diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-series.adapters.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-series.adapters.spec.ts
index df4f64560..181f31a3d 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-series.adapters.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-series.adapters.spec.ts
@@ -82,6 +82,31 @@ describe('stalker-series.adapters', () => {
         expect(firstEpisode.id).not.toBe(mapped['1'][1].id);
     });
 
+    it('preserves the Specials season zero through VOD episode mapping', () => {
+        const mapped = mapVodSeriesEpisodes(
+            [
+                {
+                    id: 'specials',
+                    video_id: 'v1',
+                    name: 'Specials',
+                    season_number: '0',
+                    episodes: [
+                        {
+                            id: 'special-1',
+                            series_number: 1,
+                            name: 'Special episode',
+                        },
+                    ],
+                    isLoading: false,
+                    isExpanded: false,
+                },
+            ],
+            { parentSeriesId: 100 }
+        );
+
+        expect(mapped['0'][0].season).toBe(0);
+    });
+
     it('generates deterministic VOD-series episode IDs for the same parent and provider episode', () => {
         const seasons = [
             {
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-series.adapters.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-series.adapters.ts
index 17ec5dcec..49aa8df8a 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-series.adapters.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-series.adapters.ts
@@ -74,10 +74,7 @@ function generateVodEpisodeId(options: {
     );
 }
 
-function generateRegularEpisodeId(
-    seed: string,
-    episodeNum: number
-): number {
+function generateRegularEpisodeId(seed: string, episodeNum: number): number {
     return hashString(`${seed}_ep_${episodeNum}`);
 }
 
@@ -269,8 +266,13 @@ export function getVodSeriesSeasonNumber(
     season: VodSeriesSeasonVm,
     seasons: ReadonlyArray<VodSeriesSeasonVm>
 ): number {
-    const parsedSeasonNumber = Number(season.season_number);
-    if (Number.isInteger(parsedSeasonNumber) && parsedSeasonNumber > 0) {
+    const normalizedSeasonNumber = season.season_number.trim();
+    const parsedSeasonNumber = Number(normalizedSeasonNumber);
+    if (
+        normalizedSeasonNumber !== '' &&
+        Number.isInteger(parsedSeasonNumber) &&
+        parsedSeasonNumber >= 0
+    ) {
         return parsedSeasonNumber;
     }