '|FR|VO|Le dernier empereur',
+        ]) {
+            expect(normalizeTitle(cleanTitleForSearch(raw))).toBe(
+                normalizeTitle(raw)
+            );
+        }
+    });
+
+    it('returns an empty string for empty input', () => {
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch('')).toBe('');
+        expect(cleanTitleForSearch(null)).toBe('');
+    });
+});
diff --git a/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/title-normalization.util.ts b/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/title-normalization.util.ts
index ef1ba7522..89b0b71bb 100644
--- a/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/title-normalization.util.ts
+++ b/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/title-normalization.util.ts
@@ -302,13 +302,13 @@ const HAS_LETTER = /\p{L}/u;
  * "2023" and were offered to each other as alternative sources. A miss beats
  * a wrong match, so an unknown token keeps its title.
  */
-function normalizeAfterLeadingTag(value: string): string {
+function normalizeAfterLeadingTag(value: string, fold: boolean): string {
     const match = value.match(LANGUAGE_PREFIX);
     if (!match) {
-        return normalizeRest(value);
+        return normalizeRest(value, fold);
     }
 
-    const stripped = normalizeRest(value.replace(LANGUAGE_PREFIX, ''));
+    const stripped = normalizeRest(value.replace(LANGUAGE_PREFIX, ''), fold);
     // Deliberately not `stripSeason`: its "never return empty" fallback would
     // report a lone season marker as a surviving word.
     if (HAS_LETTER.test(stripped.replace(SEASON_SUFFIX_PATTERN, ''))) {
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ function normalizeAfterLeadingTag(value: string): string {
     }
 
     const token = match[0].replace(PREFIX_SEPARATOR_TAIL, '');
-    return isKnownPrefixTag(token) ? stripped : normalizeRest(value);
+    return isKnownPrefixTag(token) ? stripped : normalizeRest(value, fold);
 }
 
 const DOUBLE_DASH_SUFFIX = /[-–]{2}[A-Za-z]{2,5}\s*$/;
@@ -438,28 +438,49 @@ const SEASON_SUFFIX_PATTERN = new RegExp(
  * actually produce instead of predicting it. Cheap enough to run twice,
  * because the second run only happens for a title whose stripped form came
  * out with no word in it at all.
+ *
+ * `fold` selects the letter folding (diacritics, case, sigma). It is ON for
+ * every comparison key and OFF for the text sent to a remote search — see
+ * `cleanTitleForSearch`. Folding is lossy for scripts whose "diacritics" are
+ * distinct letters: NFD turns Cyrillic "й" into "и" + a combining breve, and
+ * dropping the breve rewrites "Фейк" as "феик", "ё" as "е". Two provider
+ * copies of a title still meet on that key, which is all a comparison needs,
+ * but TMDB's search does not fold Cyrillic the same way and answers a folded
+ * query with nothing at all.
  */
-function normalizeRest(value: string): string {
-    return (
-        stripTrailingTags(value)
-            .normalize('NFD')
-            .replace(/[̀-ͯ]/g, '')
-            .toLowerCase()
-            // Greek Σ has two lowercase forms and `toLowerCase` picks by
-            // position: "ΑΣ" becomes "ας" while an already-lowercase "ασ"
-            // stays medial, so the same word reaches this line spelled two
-            // ways. Both SQL tiers fold them together — SQLite's trigram
-            // tokenizer does it natively, and the scan's GLOB classes do it in
-            // `caseInsensitiveGlobPattern` — so without this the candidate is
-            // admitted by the query and then thrown away by the confirmation.
-            // Folding to the medial form is what Unicode case folding does.
-            .replace(/ς/g, 'σ')
-            .replace(/[^\p{L}\p{N}]+/gu, ' ')
-            .split(' ')
-            .filter((token) => token !== '' && !QUALITY_TAGS.has(token))
-            .join(' ')
-            .trim()
-    );
+function normalizeRest(value: string, fold: boolean): string {
+    const withoutTrailingTags = stripTrailingTags(value);
+    const folded = fold
+        ? withoutTrailingTags
+              .normalize('NFD')
+              .replace(/[̀-ͯ]/g, '')
+              .toLowerCase()
+              // Greek Σ has two lowercase forms and `toLowerCase` picks by
+              // position: "ΑΣ" becomes "ας" while an already-lowercase "ασ"
+              // stays medial, so the same word reaches this line spelled two
+              // ways. Both SQL tiers fold them together — SQLite's trigram
+              // tokenizer does it natively, and the scan's GLOB classes do
+              // it in `caseInsensitiveGlobPattern` — so without this the
+              // candidate is admitted by the query and then thrown away by
+              // the confirmation. Folding to the medial form is what Unicode
+              // case folding does.
+              .replace(/ς/g, 'σ')
+        : // Providers ship some titles decomposed ("o" + U+0308 for "ö").
+          // Recompose so the query reads as the provider meant it, and
+          // keep any mark that has no precomposed form ("ọ̀") attached to
+          // its letter instead of letting the word-splitting step below
+          // turn it into a space inside the word.
+          withoutTrailingTags.normalize('NFC');
+    const nonWord = fold ? /[^\p{L}\p{N}]+/gu : /[^\p{L}\p{N}\p{M}]+/gu;
+
+    return folded
+        .replace(nonWord, ' ')
+        .split(' ')
+        .filter(
+            (token) => token !== '' && !QUALITY_TAGS.has(token.toLowerCase())
+        )
+        .join(' ')
+        .trim();
 }
 
 /**
@@ -488,6 +509,27 @@ export interface NormalizedTitleKeys {
 
 export function normalizeTitleKeys(
     raw: string | null | undefined
+): NormalizedTitleKeys {
+    return buildTitleKeys(raw, true);
+}
+
+/**
+ * The title to SEND to a remote search such as TMDB: the same tag, bracket,
+ * season and year stripping as `normalizeTitle`, but with the letters left
+ * exactly as the provider wrote them — no diacritic folding, no lowercasing.
+ *
+ * Comparison keys must fold so two spellings of one film meet; a search
+ * query must not, because the search engine folds by its own rules and a
+ * pre-folded Cyrillic query ("феик" for "Фейк") matches nothing there.
+ * Compare the results with `normalizeTitle`, never with this.
+ */
+export function cleanTitleForSearch(raw: string | null | undefined): string {
+    return buildTitleKeys(raw, false).base;
+}
+
+function buildTitleKeys(
+    raw: string | null | undefined,
+    fold: boolean
 ): NormalizedTitleKeys {
     if (!raw) {
         return { exact: '', base: '', trailingYear: null };
@@ -498,7 +540,8 @@ export function normalizeTitleKeys(
             .replace(WRAPPED_TAG_PREFIX, '')
             // Inner classes exclude the opening delimiter too, so runaway
             // inputs like "[[[[[..." backtrack linearly (CodeQL js/polynomial-redos)
-            .replace(/\[[^\][]*\]|\([^()]*\)|\{[^{}]*\}/g, ' ')
+            .replace(/\[[^\][]*\]|\([^()]*\)|\{[^{}]*\}/g, ' '),
+        fold
     );
 
     const exact = stripSeason(cleaned);