diff --git a/docs/NFO_GUIDE.md b/docs/NFO_GUIDE.md
index e04661c..03f16e0 100644
--- a/docs/NFO_GUIDE.md
+++ b/docs/NFO_GUIDE.md
@@ -171,6 +171,35 @@ Response:
 }
 ```
 
+### 3.6 Fallback Behavior When TMDB is Unavailable
+
+When TMDB lookup fails (network issues, API errors, or no match found), the system creates a **minimal NFO** to ensure the series is still tracked. This behavior applies to:
+
+- Manual NFO creation via API
+- Batch NFO creation operations
+- Automatic NFO creation during downloads
+
+**What a minimal NFO contains:**
+
+```xml
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
+<tvshow>
+    <title>Series Name</title>
+    <year>2024</year>
+    <plot>No metadata available for Series Name. TMDB lookup failed.</plot>
+</tvshow>
+```
+
+**Limitations of minimal NFOs:**
+- No poster, logo, or fanart images
+- No rating, genre, or studio information
+- No TMDB or other provider IDs
+- May not display correctly in some media servers
+
+**To upgrade a minimal NFO:**
+1. Use the Update endpoint (`PUT /api/nfo/{serie_id}/update`) when TMDB is available
+2. Or delete the NFO and recreate it with full metadata
+
 ---
 
 ## 4. File Structure
diff --git a/src/core/services/nfo_service.py b/src/core/services/nfo_service.py
index aacceb5..d1a6774 100644
--- a/src/core/services/nfo_service.py
+++ b/src/core/services/nfo_service.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ from src.core.services.tmdb_client import TMDBAPIError, TMDBClient
 from src.core.utils.image_downloader import ImageDownloader
 from src.core.utils.nfo_generator import generate_tvshow_nfo
 from src.core.utils.nfo_mapper import tmdb_to_nfo_model
+from src.core.entities.nfo_models import TVShowNFO
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -423,6 +424,62 @@ class NFOService:
             logger.error("Error parsing NFO file %s: %s", nfo_path, e)
         
         return result
+
+    def parse_nfo_year(self, nfo_path: Path) -> Optional[int]:
+        """Parse year from an existing NFO file.
+        
+        Extracts year from <year> or <premiered> elements.
+        
+        Args:
+            nfo_path: Path to tvshow.nfo file
+            
+        Returns:
+            Year as integer if found, None otherwise.
+            
+        Example:
+            >>> year = nfo_service.parse_nfo_year(Path("/anime/series/tvshow.nfo"))
+            >>> print(year)
+            2013
+        """
+        if not nfo_path.exists():
+            logger.debug("NFO file not found: %s", nfo_path)
+            return None
+        
+        try:
+            tree = etree.parse(str(nfo_path))
+            root = tree.getroot()
+            
+            # Try <year> element first
+            year_elem = root.find(".//year")
+            if year_elem is not None and year_elem.text:
+                try:
+                    year = int(year_elem.text)
+                    if 1900 <= year <= 2100:
+                        logger.debug("Found year in NFO: %d", year)
+                        return year
+                except ValueError:
+                    pass
+            
+            # Fallback: try <premiered> element (format: YYYY-MM-DD)
+            premiered_elem = root.find(".//premiered")
+            if premiered_elem is not None and premiered_elem.text:
+                if premiered_elem.text and len(premiered_elem.text) >= 4:
+                    try:
+                        year = int(premiered_elem.text[:4])
+                        if 1900 <= year <= 2100:
+                            logger.debug("Found year from premiered in NFO: %d", year)
+                            return year
+                    except ValueError:
+                        pass
+            
+            logger.debug("No year found in NFO: %s", nfo_path)
+            
+        except etree.XMLSyntaxError as e:
+            logger.error("Invalid XML in NFO file %s: %s", nfo_path, e)
+        except Exception as e:  # pylint: disable=broad-except
+            logger.error("Error parsing year from NFO file %s: %s", nfo_path, e)
+        
+        return None
     
     async def _enrich_details_with_fallback(
         self,
@@ -727,3 +784,52 @@ class NFOService:
     async def close(self):
         """Clean up resources."""
         await self.tmdb_client.close()
+    
+    async def create_minimal_nfo(
+        self,
+        serie_name: str,
+        serie_folder: str,
+        year: Optional[int] = None
+    ) -> Path:
+        """Create minimal tvshow.nfo when TMDB lookup fails.
+        
+        Creates a basic NFO with just the title (and year if available)
+        so the series is tracked even without TMDB metadata.
+        
+        Args:
+            serie_name: Name of the series (may include year in parentheses)
+            serie_folder: Series folder name
+            year: Optional release year
+            
+        Returns:
+            Path to created NFO file
+            
+        Raises:
+            FileNotFoundError: If series folder doesn't exist
+        """
+        # Extract year from name if not provided
+        clean_name, extracted_year = self._extract_year_from_name(serie_name)
+        if year is None and extracted_year is not None:
+            year = extracted_year
+        
+        folder_path = self.anime_directory / serie_folder
+        if not folder_path.exists():
+            logger.info("Creating series folder: %s", folder_path)
+            folder_path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        
+        # Create minimal NFO model with just title and year
+        nfo_model = TVShowNFO(
+            title=clean_name,
+            year=year,
+            plot=f"No metadata available for {clean_name}. TMDB lookup failed."
+        )
+        
+        # Generate XML
+        nfo_xml = generate_tvshow_nfo(nfo_model)
+        
+        # Save NFO file
+        nfo_path = folder_path / "tvshow.nfo"
+        nfo_path.write_text(nfo_xml, encoding="utf-8")
+        logger.info("Created minimal NFO (no TMDB): %s", nfo_path)
+        
+        return nfo_path
diff --git a/src/server/api/nfo.py b/src/server/api/nfo.py
index ab893b1..6e1108b 100644
--- a/src/server/api/nfo.py
+++ b/src/server/api/nfo.py
@@ -144,6 +144,27 @@ async def batch_create_nfo(
                     nfo_path=str(nfo_path)
                 )
                 
+            except TMDBAPIError as e:
+                logger.warning("TMDB API error for %s, creating minimal fallback: %s", serie_id, e)
+                # TMDB failed, create minimal NFO
+                try:
+                    serie_folder = serie.ensure_folder_with_year()
+                except Exception:
+                    serie_folder = serie_folder
+                
+                serie_name = serie.name or serie_folder
+                nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+                    serie_name=serie_name,
+                    serie_folder=serie_folder
+                )
+                
+                return NFOBatchResult(
+                    serie_id=serie_id,
+                    serie_folder=serie_folder,
+                    success=True,
+                    message="Created minimal NFO (TMDB lookup failed)",
+                    nfo_path=str(nfo_path)
+                )
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.error(
                     f"Error creating NFO for {serie_id}: {e}",
@@ -429,11 +450,42 @@ async def create_nfo(
     except HTTPException:
         raise
     except TMDBAPIError as e:
-        logger.warning("TMDB API error creating NFO for %s: %s", serie_id, e)
-        raise HTTPException(
-            status_code=status.HTTP_503_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE,
-            detail=f"TMDB API error: {str(e)}"
-        ) from e
+        logger.warning("TMDB API error for %s, creating minimal fallback: %s", serie_id, e)
+        # TMDB failed, create minimal NFO with just folder name
+        try:
+            serie_folder = serie.ensure_folder_with_year()
+        except Exception:
+            serie_folder = serie_folder
+        
+        folder_path = Path(settings.anime_directory) / serie_folder
+        serie_name_fallback = request.serie_name or serie.name or serie_folder
+        
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name=serie_name_fallback,
+            serie_folder=serie_folder,
+            year=year
+        )
+        
+        # Check media files (will likely be empty)
+        media_status = check_media_files(folder_path)
+        file_paths = get_media_file_paths(folder_path)
+        
+        media_files = MediaFilesStatus(
+            has_poster=media_status.get("poster", False),
+            has_logo=media_status.get("logo", False),
+            has_fanart=media_status.get("fanart", False),
+            poster_path=str(file_paths["poster"]) if file_paths.get("poster") else None,
+            logo_path=str(file_paths["logo"]) if file_paths.get("logo") else None,
+            fanart_path=str(file_paths["fanart"]) if file_paths.get("fanart") else None
+        )
+        
+        return NFOCreateResponse(
+            serie_id=serie_id,
+            serie_folder=serie_folder,
+            nfo_path=str(nfo_path),
+            media_files=media_files,
+            message="Created minimal NFO (TMDB lookup failed)"
+        )
     except Exception as e:
         logger.error(
             f"Error creating NFO for {serie_id}: {e}",
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_nfo_minimal_fallback.py b/tests/unit/test_nfo_minimal_fallback.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ca14b12
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_nfo_minimal_fallback.py
@@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
+"""Unit tests for minimal NFO creation when TMDB fails.
+
+Tests the fallback behavior when TMDB lookup fails and we need to create
+a minimal NFO file just to track the series.
+"""
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, patch
+
+import pytest
+
+from src.core.services.nfo_service import NFOService
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def nfo_service(tmp_path):
+    """Create NFO service with test directory.
+    
+    Note: anime_directory is set to tmp_path directly (not tmp_path / "anime")
+    because tmp_path already represents the test anime directory.
+    """
+    service = NFOService(
+        tmdb_api_key="test_api_key",
+        anime_directory=str(tmp_path),
+        image_size="w500",
+        auto_create=True
+    )
+    return service
+
+
+class TestCreateMinimalNFO:
+    """Test minimal NFO creation."""
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_create_minimal_nfo_basic(self, nfo_service, tmp_path):
+        """Test creating minimal NFO with just title."""
+        # Setup - anime_directory is already tmp_path
+        serie_folder = "Test Series"
+        
+        # Create minimal NFO
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name="Test Series",
+            serie_folder=serie_folder
+        )
+        
+        # Verify
+        assert nfo_path.exists()
+        assert nfo_path.name == "tvshow.nfo"
+        
+        content = nfo_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert "<title>Test Series</title>" in content
+        assert "No metadata available" in content
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_create_minimal_nfo_with_year(self, nfo_service, tmp_path):
+        """Test creating minimal NFO with year."""
+        # Setup - anime_directory is already tmp_path
+        serie_folder = "Test Series (2024)"
+        
+        # Create minimal NFO with explicit year
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name="Test Series",
+            serie_folder=serie_folder,
+            year=2024
+        )
+        
+        # Verify
+        assert nfo_path.exists()
+        content = nfo_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert "<title>Test Series</title>" in content
+        assert "<year>2024</year>" in content
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_create_minimal_nfo_extracts_year_from_name(self, nfo_service, tmp_path):
+        """Test that year is extracted from series name format (YYYY)."""
+        # Setup - anime_directory is already tmp_path
+        serie_folder = "Test Series (2024)"
+        
+        # Create with name that has year
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name="Test Series (2024)",
+            serie_folder=serie_folder
+        )
+        
+        # Verify year was extracted
+        assert nfo_path.exists()
+        content = nfo_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert "<title>Test Series</title>" in content
+        assert "<year>2024</year>" in content
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_create_minimal_nfo_creates_folder_if_missing(self, nfo_service, tmp_path):
+        """Test that folder is created if it doesn't exist."""
+        # Setup - anime_directory is tmp_path itself
+        serie_folder = "New Series"
+        
+        # Folder should not exist yet (under anime_directory which is tmp_path)
+        folder_path = tmp_path / serie_folder
+        assert not folder_path.exists()
+        
+        # Create minimal NFO
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name="New Series",
+            serie_folder=serie_folder
+        )
+        
+        # Verify folder and file were created
+        assert folder_path.exists()
+        assert nfo_path.exists()
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_create_minimal_nfo_xml_is_valid(self, nfo_service, tmp_path):
+        """Test that generated XML is valid."""
+        # Create minimal NFO (anime_directory is already tmp_path)
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name="Test Anime",
+            serie_folder="Test Anime",
+            year=2020
+        )
+        
+        # Verify XML is valid
+        from lxml import etree
+        content = nfo_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        
+        # Should parse without errors
+        tree = etree.fromstring(content.encode("utf-8"))
+        assert tree is not None
+        assert tree.tag == "tvshow"
+        
+        # Check title element
+        title = tree.find("title")
+        assert title is not None
+        assert title.text == "Test Anime"
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_create_minimal_nfo_no_tmdb_id(self, nfo_service, tmp_path):
+        """Test that minimal NFO has no TMDB ID."""
+        # Create minimal NFO (anime_directory is already tmp_path)
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name="Unknown Series",
+            serie_folder="Unknown Series",
+            year=1999
+        )
+        
+        # Verify no TMDB ID
+        content = nfo_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert "<tmdbid>" not in content
+        assert "uniqueid" not in content
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_create_minimal_nfo_has_plot_explanation(self, nfo_service, tmp_path):
+        """Test that minimal NFO contains explanation in plot."""
+        # Create minimal NFO (anime_directory is already tmp_path)
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name="Mysterious Anime",
+            serie_folder="Mysterious Anime"
+        )
+        
+        # Verify plot explains why metadata is missing
+        content = nfo_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert "TMDB lookup failed" in content
+        assert "Mysterious Anime" in content
+
+
+class TestCreateMinimalNFOIntegration:
+    """Integration tests for minimal NFO with TMDB failure scenarios."""
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_fallback_on_tmdb_search_failure(self, nfo_service, tmp_path):
+        """Test that minimal NFO is created when TMDB search fails."""
+        # Mock TMDB client to raise error
+        nfo_service.tmdb_client.search_tv_show = AsyncMock(
+            side_effect=Exception("TMDB API Error")
+        )
+        
+        # Try to create full NFO (should fail and fallback to minimal)
+        # We test the fallback method directly
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name="Failed Series",
+            serie_folder="Failed Series",
+            year=2021
+        )
+        
+        # Verify
+        assert nfo_path.exists()
+        content = nfo_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert "<title>Failed Series</title>" in content
+        assert "<year>2021</year>" in content
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_minimal_nfo_allows_series_tracking(self, nfo_service, tmp_path):
+        """Test that minimal NFO allows series to be tracked."""
+        # anime_directory is already tmp_path
+        serie_folder = "Untracked Series"
+        
+        # Create minimal NFO
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name="Untracked Series",
+            serie_folder=serie_folder,
+            year=2018
+        )
+        
+        # Verify NFO exists (series can be tracked)
+        assert nfo_service.has_nfo(serie_folder) is True
+        
+        # Verify minimal content
+        content = nfo_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert "<title>Untracked Series</title>" in content
+
+
+class TestMinimalNFOContent:
+    """Test content of minimal NFO files."""
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_minimal_nfo_contains_required_elements(self, nfo_service, tmp_path):
+        """Test that minimal NFO has title and plot."""
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name="Minimal Test",
+            serie_folder="Minimal Test"
+        )
+        
+        content = nfo_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        
+        # Must have title
+        assert "<title>Minimal Test</title>" in content
+        # Must have plot explaining situation
+        assert "plot" in content.lower()
+        assert "No metadata available" in content
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_minimal_nfo_xml_declaration(self, nfo_service, tmp_path):
+        """Test that NFO has proper XML declaration."""
+        nfo_path = await nfo_service.create_minimal_nfo(
+            serie_name="XML Test",
+            serie_folder="XML Test"
+        )
+        
+        content = nfo_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        
+        # Should have XML declaration
+        assert content.startswith('<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"')
\ No newline at end of file