Best pilot episodes
by kilpoul | created - 10 Feb 2014 | updated - 26 Mar 2019 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1.
Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
Episode:
Pilot
(2008)
TV-MA | 58 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, chemistry teacher Walter White teams up with former student Jesse Pinkman to cook and sell crystal meth.
Director: Vince Gilligan | Stars: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris
Votes: 43,144
2.
The X-Files (1993–2018)
Episode:
Pilot
(1993)
TV-14 | 48 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Agent Dana Scully is instructed to debunk an FBI project dubbed "The X-Files," paranormal cases that have been reopened by Agent Fox Mulder.
Director: Robert Mandel | Stars: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Charles Cioffi, Cliff De Young
Votes: 12,731
3.
Veronica Mars (2004–2019)
Episode:
Pilot
(2004)
TV-14 | 42 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
During the day, Veronica negotiates high school like any average teenage girl. At night, she helps her father's struggling, new private investigator business.
Director: Mark Piznarski | Stars: Kristen Bell, Percy Daggs III, Teddy Dunn, Jason Dohring
Votes: 1,727
4.
One Tree Hill (2003–2012)
Episode:
Pilot
(2003)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
Nathan Scott is Tree Hill High's biggest basketball star and is dating Peyton, a cheerleader. Nathan's half brother, Lucas, joins the team - and threatens to take both Nathan's spot in the lineup and his girl.
Director: Bryan Gordon | Stars: Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty, Hilarie Burton Morgan, Bethany Joy Lenz
Votes: 1,023
5.
Smallville (2001–2017)
Episode:
Pilot
(2001)
TV-PG | 50 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Baby Clark (Kal-El) arrives on Earth. Teen Clark starts high school, saves Lex's life after a car accident, and finds out about his past and birth parents.
Director: David Nutter | Stars: Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Eric Johnson
Votes: 2,538
6.
Misfits (2009–2013)
Episode:
Episode #1.1
(2009)
TV-14 | 46 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Five young adolescents begin community service under the watchful eye of their probation officer when a freak storm strikes them, granting them supernatural abilities.
Director: Tom Green | Stars: Antonia Thomas, Robert Sheehan, Lauren Socha, Iwan Rheon
Votes: 1,618
7.
Friday Night Lights (2006–2011)
Episode:
Pilot
(2006)
TV-PG | 43 min | Drama, Sport
New head coach Eric Taylor finds his every move scrutinized as he takes over leadership of Texas's No. 1 high school football team.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Gaius Charles, Zach Gilford
Votes: 1,428
8.
Gilmore Girls (2000–2007)
Episode:
Pilot
(2000)
TV-PG | 45 min | Comedy, Drama
Rory is accepted into the elite Chilton prep school. Bad news for Lorelai: she must make amends with her parents to borrow the money for Rory's tuition. The money is available--with strings attached.
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter | Stars: Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Melissa McCarthy, Keiko Agena
Votes: 1,824
9.
Once Upon a Time (2011–2018)
Episode:
Pilot
(2011)
TV-PG | 42 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Emma Swan is taken to a strange town by her son Henry, who she gave up for adoption years ago, and tells her of a curse cast by the Evil Queen.
Director: Mark Mylod | Stars: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas
Votes: 4,035
10.
Dexter (2006–2013)
Episode:
Dexter
(2006)
TV-MA | 53 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Dexter's world is rocked when a rival serial murderer, dubbed the Ice Truck Killer by the media, privately contacts him and reveals that he knows Dexter's grisly secret. Meanwhile, Dexter's sister Debra is transferred to Homicide.
Director: Michael Cuesta | Stars: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Erik King
Votes: 10,871
11.
Supernatural (2005–2020)
Episode:
Pilot
(2005)
TV-14 | 44 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Sam and Dean Winchester were trained by their father to hunt the creatures of the supernatural. Now, their father has mysteriously disappeared while hunting the demon that killed their mother, 22 years ago.
Director: David Nutter | Stars: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Sarah Shahi, Adrianne Palicki
Votes: 10,822
12.
The O.C. (2003–2007)
Episode:
Premiere
(2003)
TV-PG | 45 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A troubled teen boy's life is forever changed when, upon landing in jail for a crime his brother committed, a public defender from Orange County, California decides to take him into his home.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan, Ben McKenzie, Mischa Barton
Votes: 1,603
13.
Game of Thrones (2011–2019)
Episode:
Winter Is Coming
(2011)
TV-MA | 62 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Eddard Stark is torn between his family and an old friend when asked to serve at the side of King Robert Baratheon; Viserys plans to wed his sister to a nomadic warlord in exchange for an army.
Director: Timothy Van Patten | Stars: Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley
Votes: 54,512
14.
Prison Break (2005–2017)
Episode:
Pilot
(2005)
TV-14 | 42 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Michael Scofield is imprisoned in Fox River State Penitentiary. He finds his brother, Lincoln Burrows, who is a death row prisoner, and tells him that he is going to break them both out of the prison.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, Robin Tunney, Amaury Nolasco
Votes: 7,990
15.
My So-Called Life (1994–1995)
Episode:
Pilot
(1994)
TV-PG | 49 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Angela Chase begins a friendship with Rayanne Graff and Rickie Vasquez. At home there is tension between her and her mother.
Director: Scott Winant | Stars: Bess Armstrong, Wilson Cruz, Claire Danes, Devon Gummersall
Votes: 503
16.
Heroes (2006–2010)
Episode:
Chapter One 'Genesis'
(2006)
TV-14 | 53 min | Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
In Manhattan, Peter Petrelli is the younger brother Nathan Petrelli an overly ambitious and unscrupulous candidate for the next New York congressman, and he dreams and believes that he can ... See full summary »
Director: David Semel | Stars: Santiago Cabrera, Tawny Cypress, Noah Gray-Cabey, Ali Larter
Votes: 3,146
17.
The Walking Dead (2010–2022)
Episode:
Days Gone Bye
(2010)
TV-14 | 67 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes awakens from a coma, and searches for his family in a world ravaged by the undead.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden
Votes: 29,878
18.
The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017)
Episode:
Pilot
(2009)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Reeling from the death of her parents, 17-year-old Elena becomes interested in a handsome new student named Stefan, who's hiding a dark secret.
Director: Marcos Siega | Stars: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen
Votes: 4,150
19.
Charmed (1998–2006)
Episode:
Something Wicca This Way Comes
(1998)
PG | 42 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Three sisters reunite after the death of their beloved grandmother, and learn they have inherited much more than the family manor.
Director: John T. Kretchmer | Stars: Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano, Ted King
Votes: 1,495
20.
Longmire (2012–2017)
Episode:
Pilot
(2012)
Not Rated | 52 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Sheriff Longmire runs a small department in rural Wyoming. When the body of a man is found in the woods the investigation leads to tension between Longmire and the local Indian Reservation,... See full summary »
Director: Christopher Chulack | Stars: Robert Taylor, Katee Sackhoff, Lou Diamond Phillips, Bailey Chase
Votes: 1,462
21.
Tru Calling (2003–2005)
Episode:
Pilot
(2003)
TV-14 | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Tru Davies starts working on a morgue before she can start studying Medicine. The first night she's working at the morgue, a dead woman, Rebecca, asks her for help. Suddenly the day goes ... See full summary »
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Eliza Dushku, Shawn Reaves, Zach Galifianakis, A.J. Cook
Votes: 353
22.
Angel (1999–2004)
Episode:
City of...
(1999)
Unrated | 44 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
Angel relocates to Los Angeles, where he encounters a stranger who experiences visions of those in need, and a woman who lives in fear of a vampire.
Director: Joss Whedon | Stars: David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, Glenn Quinn, Tracy Middendorf
Votes: 2,870
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