Producing a TV series takes a lot of time, hard work and money. Development stages can often take years to complete and therefore undergo some unexpected changes. For this reason, the greatest satisfaction a TV show’s team can have is to see it become a success and become a worldwide hit. But this doesn’t always happen. There are productions that, regardless of the teams’ efforts and footage, are sometimes canceled before they even air an episode. That was the case with The Dictatorper TV line, the CBS series that would have starred Christopher Lloyd as Joseph Paul Domingo, a dictator in exile in New York. Meanwhile, some shows premiere, but after a few episodes, or even seasons, they get canceled for various reasons, usually leaving viewers disappointed.
There is one fundamental element that can completely influence the fate of a TV series: the pilot episode. While many series take some time to establish themselves and build their fan base, others manage to do so from the start and successfully introduce their themes and characters. The responsibility placed on the pilot episodes is extremely heavy as they have to deliver a lot of content in a short amount of time and convey the essence of what the show will be like. If a pilot episode flops, the series itself may not achieve as much hype as the production expects. But if they succeed, they set the stage for what is expected to be a great show, and often rank among the best episodes of the entire series. Watch some of the best pilot episodes in TV history.
10/10 Mad Men – “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”
“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”, the pilot episode of crazy men, goes the other way from the rest of the pilots: instead of answering some of the questions surrounding the main character, it raises a lot more. Written by creator Matthew Weiner in 2000, this episode is set in 1960 and features Don Draper (Jon Hamm), a New York City advertising genius, his girlfriend and the rest of Sterling Cooper’s employees. To prove that Draper really is an enigma, the episode concludes with the introduction of the man’s wife and children, who were never mentioned before. Up to the present day, crazy men is widely regarded as one of the greatest TV series of all time.
9/10 The sweet spot – “Everything is fine”
the right place is a series created by Michael Schur that revolves around Eleanor (Kristen Bell), a young woman who dies and is received in the Good Place, a heavenly utopia for those who do good deeds in their lives. But something doesn’t seem right: Eleanor was a terrible person when she was alive, so she has to reformulate her behavior if she plans to keep her place in the Good Place. The pilot episode “Everything is Fine” premiered in September 2016 and reached 8.04 million viewers.
8/10 mr. Robot — “eps1.0_hellofriend.mov”
May 2015 witnessed the release of “eps1.0_hellofriend.mov”, the pilot episode of Sam Esmail’s series Mr Robot. It features Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a cybersecurity engineer diagnosed with social phobia and clinical depression, who works at a company called Allsafe. But this man is hiding a big secret: at night he works as a computer hacker. When he is recruited by the mysterious Mr. Robot, Elliot is forced to choose between fulfilling his desires or protecting his stability and the interests of his company.
7/10 Orange is the new black – “I wasn’t ready”
“I Wasn’t Ready”, Jenji Kohan’s opening episode Orange is the new black series, follows Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), a woman forced to leave her home and fiancé Larry because she was sentenced to 15 months in prison on a 10-year-old drug trafficking charge. Once in her new home, Litchfield Penitentiary, she must quickly adapt and learn the rules if she wants to protect herself from other inmates. This pilot episode premiered in July 2013 and was highly acclaimed by audiences and critics.
6/10 Glee – “Pilot”
cheerfulness is one of the most popular teen series in history. Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, the series premiered on May 19, 2009 with a pilot episode that nicely introduces the main characters, the students of William McKinley High School, and how they formed the Glee Club. throughout the series they would deal with issues that affect teenagers deeply.
5/10 The X-Files – “Pilot”
On September 10, 1993, the pilot episode of The X files premiered, showcasing two characters who went against established stereotypes: Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who teamed up to work on the X-Files. Mulder strongly believes in anything paranormal and alien, while Scully is skeptical and believes that everything can be scientifically explained. The pilot of this Chris Carter series was very well received and quickly built a huge fan base that made it a cult series.
4/10 Game of Thrones – “Winter is Coming”
“Winter is coming”. The title of Game of ThronesPilot episode couldn’t have been better. Created by David Benioff and DB Weiss, this series captivated audiences from the start. The first episode, released in April 2011, introduces the main noble houses of Westeros and Essos, and with them, much of the cast. A lesser-known fact about the series is that the pilot episode was filmed twice, per EWbecause the first draft didn’t quite capture the essence of the show.
3/10 Breaking Bad – “Pilot”
Vince Gilligan was responsible for writing and directing the pilot episode of Breaking Badand from the very first moment, the tension and chaos that reigns in the lives of the protagonists is palpable. Breaking Bad centers on Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a chemistry teacher who, when he discovers he has an inoperable cancer, decides to team up with Jesse (Aaron Paul), one of his former students, to produce and distribute crystal meth to look after his family after his death. The pilot episode received very good reviews and even nominations.
2/10 Twin Peaks – “Northwest Passage”
April 1990, Twin Peaks changed the history of television with its pilot episode, originally known as “Northwest Passage”. In it, the audience is transported to the quiet town of Twin Peaks, where the peace is completely disrupted when the body of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) is found in a lake. The man responsible for solving the case is Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), who is about to dig up some of the city’s darkest secrets. In the event that the series ultimately did not go into production, another version of the pilot was shot, including additional footage to be released as a TV movie.
1/10 Lost – “Pilot”
Lost is one of the most important productions in the history of TV series. The pilot episode was divided into two parts and premiered in September 2004, attracting 18.6 million viewers. After a series of unusual events, Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crashed on an unknown isolated island. The surviving passengers must now figure out how to adapt to this new environment while waiting to be rescued, and to do so, they must form alliances. But they soon discover that the island hides far more secrets than they expected.