diff --git a/lib/tvdb_party/episode.rb b/lib/tvdb_party/episode.rb
index 7fa74e3..5887773 100644
--- a/lib/tvdb_party/episode.rb
+++ b/lib/tvdb_party/episode.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ module TvdbParty
   class Episode
     attr_reader :client
     attr_accessor :id, :season_number, :number, :name, :overview, :air_date, :thumb, :guest_stars, :director, :writer
-    
+
     def initialize(client, options={})
       @client = client
       @id = options["id"]
@@ -15,20 +15,20 @@ def initialize(client, options={})
       @writer = options["Writer"]
       @series_id = options["seriesid"]
       if options["GuestStars"]
-        @guest_stars = options["GuestStars"][1..-1].split("|")
+        @guest_stars = options["GuestStars"].split("|").reject(&:empty?)
       else
         @guest_stars = []
       end
 
-      begin 
+      begin
         @air_date = Date.parse(options["FirstAired"])
       rescue
         puts 'invalid date'
       end
     end
-    
+
     def series
       client.get_series_by_id(@series_id)
     end
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end
diff --git a/lib/tvdb_party/series.rb b/lib/tvdb_party/series.rb
index 0123ccf..5215049 100644
--- a/lib/tvdb_party/series.rb
+++ b/lib/tvdb_party/series.rb
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ def initialize(client, options={})
       @imdb_id = options["IMDB_ID"]
 
       if options["Genre"]
-        @genres = options["Genre"][1..-1].split("|")
+        @genres = options["Genre"].split("|").reject(&:empty?)
       else
         @genres = []
       end