diff --git a/functions.cpp b/functions.cpp
index ab45278..e4af999 100644
--- a/functions.cpp
+++ b/functions.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include "functions.hpp"
 #include "filesystem.hpp"
 #include <algorithm>
+#include <iomanip>
 #include <iostream>
 #include <curl/curl.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
@@ -116,7 +117,7 @@ void iterateFS(std::map<int, std::set<std::string>> &seasons, const std::string
 
 std::string getDefUrl( std::string show, const std::string &language, Curl &c ) {
     std::replace(show.begin(), show.end(), ' ', '+');
-    auto source_code = c.execute("https://www.thetvdb.com/search?q=" + show + "&l=" + language);
+    auto source_code = c.execute("https://www.thetvdb.com/search?q=" + encodeUrl(show) + "&l=" + language);
     size_t order{}, pos{};
     std::vector<std::string> urls;
     while( true ) {
@@ -194,3 +195,19 @@ bool findLanguage( const char *language ) {
     return false;
 }
 
+std::string encodeUrl( const std::string &url ) {
+    //stolen from here - https://stackoverflow.com/questions/154536/encode-decode-urls-in-c
+    std::ostringstream encoded;
+    encoded.fill('0');
+    encoded << std::hex;
+    for( auto &x : url ) {
+        if( std::isalnum(x) || x == '-' || x == '_' || x == '.' || x == '~' ) {
+            encoded << x;
+            continue;
+        }
+        encoded << std::uppercase << '%' << std::setw(2);
+        encoded << int(static_cast<unsigned char>(x)) << std::nouppercase;
+    }
+    return encoded.str();
+}
+
diff --git a/functions.hpp b/functions.hpp
index 01a75ab..63fae6f 100644
--- a/functions.hpp
+++ b/functions.hpp
@@ -21,4 +21,6 @@ void parseSeasonNumbers(std::set<int> &seasons_num, const char *argument);
 void printLangs();
 bool findLanguage( const char *language );
 
+std::string encodeUrl( const std::string &url );
+
 #endif