Learn Hardcore Czech: Dnes večer se chci dívat na seriál v televizi. - This evening I want to watch a series on TV.

The verb in the dictionary is dívat se = to watch, to look (at).
Here, se is simply part of the verb; you normally learn and use the whole chunk dívat se na něco = to watch something.

So Dnes večer se chci dívat na seriál is not I want to watch myself, it’s just I want to watch a series. The se doesn’t carry a clear “myself/yourself” meaning here; it’s mostly grammatical.

Why is it se chci dívat and not chci dívat se if the dictionary form is dívat se?

Czech has special weak words called clitics (like se, si, mi, ti, ho, jí, jsem). They have to stand very early in the sentence, usually in “second position”.

Dictionary form: dívat se (infinitive)
With a modal verb (chci): Czech pulls the clitic se forward:
- Natural: Dnes večer se chci dívat na seriál.
- Also fine: Chci se dnes večer dívat na seriál.

Forms like:

✗ Dnes večer chci dívat se na seriál.
sound ungrammatical or very strange.

Rule of thumb: in full sentences, don’t leave se stuck at the very end of the infinitive; move it up to the clitic position (after the first stressed part of the sentence, or right after chci).

Why do we say dívat se na seriál and not dívat seriál?

Because the verb dívat se needs a preposition:

dívat se na něco = to look at / to watch something

So you say:

dívám se na seriál = I am watching a series
dívám se na film = I am watching a film

Saying ✗ dívat seriál is incorrect in standard Czech. Without na, the verb dívat basically doesn’t work; it almost always appears as dívat se na + accusative.

Why is it na seriál and which case is seriál in?

Seriál is in the accusative singular after the preposition na.

Preposition na can take accusative or locative, but with dívat se na it always takes accusative and means at / to (direction or target of looking):
- dívat se na seriál – to watch a series
- dívat se na obraz – to look at a picture

For seriál (masculine inanimate):

Nominative: seriál
Accusative: seriál (same form as nominative here)

So na seriál = at the series, grammatically on series-ACC.

Why is it v televizi and not v televize?

Because televize is feminine and in the phrase v televizi it stands in the locative case (after v = in for location).

Declension (singular, main forms):

Nominative: televize (subject form)
Accusative: televizi
Locative: televizi

The preposition v meaning in + static place normally uses locative:

v Praze – in Prague
v kuchyni – in the kitchen
v televizi – on TV / in/on the television (as a medium)

So v televizi is the regular locative form, not an exception.

What is the difference between dívat se na seriál, sledovat seriál, and koukat (se) na seriál?

All three can involve watching a series, but with different nuances:

dívat se na seriál
- Neutral, standard
- Focuses on the activity of watching at some moment:
  - Dnes večer se chci dívat na seriál. – I want to watch a series this evening.
sledovat seriál
- Literally to follow a series
- Implies you watch it regularly, episode after episode:
  - Sleduju ten nový seriál na Netflixu. – I follow/watch that new series (regularly).
koukat (se) na seriál
- More colloquial, informal
- Very common in speech, similar to to watch / to look at:
  - Večer budu koukat na seriál.

In your sentence, dívat se na seriál v televizi is perfectly natural and neutral.

Could I move dnes večer somewhere else? For example, say Chci se dnes večer dívat na seriál v televizi?

Yes. Czech word order is fairly flexible. These are all natural:

Dnes večer se chci dívat na seriál v televizi.
Chci se dnes večer dívat na seriál v televizi.
Dnes večer chci sledovat seriál v televizi.

Main points:

Time expressions like dnes večer often go at the beginning, but they can also go after the verb for a slightly different emphasis.
Just keep clitics (se, si, mi, ti, jsem, jsi…) in an early position:
- Chci se dnes večer dívat… is fine.
- ✗ Chci dnes večer dívat se… sounds wrong.

So yes, Chci se dnes večer dívat na seriál v televizi is completely correct.

How would I say “This evening I will watch a series on TV” instead of “I want to watch…”?

Use the future tense of dívat se:

Dnes večer se budu dívat na seriál v televizi.
= This evening I will be watching a series on TV.

Structure:

budu (future of být) + dívat se (infinitive)
Clitic se moves forward: se budu dívat.

So:

Chci se dívat = I want to watch
Budu se dívat = I will watch / I will be watching

What is the difference between dívat se and podívat se here? Could I say Dnes večer se podívám na seriál v televizi?

Yes, you can, but there is an aspect difference:

dívat se – imperfective, focuses on the ongoing activity
- Dnes večer se chci dívat na seriál.
  – I want to spend some time watching a series this evening.
podívat se – perfective, focuses on the completed act (to have a look, to watch something once / as a whole)
- Dnes večer se podívám na seriál.
  – I will watch the series (I’ll make sure I see it / watch the episode).

In everyday speech the difference can be small, but:

dívat se: emphasizes the process and duration.
podívat se: emphasizes the result, “get it watched / take a look at it” at least once.

Why is it se and not si in this sentence?

In Czech there are two common reflexive pronouns:

se – basic reflexive (direct object, or part of reflexive verbs)
si – dative reflexive (often “for oneself”, “to oneself”)

Examples:

dívat se na seriál – to watch a series (verb requires se)
koupit si auto – to buy oneself a car (si = for oneself)

In dnes večer se chci dívat na seriál, the reflexive is just part of the verb dívat se, so it must be se, not si.

There is no word like a or the before seriál. How do I say “the series” in Czech if I mean a specific one?

Czech normally doesn’t use articles like a / the. Context and word order usually show whether something is specific or not.

Your neutral sentence:

Dnes večer se chci dívat na seriál v televizi.
– could be a series or the series depending on context.

To make it clearly specific, you can add ten (that/the) or another determiner:

Dnes večer se chci dívat na ten seriál v televizi.
– I want to watch that / the (known) series on TV.

So:

na seriál – a / the series (unspecified in form)
na ten seriál – clearly that particular series.

Is there a difference between dnes večer and dneska večer?

Both are correct and mean this evening:

dnes večer – neutral, standard
dneska večer – more colloquial, informal (very common in speech)

So you could also hear:

Dneska večer se chci dívat na seriál v televizi.

Grammatically they work the same; it’s mainly a style/register difference.