diff --git a/web/src/hooks/queries/catalogRead.ts b/web/src/hooks/queries/catalogRead.ts
index 4500d481..50c030db 100644
--- a/web/src/hooks/queries/catalogRead.ts
+++ b/web/src/hooks/queries/catalogRead.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-import { keepPreviousData, useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+import { keepPreviousData, useQuery, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+import { useCallback } from "react";
 
 import { api } from "@/api/client";
 import type {
@@ -104,6 +105,28 @@ export function useCatalogItemEpisodes(id: string | undefined, libraryId?: numbe
   });
 }
 
+/**
+ * Returns a callback that warms the cache for a season detail page (item
+ * detail + episodes), so navigating there from a series page renders without
+ * a request waterfall. Prefetches are no-ops while the cached data is fresh.
+ */
+export function usePrefetchCatalogSeason(libraryId?: number) {
+  const queryClient = useQueryClient();
+  return useCallback(
+    (seasonId: string) => {
+      void queryClient.prefetchQuery({
+        queryKey: catalogKeys.itemDetail(seasonId, libraryId),
+        queryFn: () => fetchCatalogItemDetail(seasonId, libraryId),
+      });
+      void queryClient.prefetchQuery({
+        queryKey: catalogKeys.itemEpisodes(seasonId, libraryId),
+        queryFn: () => fetchCatalogItemEpisodes(seasonId, libraryId),
+      });
+    },
+    [queryClient, libraryId],
+  );
+}
+
 export function useCatalogSeriesSeasons(seriesId: string | undefined, libraryId?: number) {
   return useQuery({
     queryKey: catalogKeys.seriesSeasons(seriesId!, libraryId),
diff --git a/web/src/pages/ItemDetail/SeasonCarousel.test.tsx b/web/src/pages/ItemDetail/SeasonCarousel.test.tsx
index 7f6e8ce1..8a8c29cc 100644
--- a/web/src/pages/ItemDetail/SeasonCarousel.test.tsx
+++ b/web/src/pages/ItemDetail/SeasonCarousel.test.tsx
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
 import { MemoryRouter } from "react-router";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
@@ -22,14 +23,16 @@ function makeSeason(overrides: Partial<Season> = {}): Season {
 describe("SeasonCarousel", () => {
   it("renders an Embla viewport and container for the season cards", () => {
     const markup = renderToStaticMarkup(
-      <MemoryRouter initialEntries={["/item/series-1"]}>
-        <SeasonCarousel
-          seasons={[
-            makeSeason(),
-            makeSeason({ content_id: "season-2", season_number: 2, title: "Season 2" }),
-          ]}
-        />
-      </MemoryRouter>,
+      <QueryClientProvider client={new QueryClient()}>
+        <MemoryRouter initialEntries={["/item/series-1"]}>
+          <SeasonCarousel
+            seasons={[
+              makeSeason(),
+              makeSeason({ content_id: "season-2", season_number: 2, title: "Season 2" }),
+            ]}
+          />
+        </MemoryRouter>
+      </QueryClientProvider>,
     );
 
     expect(markup).toContain("embla__viewport");
diff --git a/web/src/pages/ItemDetail/SeasonCarousel.tsx b/web/src/pages/ItemDetail/SeasonCarousel.tsx
index ccc8af0f..bb8c6e47 100644
--- a/web/src/pages/ItemDetail/SeasonCarousel.tsx
+++ b/web/src/pages/ItemDetail/SeasonCarousel.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { Link } from "react-router";
 import { Check, ChevronLeft, ChevronRight } from "lucide-react";
 import type { Season } from "@/api/types";
+import { usePrefetchCatalogSeason } from "@/hooks/queries/catalogRead";
 import { useCarouselEmbla } from "@/hooks/useCarouselEmbla";
 import { formatSeasonMeta, getSeasonDisplayTitle } from "./itemDetailLayout";
 
@@ -11,6 +12,7 @@ interface SeasonCarouselProps {
 export default function SeasonCarousel({ seasons }: SeasonCarouselProps) {
   const sorted = seasons.slice().sort((a, b) => a.season_number - b.season_number);
   const { emblaRef, canScrollPrev, canScrollNext, scrollPrev, scrollNext } = useCarouselEmbla();
+  const prefetchSeason = usePrefetchCatalogSeason();
 
   if (sorted.length === 0) {
     return null;
@@ -54,6 +56,9 @@ export default function SeasonCarousel({ seasons }: SeasonCarouselProps) {
                   <Link
                     to={`/item/${season.content_id}`}
                     className="group/season block w-[160px] sm:w-[170px]"
+                    onMouseEnter={() => prefetchSeason(season.content_id)}
+                    onFocus={() => prefetchSeason(season.content_id)}
+                    onTouchStart={() => prefetchSeason(season.content_id)}
                   >
                     {/* Poster */}
                     <div className="media-card-image relative aspect-[2/3] overflow-hidden rounded-xl">