Why Is the First Episode of a TV Show Called a ‘Pilot’?

#bigquestions #pilot #pilotepisode
Pilot episodes are a longstanding tradition in television. They’re usually the first episode of a series, introducing you to its world and characters. In fact, cable networks have often used the word pilot as the title of a TV show’s first episode. This tradition has led to “Pilot“ being the most common TV show episode title by far; just check out the first episodes of Breaking Bad (2008), American Horror Story (2011), and New Girl (2011). But a show’s first episode isn’t always its pilot. Not all pilots even get aired, and some shows abandon or remake their pilot episodes. So before diving into the term itself, we have to ask: What even is a pilot, really, and what is it used for?
Pilots are a single episode of a potential new TV series, and are essentially what decides whether a show makes it to your television screen. Each year, most big television networks receive a massive number of pitches for new shows between January and May, which has historically been considered “pilot season” (though it seems like this timeline may shift due to the year-round pitching at streaming companies like Netflix). The networks then decide which pitches they would like to develop a pilot, or sample episode(s), from. For creators pitching new shows, the pressure is on to make these pilot episodes good. They have to prove that their concept will come to life on the screen because producers will use that single episode to decide if they want to fund the rest of the show.

[@OfficialSylvantis]

I’ll save you 3 minutes. It’s because it’s the first episode ON THE AIR!

[@gamerwarrior-ki7ix]

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[@BigQuestions2024]

Thank you

[@AusWal10]

Man, from Flash to Rick and Morty I have had so many questions but now they’re all answered

[@BigQuestions2024]

Thank you. You're welcome 😊