Special Report

The Best TV Pilots of All Time

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They say you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, and that certainly applies to television pilots. It’s hard enough for the creators of a show to convince media moguls that their idea is a winner. Then there is the extra pressure of making a pilot whose plot and characters engage viewers and compels them to return to the series.  

To determine the best TV pilots in history, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on audience reviews for pilots from IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon, ranking them on IMDb user ratings as of March 2022. Only pilots with at least 1,500 user reviews were considered. Cast information also came from IMDb.

Several of the pilots with a rating of 9/10 or above – “Sherlock,” “Breaking Bad,” and “Game of Thrones” – scored even higher over the life of the series, obviously delivering on the expectations the pilot raised.

Click here to see the best TV pilots in history

Several pilots on the list were for shows that lasted for only one season, intentionally or unintentionally, and they received Emmy Awards. The eight-episode crime drama “The Night Of” won five Emmys, while “Chernobyl,” depicting the nuclear power-plant disaster in the Soviet Union, ran for five episodes and won 10 Emmys. (These are the best TV shows that lasted just one season.)

Some of the series with notable pilots on the list are among the most honored series of all time, such as “Game of Thrones,” with 59 Emmys. The longest-running show on the list is the zombiefest “The Walking Dead,” 2010 to 2022, whose pilot was created by Oscar-nominated director Frank Darabont. (Here’s a list of the longest-running primetime shows in history.)

Courtesy of Netflix

25. House of Cards: “Chapter 1” (2013)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.6/10 (7,829 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.7/10 (486,972 votes)
> Cast: Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Corey Stoll

The long-running Netflix series about a scheming congressman and his equally conniving wife bent on exacting revenge from those who betrayed him ran from 2013 to 2018. The well-received pilot set the tone for the series. Over the course of its run, “House of Cards” won seven Emmys.

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Courtesy of Disney+

24. The Punisher: “0.125” (2017)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.6/10 (8,039 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.5/10 (208,172 votes)
> Cast: Jon Bernthal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Amber Rose Revah, Daniel Webber

“The Punisher,” a revenge-themed series, was about a Marine veteran turned vigilante seeking to avenge the murder of his family. The Netflix series had 26 episodes over its run from 2017 to 2019.

Courtesy of Disney Media Distribution

23. The Mandalorian: “Chapter 1: The Mandalorian” (2019)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.6/10 (29,990 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.8/10 (386,119 votes)
> Cast: Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Werner Herzog, Omid Abtahi

“The Mandalorian,” an offshoot of the Star Wars franchise, is about the lonely travels of a bounty hunter in space. The Disney+ series began its run in 2019 and has already won 14 Emmys, seven in each season.

Courtesy of CBS

22. Dexter: “Dexter” (2006)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.7/10 (8,821 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.6/10 (697,258 votes)
> Cast: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Erik King

“Dexter,” a Showtime series about a serial killer who helps solve crimes by day and commits them at night, ran from 2006 to 2013 and had 96 episodes. The crime drama won four Emmys.

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Courtesy of Amazon Studios

21. The Boys: “The Name of the Game” (2019)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.7/10 (11,549 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.7/10 (335,099 votes)
> Cast: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty

When superheroes abuse their powers, it’s up to vigilantes to take them on. The Amazon series premiered in 2019 and its third season is scheduled to begin on June 3.

Courtesy of Home Box Office

20. Six Feet Under: “Pilot” (2001)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.8/10 (3,023 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.7/10 (129,216 votes)
> Cast: Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose

This black comedy on HBO about a dysfunctional family running a funeral home in Los Angeles aired from 2001 to 2005. Over its run, “Six Feet Under” won nine Emmy Awards, including one for Alan Ball for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the pilot.

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Courtesy of Starz!

19. Ash vs Evil Dead: “El Jefe” (2015)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.8/10 (4,572 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.4/10 (69,533 votes)
> Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo, Jill Marie Jones

Ivan and Sam Raimi developed the action/comedy that aired on Starz from 2015 to 2018. The series was about a slacker who inadvertently awakens the evil dead and becomes humankind’s last hope for survival.

Courtesy of Netflix

18. Narcos: “Descenso” (2015)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.8/10 (8,302 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.8/10 (393,144 votes)
> Cast: Wagner Moura, Boyd Holbrook, Pedro Pascal, Joanna Christie

The original “Narcos,” a no-holds-barred chronicle of the grip Pablo Escobar and drug lords held over Colombia, ran on Netflix from 2015 through 2017. (There was a subsequent series dealing with the drug trade in Mexico.)

Courtesy of Home Box Office

17. Westworld: “The Original” (2016)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.8/10 (22,063 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.6/10 (462,127 votes)
> Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden

Set in the near future, “Westworld” is about people indulging in their wildest fantasies, believing that they will have no consequences. The HBO series has run since 2016 and won seven Emmy Awards.

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Courtesy of USA Network

16. Suits: “Pilot” (2011)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.9/10 (5,155 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.4/10 (386,884 votes)
> Cast: Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams, Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle

In “Suits,” a high-powered lawyer hires a streetsmart law school dropout pretending to be an attorney. The show ran from 2011 to 2019 on USA Network. Among its cast members was Meghan Markle, the future wife of Prince Harry.

Courtesy of Home Box Office

15. The Outsider: “Fish in a Barrel” (2020)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.9/10 (5,346 votes)
> Full series rating: 7.7/10 (74,382 votes)
> Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Bill Camp, Jeremy Bobb, Julianne Nicholson

“The Outsider,” about a child murder that grips a Georgia community and puzzles investigators, is one of the more recent series on the list, having premiered on HBO in January 2020. The series was based on a novel by Stephen King.

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Courtesy of Fox Network

14. Prison Break: “Pilot” (2005)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.9/10 (6,730 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.3/10 (506,845 votes)
> Cast: Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, Robin Tunney, Amaury Nolasco

Fox’s “Prison Break” was one of the longer-running series on the list, running from 2005 to 2017, 90 episodes altogether. The story was about an innocent man put on death row and his brother who intentionally gets himself imprisoned to free his brother.

Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

13. Twin Peaks: “Episode #1.1” (1990)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.9/10 (15,072 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.8/10 (188,253 votes)
> Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook

Mark Frost and David Lynch were the showrunners for this series about an eccentric FBI agent sent to an even quirkier town to investigate the death of a young woman who’s found wrapped in plastic. The series, which ran from 1990 to 1991, it won its two Emmys for the pilot.

Courtesy of Home Box Office

12. True Detective: “The Long Bright Dark” (2014)
> Episode IMDb rating: 8.9/10 (21,101 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.9/10 (532,625 votes)
> Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Potts

The anthology crime series that ran from 2014 to 2019 on HBO Max, with a fourth season reportedly in development, had plenty of star power over its first three seasons, including Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Vince Vaughn, Mahershala Ali, Colin Farrell, and Rachel McAdams. The series won five Emmy Awards.

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Courtesy of Home Box Office

11. The Newsroom: “We Just Decided To” (2012)
> Episode IMDb rating: 9/10 (3,332 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.6/10 (110,975 votes)
> Cast: Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr., Alison Pill

Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing”) created this HBO series about the disruption of a newsroom by a new team. The show ran from 2012 to 2014 and Jeff Daniels won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Courtesy of HBO Max

10. Sherlock: “A Study in Pink” (2010)
> Episode IMDb rating: 9/10 (30,649 votes)
> Full series rating: 9.1/10 (868,894 votes)
> Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Rupert Graves, Una Stubbs

Benedict Cumberbatch’s sometimes unnerving interpretation of the sleuth solving crimes in modern times ran on the Public Broadcasting Service from 2010 to 2017. Cumberbatch and co-star Martin Freeman won two of the show’s nine Emmys.

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Courtesy of American Movie Classics

9. Breaking Bad: “Pilot” (2008)
> Episode IMDb rating: 9/10 (31,424 votes)
> Full series rating: 9.4/10 (1,633,865 votes)
> Cast: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris

Few people could have predicted that the pilot for “Breaking Bad” – about a high school chemistry teacher turned meth dealer – would lead to the series being hailed as among the greatest ever. In the pilot, Bryan Cranston’s character Walter White established his extremely desperate situation. The AMC series ran from 2008 to 2013 and won 16 Emmy Awards, with four of them going to Cranston for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Courtesy of Home Box Office

8. Game of Thrones: “Winter Is Coming” (2011)
> Episode IMDb rating: 9/10 (45,823 votes)
> Full series rating: 9.2/10 (1,927,269 votes)
> Cast: Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley

The pilot of the action/fantasy series on HBO established the story arcs of the characters struggling for power. It ran from 2011 to 2019 and hauled in a record 59 Emmy Awards.

Courtesy of National Broadcasting Company

7. This Is Us: “Pilot” (2016)
> Episode IMDb rating: 9.2/10 (6,009 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.6/10 (122,598 votes)
> Cast: Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz

“This Is Us” is a drama/romance centered on the life experiences of a set of triplets and the parents who raised them. From the start, the show succeeded in emotionally connecting viewers with its characters. It ran from 2016 to 2022 and won four Emmy Awards, two of them to Ron Cephas Jones for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

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Courtesy of Home Box Office

6. The Night Of: “The Beach” (2016)
> Episode IMDb rating: 9.2/10 (6,081 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.5/10 (141,527 votes)
> Cast: John Turturro, Riz Ahmed, Bill Camp, Payman Maadi

“The Night Of” ran for just eight episodes in 2016. The crime series was about a man who picks up a girl at a party and wakes up to find her dead and is charged with the murder. The series, created by Richard Price and Oscar-winning Steve Zaillian, starred Riz Ahmed and John Turturro. It won five Emmy Awards, including one for Ahmed for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.

Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

5. Lost: “Pilot: Part 1” (2004)
> Episode IMDb rating: 9.2/10 (10,705 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.3/10 (527,128 votes)
> Cast: Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O’Quinn, Naveen Andrews

The ABC series, about survivors of a plane crash stuck on what appears to be a deserted island, was created by J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, and Damon Lindelof. The two-part pilot’s use of flashbacks introduced viewers to the stranded survivors The series ran from 2004 to 2010 and won 10 Emmy Awards.

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Courtesy of USA Network

4. Mr. Robot: “eps1.0_hellofriend.mov” (2015)
> Episode IMDb rating: 9.2/10 (16,051 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.5/10 (363,644 votes)
> Cast: Rami Malek, Carly Chaikin, Portia Doubleday, Martin Wallström

Rami Malek played a cyber-security engineer and vigilante hacker who tries to take down the corrupt corporation that employs him. “Mr. Robot” appeared on USA Network from 2015 to 2019. Malek won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, one of three garnered by the show.

Courtesy of American Movie Classics (AMC)

3. The Walking Dead: “Days Gone Bye” (2010)
> Episode IMDb rating: 9.2/10 (23,682 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.2/10 (921,111 votes)
> Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden

The Walking Dead pilot “Days Gone Bye” launched the list’s longest-running series, starting in 2010. The zombie apocalypse series, whose pilot was created by Frank Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption”), has won two Emmy Awards, both for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special, and one of those was for the pilot.

Courtesy of FX Network

2. Fargo: “The Crocodile’s Dilemma” (2014)
> Episode IMDb rating: 9.3/10 (13,766 votes)
> Full series rating: 8.9/10 (353,770 votes)
> Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Martin Freeman

The FX series based on the movie of the same name, about interconnecting stories of murder and greed that lead to the North Dakota city, began its run in 2014. The first season boasted a cast that included Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton. The series has won six Emmy Awards.

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Courtesy of Home Box Office

1. Chernobyl: “0.058159722222” (2019)
> Episode IMDb rating: 9.4/10 (51,308 votes)
> Full series rating: 9.4/10 (658,535 votes)
> Cast: Jared Harris, Michael Shaeffer, Jessie Buckley, Adam Nagaitis

Chernobyl, a five-episode series on HBO about the explosion at a nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union in 1986, tops the list of best TV pilots in history. The series won 10 Emmy Awards and was nominated for nine others.

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