Rising Shows
Launch app →
The Paper Chase poster

The Paper Chase (1978)

Drama

Critically lauded drama about the life and pressures of a group of students at a prestigious Eastern law school, with a strict and domineering contract-law professor named Charles Kingsfield, who alternately inspires and terrifies the students.

IMDb rating
8.1 (1,269 votes)
Seasons
4
Language
EN
Type
TV series
Browse all Slow burn seasons in the explorer → Open in Rising Shows app → View on IMDb

Ratings refreshed Jul 3, 2026 · 4 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1978)

7.76 avg 22 episodes 9.3 → 8.7 60 min avg

Ep 1: 9.3 · 46 votesEp 2: 8.2 · 30 votesEp 3: 8.2 · 29 votesEp 4: 8.1 · 30 votesEp 5: 6.8 · 29 votesEp 6: 7.1 · 29 votesEp 7: 6.5 · 26 votesEp 8: 7.0 · 28 votesEp 9: 8.6 · 31 votesEp 10: 7.6 · 25 votesEp 11: 8.0 · 27 votesEp 12: 6.7 · 19 votesEp 13: 7.8 · 25 votesEp 14: 7.1 · 23 votesEp 15: 7.7 · 22 votesEp 16: 7.6 · 23 votesEp 17: 8.6 · 22 votesEp 18: 8.3 · 25 votesEp 19: 8.4 · 24 votesEp 20: 8.6 · 26 votesEp 21: 5.8 · 23 votesEp 22: 8.7 · 24 votes
Season 1 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1The Paper Chase9.346
2The Man Who Would Be King8.230
3A Day in the Life of...8.229
4Great Expectations8.130
5Voices of Silence6.829
6Nancy7.129
7Da Da6.526
8The Seating Chart7.028
9Moot Court8.631
10Kingsfield's Daughter7.625
11The Sorcerer's Apprentice8.027
12Bell's in Love6.719
13An Act of Desperation7.825
14Losing Streak7.123
15The Man in the Chair7.722
16A Matter of Anger7.623
17The Apprentice8.622
18Once More with Feeling8.325
19The Clay Footed Idol8.424
20The Tables Down at Ernie's8.626
21A Case of Detente5.823
22Scavenger Hunt8.724

Season 2 (1983)

8.02 avg 19 episodes 7.9 → 7.6 60 min avg

Ep 1: 7.9 · 21 votesEp 2: 8.8 · 22 votesEp 3: 7.3 · 19 votesEp 4: 7.0 · 19 votesEp 5: 6.2 · 19 votesEp 6: 8.5 · 23 votesEp 7: 7.9 · 19 votesEp 8: 7.8 · 18 votesEp 9: 8.3 · 18 votesEp 10: 7.5 · 17 votesEp 11: 8.1 · 16 votesEp 12: 7.8 · 18 votesEp 13: 8.9 · 21 votesEp 14: 8.5 · 17 votesEp 15: 8.0 · 16 votesEp 16: 9.7 · 29 votesEp 17: 8.5 · 16 votesEp 18: 8.1 · 21 votesEp 19: 7.6 · 15 votes
Season 2 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Outline Fever7.921
2Birthday Party8.822
3Spreading It Thin7.319
4Cinderella7.019
5Commitments6.219
6Plague of Locusts8.523
7Snow7.919
8Mrs. Hart7.818
9Tempest in a Pothole8.318
10Labor of Love7.517
11Burden of Proof8.116
12War of the Wonks7.818
13Limits8.921
14Hart Goes Home8.517
15Judgement Day8.016
16My Dinner with Kingsfield9.729
17The Advocates8.516
18Not Prince Hamlet8.121
19Billy Pierce7.615

Season 3 (1985)

8.03 avg 12 episodes 8.7 → 7.6 60 min avg

Ep 1: 8.7 · 17 votesEp 2: 8.1 · 17 votesEp 3: 8.4 · 15 votesEp 4: 8.1 · 20 votesEp 5: 7.8 · 15 votesEp 6: 7.4 · 15 votesEp 7: 8.9 · 21 votesEp 8: 8.0 · 16 votesEp 9: 7.8 · 15 votesEp 10: 8.2 · 18 votesEp 11: 7.4 · 14 votesEp 12: 7.6 · 17 votes
Season 3 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Decisions: Part 18.717
2Decisions: Part 28.117
3Free Advice8.415
4Laura's Struggle8.120
5Pressure7.815
6The Big D7.415
7The Day Kingsfield Missed Class8.921
8The Source8.016
9The Choice7.815
10It's Only a Show8.218
11Security7.414
12Lasting Impressions7.617

Season 4 (1986)

8.22 avg 5 episodes 7.8 → 9.6 60 min avg

Ep 1: 7.8 · 16 votesEp 2: 8.0 · 17 votesEp 3: 7.8 · 18 votesEp 4: 7.9 · 15 votesEp 5: 9.6 · 22 votes
Season 4 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1A Wounded Hart7.816
2Mistaken Identity8.017
3Honor7.818
4Suppressed Desires7.915
5Graduation9.622
Breaking Bad poster
Breaking Bad (2008) Big finale
Game of Thrones poster
Game of Thrones (2011) Slow burn
The Walking Dead poster
The Walking Dead (2010) u-shaped
Sherlock poster
Sherlock (2010) u-shaped

See all Slow burn seasons in the explorer →

Episode ratings and vote counts from IMDb. Poster, overview, and streaming data from TMDB. Data refreshed 2026-07-03.

Want to discover more shows by their rating shape? Browse Rising Shows →