Summary

A show ’s pilot episode sets the timbre for the entire seriesand must entrance the audience ’s attention , but some do n’t represent the show ’s flavor or tarradiddle body structure . After the pilot burner , a series might go on to shift role player , become more or less serialized , or have a meaning change in output note value . This is n’t necessarily a bad thing , but it is something that can exchange the see experience of a show , and be jarring when moving from the pilot to the rest of season 1 .

There are many reasons that a pilot might disagree from the body of a serial . Some feature film moving picture scripts are produced and then retool to become pilotsfor very successful display . Others were but in the early stage of development and used the pilot to mold out the kinks , or received feedback on how best to change the show to appeal to audiences . Although a pilot is an introduction to the show and its assumption , it ’s significant that the serial only gets good as it go on , instead of peaking in the first instalment .

Some vast TV show part out very differently in their pilots . Without making adjustments after their pilot burner , their success may have changed , too .

Collage of Daenerys Targaryen, Sheldon Cooper, and Peter Griffin

10Seinfeld (1989 - 1998)

Aired: July 5, 1989

Cast

When Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld first gotSeinfeldoff the priming and into the hand of a producer , it was calledThe Seinfeld Chroniclesand did not feature every member of the iconic cast . Elaine ( Julia Louis - Dreyfus ) is nowhere to be seen , being added later in the series , and Kramer ( Michael Richards ) is name Kessler . As Kessler , he ’s a much less prominent character in the fender , and less outrageous than he becomes in belated seasons . Overall , the pilot is still mostly about Jerry and George ( Jason Alexander ) navigating the pitfalls of social situations , but it lacks the sharpness and physicality thatSeinfeldcame to be hump for .

9Suits (2011 - 2019)

Aired: June 23, 2011

Suitshas enjoyed a major revival since its addition to different cyclosis servicing , and this has brought renewed interest and viewership in its pilot instalment . Though many of the elements that makeSuitsgreat are still present , there are some significant differences . The pilot is significantly foresightful than a typical episodeand read more like a feature than a buffer in many way . to boot , the pilot was scoot in New York , the in - world setting of the show , but then locomote to Toronto for the remain episodes to bring down costs .

Props and exteriors attempt to maintain the same New York feeling of the archetype but never enchant the lawful essence of the city . In term of the characters , Donna ( Sarah Rafferty ) and Louis ( Rick Hoffman ) are n’t give nearly as much screen time and prevalence for how bombastic their characters terminate up being . Even if the rest of the serial publication does n’t have quite as high-pitched a output value , the increase focus on the ensemble of characters is what madeSuitssuch a succeeder .

8New Girl (2011 - 2018)

Aired: September 20, 2011

The question ofwhyNew Girlreplaced Winston ( Lamorne Morris ) for Coach ( Dayman Wayans Jr. ) after the pilothas plagued many of the show ’s spectator . Though both characters came to be part of the series , Coach is reintroduced in a little part after the pilot , and Winston becomes a mainstay of the nucleus cast . to boot , Jess ( Zooey Deschanel ) is a toned - down adaptation of the theatrical role that she becomes , as well as more evolved in her adult life . Similarly to other sitcoms , New Girlstarts with fairly normal characters in kookie situations but after changes the grapheme to be more unusual .

7The O.C. (2003 -2007)

Aired: August 5, 2003

ThoughThe O.C.has been lumped in with many of the typical stripling drama of the early 2000s , it did n’t start that way . The intact series focuses on the ways that Ryan ( Ben McKenzie ) and Seth ( Adam Brody ) palpate out of place in Orange County , California . However , the archetype is much more focused on Ryan ’s backgroundand the experience of wealth inequality .

Ryan ’s past does stay on relevant , but the show pass a bit into the classical sidereal day - to - day antics of high schooland lets Sandy ’s ( Peter Gallagher ) work as a public guardian twilight to the wayside . The determination to move from serious drama into adolescent melodrama might have been good for rating , but it did make for a very dissimilar show . It ’s the emotionally true elements that the show maintains that helpThe O.C.hold up many years later .

6Fringe (2008 - 2013)

Aired: September 9, 2008

As one of the most expensive pilots of all time , Fringeset up promise that the serial publication could n’t quite deliver . It ’s the length of a feature at around an time of day and a one-half and spans an entire mission filled with cabal and machination . The show itself would revert to a adjective format with a demon - of - the - weekthat the squad had to look into . After a few seasons , the show started to become serialized , but the initial drop - off after such an ambitious pilot is gruelling to push aside . Not only is the weighing machine of the buffer enormous , but it almost plays it safe when compared to the out - of - this - world scientific discipline of the late season .

5The X-Files (1993 - 2018)

Aired: September 10, 1993

One of the best panorama ofThe X - Fileswas almost smash in the almost unrecognisable pilot burner . Mulder ( David Duchovny ) and Scully ( Gillian Anderson ) are forthwith chance and too friendly in term of their societal and forcible kinship . The tension andwill - they - won’t - they moral force between the two FBI agentive role was one of the driving forces of the show , but the pilot program seemed to definitively say " they will " . to boot , the pilot almost confirms the beingness of extraterrestrial animation make liaison with Earth , and Scully is not as sceptical of Mulder as she number to be later on . The mystery of episode after the pilot film is an betterment of the series ' formula .

4Once Upon A Time (2011 - 2018)

Aired: October 23, 2011

WhenHenry ( Jared S. Gilmore ) demo up at Emma ’s ( Jennifer Morrison ) door in Boston claim to be her son in the pilotofOnce Upon A Time , it was the beginning of a series of twists that left the consultation wanting more . The cowcatcher adjust up the balance between the real domain and the fairy tale world well , but it could not have prepared anyone for the geographic expedition of a unlike type of storybook character and villain every time of year .

The problem with the pilot burner , andOnce Upon A Timeas a whole , is that it bring all of its cards right out . After several time of year of utilizing the same recipe , Once Upon A Timelost a lot of the magic of the buffer and season 1 . Additionally , because of the flashback format that the cowcatcher introduces , many of the truths install in the beginning are reversed in later seasons , making earlier episodes less canon compliant .

3Lost (2004 - 2010)

Aired: September 22 and 29, 2004

The two - part pilot burner ofLostis reckon one of the best pilots of all clock time , and one of the best episode of the serial . However , it has the same trouble as other series by Maker J.J. Abrams ; the pilot could ’ve been a suffer - alone picture . Or , at least the first season could have . Lostbegins to lose momentum almost now after the pilot , andalmost none of the supernatural and religious themes that incline throughout the recent season are present in the first sequence . Unsurprisingly , few could have prognosticate the overall outcome ofLost , and the character ’s arc from the premiere .

Lost premiered with a two - part airplane pilot and entranced gazillion of viewers , and there is a reason why it remains one of the in force TV original ever written .

2The Sopranos (1999 - 2007)

Aired: January 10, 1999

BeforeThe Sopranosbecame the iconic video show that it ’s now known as , it was just a pilot that was made on specification almost two years before the episode premiered . Of the many differences between the pilot film and the rest of season 1 , are James Gandolfini ’s functioning as Tony and his role within the New Jersey organise offense category . In the pilot , Gandolfini had not fully realise all of Tony ’s stress and affectations , and Tony even commits acts of force in public .

To see Tony be the one to carry out a collision would be a jar later in the series . to boot , he had a more clearly establish leadership part in the pilot , whereas for the balance of the serial , Tony is constantly trying to assert his dominance as leader of the family . There were other small player and character changes throughout the sequence that were sink in the next episode as the show became more placeable .

1Supernatural (2005 - 2020)

Aired: September 13, 2005

After fifteen seasons ofSupernatural , it ’s difficult to think the pilot of the series , much less the element that were n’t present in the rest of the show . However , the feeling of the show and the dynamic of the central brothers , Dean ( Jensen Ackles ) and Sam ( Jared Padalecki ) , is almost unrecognizable . The two brothers barely be intimate each other when they fix off on their risky venture in episode 1,and Sam wants nothing to do with Dean or with hunting . Not only do the two become inseparable as the show march on , but the world of hunting boom far beyond the ghosts and demons from the pilot .

Two side by side images from the Lost pilot episode.

Bella Ramsey as Ellie in the Last of us Season 2 Pointing a Gun in the basement of a hospital

Emma in the Pilot of Once Upon A Time and Rachel and Mike in the Pilot of Suits

Headshot Of Jerry Seinfeld In The 2024 Met Gala

Headshot Of Julia Louis-Dreyfus In The 28th Annual Webby Awards

Headshot Of Jason Alexander In The Project Angel Food Lead with Love Five Year Anniversary Special

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Mike and Harvey talking in the Suits Pilot

Headshot Of Patrick J. Adams

Headshot Of Sarah Rafferty

Headshot Of Gabriel Macht

Headshot Of Meghan Markle

Coach, Schmidt, and Nick in New Girl’s original pilot

Headshot Of Zooey Deschanel in The Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2024

Headshot Of Max Greenfield

Headshot Of Hannah Simone In The  Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic

Headshot Of Damon Wayans Jr.

Ryan Atwood looking sad in The O.C.

Headshot Of Ben McKenzie In The World Premiere of Triple Frontier

Headshot Of Peter Gallagher

Olivia, Charles, and Boyle standing together in Fringe

Headshot Of Joshua Jackson

Headshot Of Blair Brown

Headshot Of Anna Torv

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Headshot Of Gillian Anderson In The ‘Scoop’ World Premiere

Headshot Of David Duchovny

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Headshot Of Annabeth Gish

Emma and Henry at his castle in the Pilot of Once Upon A Time

Headshot Of Ginnifer Goodwin

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Headshot Of Robert Carlyle

Jack laying down in Lost’s pilot episode

Christopher driving Tony in the car in the Pilot of The Sopranos

Headshot Of James Gandolfini

Headshot Of Lorraine Bracco

Headshot of Edie Falco IN The New York Premiere Of ‘The Many Saints of Newark’

Headshot Of Michael Imperioli In The Los Angeles Premiere Of HBO’s Original Series ‘The White Lotus’ Season 2

Headshot Of Jensen Ackles In The Los Angeles Premiere Of Disney+ Original Movie ‘Zombies 3’

Headshot Of Misha Collins IN The 2019 CW Upfront

Headshot Of Jim Beaver In The Paleyfest 2011 event

Headshot Of Jared Padalecki IN the 2019 CW Upfront