Many TV shows had great pilot episodes, and either got better after them or gradually declined, but there have been some cases where a TV show’s pilot was weak, but it got better after that. A show’s pilot episode can make it or break it, to the point where many TV shows don’t make it past their pilot episode.
Some of the best TV shows of all time had great pilot episodes and were able to maintain that good quality or even surpass it, while others couldn’t match it. There have been some special cases, however, where a TV show had a weak pilot episode, but they proved they had a lot more to offer and greatly improved.
The Big Bang Theory
Credit: CBS via MovieStillsDB
Created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom that aired on CBS for 12 seasons, between 2007 and 2019. The Big Bang Theory follows physicists and roommates Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Sheldon Cooper), who live across the hall from waitress and aspiring actress Penny (Kaley Cuoco).
Accompanying Leonard and Sheldon are their friends Howard (Simon Helberg), an aerospace engineer, and Raj (Kunal Nayyar), an astrophysicist. The Big Bang Theory, then, follows their dynamics, with their clashing personalities, different views of the world, and the many fun situations they get involved in together and individually.
The pilot episode of The Big Bang Theory focuses on the social awkwardness of Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj, and sets the basis for the romance between Leonard and Penny. The pilot feels rushed, the jokes forced, and the characters very stereotypical, but luckily, The Big Bang Theory just needed some time to find its rhythm.
Mad Men
Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men
Mad Men went on to become one of the best TV shows of all time (and, at the same time, part of the list of controversial TV finales), but its pilot episode doesn’t match the quality of the rest of the show. Created by Matthew Weiner, Mad Men takes the audience back to the 1960s and into the fictional advertising agency Sterling Cooper, in New York City.
Leading the show is Don Draper (Jon Hamm), Sterling Cooper’s creative director and junior partner. Draper is one of the most successful men in the world of advertising, but he carries a heavy past, dark secrets, and unpleasant habits. Mad Men explores Draper’s struggles as well as the social issues of the decade, such as sexism and racism.
Now, Mad Men’s pilot episode isn’t bad, but it’s not a strong one, either, and that’s because the show went on to be even better. Titled “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”, the episode has been criticized for forcing its themes, exaggerating its characters, and overexplaining, all of these issues that the rest of the show fixed.
Seinfeld
George, Elaine, Kramer, and Jerry driving in a car in an episode of Seinfeld
Seinfeld is one of the best sitcoms of all time, but it doesn’t rank among shows with great pilot episodes. Created by Jerry Seinfeld, the show focuses on a fictionalized version of himself, and follows his everyday life alongside those of his friends George Costanza (Jason Alexander), Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards).
Seinfeld is famously known as a show about “nothing”, but it proved that even “nothing” can be funny. However, the show had a weird start with its pilot episode, in which Jerry isn’t sure about the intentions of a woman coming to stay with him. In the episode, Kramer isn’t the character everyone now knows, and Elaine isn’t included.
Seinfeld made some adjustments to its format, characters, stories, and approach right after its pilot episode, proving that it deserved its place on TV and, ultimately, making TV history mostly for the right reasons.
New Girl
Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and Cece (Hannah Simone) looking shocked in New Girl season 5, episode 18.MovieStillsDB
New Girl is a sitcom created by Elizabeth Meriwether, which aired on Fox from 2011 to 2018 for seven seasons. New Girl follows Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel), a quirky teacher who, after finding out that her boyfriend was cheating on her, moves in with three strangers she found on the internet: Nick (Jake Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield), and Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.).
Coach was replaced in episode 2 with Lamorne Morris’ Winston, and briefly returned a couple of seasons later.
New Girl’s pilot episode does a great job of establishing the characters’ personalities and the event that leads to Jess and the boys meeting, but the characters feel too over-the-top, especially when compared to the rest of the show. Jess, in particular, tries too hard to be quirky and “different”, but luckily, the show found its perfect balance right after the pilot.
The Office
The Office is now one of the best sitcoms of all time, and it greatly improved after its weak pilot episode. Developed by Greg Daniels, as it’s the American version of the BBC series of the same name, The Office takes its audience to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and into its branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
Leading the show is regional manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell), and so the show follows him and his friends and colleagues in their daily lives. It’s a simple but very entertaining concept, but that doesn’t mean that writing the pilot episode was going to be easy. In it, Michael and the rest are introduced, and Michael learns that the company could be facing downsizing.
The problem with The Office’s pilot episode is that it was too similar to that of the original show, and that didn’t translate well. The Office just needed more time to find its own voice, and the pilot became somewhat forgettable.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 2 episode “Ted”
Even one of the best fantasy TV shows of all time had a weak pilot episode. Created by Joss Whedon, Buffy the Vampire Slayer introduces Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), the latest in a succession of young women chosen by fate to battle vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness. These women are known as “Vampire Slayers”, and so Buffy has to fulfill that mission.
Buffy is aided and accompanied by her Watcher, Giles, and her friends Willow and Xander. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is relatable despite its fantasy elements and covers serious themes, but no one would have really guessed that from the pilot episode, which isn’t bad but isn’t the best, either.
Titled “Welcome to Hellmouth”, the episode sees Buffy’s arrival in Sunnydale, meeting Xander and Willow, and her first encounter with vampires in this town, with her new friends learning about her role as the Slayer. The story and characters are quite weak in this episode, the fights aren’t well-choreographed, and its biggest mistake was splitting its story with the second episode.
Although it took Buffy the Vampire Slayer a couple more episodes to find its balance and perfect tone, the show eventually achieved it and found great success.
Parks & Recreation
Parks and Recreation Leslie Knope looking confused
Parks & Recreation is one of the most popular cases of a TV show that had a weak start and went on to become one of the best TV shows of all time. Parks & Rec famously had a weak first season, as the show was originally planned as a spinoff of The Office, and the first episodes reflected that.
Parks & Recreation takes viewers to the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana, to meet Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), a perky bureaucrat working at the Parks Department. Accompanying Leslie are her friends and colleagues from the Parks Department, with the show sharing the spotlight between all of them to follow them through different funny (and serious) situations.
The pilot episode of Parks & Rec establishes the event that triggers the first season: the pit next to Ann’s home, where Andy broke both his legs. However, Leslie and the rest of the Parks crew feel forced, cartoonish, and some are even annoying. Although the rest of Parks & Rec’s first season wasn’t good, the show greatly improved after that.
The Simpsons
The simpsons Christmas pilot
The Simpsons is one of the best animated TV shows of all time, but no one would have guessed it would be on that list from its pilot episode alone. Created by Matt Groening, The Simpsons follows the daily lives of the title family and the many funny, absurd, and sometimes worrying situations they find themselves in.
The pilot episode, titled “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”, sees Homer having to take a job as a shopping mall Santa to get money for his family’s Christmas presents, as he doesn’t get a Christmas bonus at work, and Marge has to spend their holiday budget on getting Bart’s tattoo removed.
The episode’s title on-screen is “The Simpsons Christmas Special.”
The Simpsons’ first episode lacks the comedy that made the show so popular, and like the rest of its first season, it had a darker tone. The personalities of the Simpsons were also different, as well as the animation, but the show only needed a bit more time to find what worked best.