The Highest Ranked Pilot Episodes In History (According To IMDB)

Originally, a pilot episode was a marketing tool used by creators of a show to sell the first season to networks. As such, they needed to establish characters, tone, and even give a taste of possible season-long arcs. With so much to accomplish it’s no surprise most pilots have the equivalent run time of a TV movie.

However, with the current prevalence of the “Binge Watching” model, sites like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu are slowly transitioning away from the traditional pilot episode and instead expect viewers to vote for the content they want to see more of with their attention. Now while they may be dying out, many pilot episodes remain benchmarks of great television, but which are considered the best of all time (according to IMDB, of course)?

10 Freaks and Geeks – 8.7

While there could be many honorable mentions, after all, TV has been around for a very long time, Freaks and Geeks lands spot number 10. Created by Paul Feig and starring baby faced versions of James Franco, Seth Rogan, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini, and many others.

There’s no doubt that this pilot sticks in many of its young viewers’ minds as some of the first really relatable TV they watched. This pilot achieves some amazing set up that builds up and pays off throughout the shows only season. Unforgettably, cool guy James Franco finally loosening up and playing D&D in the show’s finale.

9 The Sopranos – 8.6

The Sopranos may be remembered for having one of the greatest, most controversial endings in TV history. But while we may never know what happened in that dinner, and that’s largely the point, it’s often forgotten that the show made a strong captivating start six seasons earlier.

The pilot made sure to set up the mental strain James Gandolfini’s Tony was under, his dynamic with the family and between him and Lorraine Bracco’s Dr. Jennifer Melfi, but most importantly the tone of the show. It’s a masterclass in kicking off a show, but it’s not as well-loved as some other episodes.

8 Twin Peaks – 8.9

Twin Peaks is weird. But as weird as it is you’d be hard-pressed to find someone that’s seen it and didn’t find it brilliantly entertaining. Quite simply it changed television going forward, opening the door for creators to take more risks with experimental storytelling and trust audiences to understand and stay involved when not everything is immediately obvious.

Creators Mark Frost and David Lynch created an enthralling atmosphere from scene to scene that set up a mystery for the ages. In the binging age, it’s clear to see why Twin Peaks has become so popular, it’s impossible not to binge.

7 Firefly – 8.9

The great tragedy of Joss Weedon’s Firefly is fairly well known by now. A show canceled unjustly, only to be brought back for a film by fan perseverance, and continued in comic form. What some might not know however is that the 90-minute long pilot episode “Serenity” wasn’t just messily split into two parts when initially aired, but the entire first (and only) season itself was aired so out of order that the pilot was the last to air.

It’s a crying shame, as this is some fantastic television and a much stronger introduction to Malcolm Reynolds and the crew of the Serenity than episode “The Train Job” provides, the episode used by the network as a first episode. “Serenity” juggles world-building, character introductions, and about three plotlines at once masterfully, and feels much brisker than a TV movie should.

6 Sherlock – 8.9

Watching the later seasons of Sherlock, it’s easy to forget that the show began as a series of barely connected episodes that mostly ended on cliffhangers. Interestingly enough the shows pilot and its first episode “A Study In Pink” weren’t actually one and the same, but they did have the same plot and the original “Unaired Pilot” has since become available.

The original pilot that was written and filmed to sell the show to the BBC was initially intended to be aired as the first episode, however, before production on the rest of the season began the BBC decided 90-minute episodes were the way to go. As a result, “A Study In Pink” is basically a reshot version of the pilot with some extra material added.

5 Breaking Bad – 9.0

The Breaking Bad pilot had a monumental task set out for it. Not only did it have to lay the groundwork that every successful Pilot must, but it had to do so in a way that hinted at just how far off the deep end Walter White was going to go.

Jesse was supposed to be killed off early on, and nobody in the writing team knew the payoff for the machine in Walter’s car when it was initially revealed. With the writing teams penchant for setting things up not knowing the payoff in mind, the pilot becomes that much more impressive upon rewatching, little details seem to hint at exactly where all the characters will end up.

4 Game of Thrones – 9.0

At a tie with Breaking Bad and arguably leaving as much of a dent in the history of pop culture, it might feel strange for fans to revisit the first episode of HBO’s fantasy epic. The opening scene sees the introduction of the White Walkers. It’s effective and intriguing, if not preemptive, introducing one of the shows main antagonistic forces so early on.

The first episode does an impressive job setting up the dower innocence punishing world of George. R. R. Martin’s Westeros. It clearly defines the dynamics between the Starks, Baratheons, Lannisters, and of course the Targaryens, all ending with an incestuous reveal that definitely brought viewers back for more.

3 True Detective – 9.0

The third series opening episode to be tied with Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, True Detective hit audiences with what might be a pretty great example of The Golden Age of Television. Starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, the first episode of the show “The Long Bright Dark” did a brilliant job setting up both their relationship an the case that would inevitably haunt them.

In an interview with The Guardian, series creator Nic Pizzolatto stated he “wasn’t interested in doing what everyone else was doing. The point wasn’t to write another serial-killer show”. Audiences pretty unanimously agree that he achieved his goal. True Detective has since gone on to revamp itself each season, following the president Pizzolatto set with the pilot. It’s a show about people, not crimes.

2 Fargo – 9.4

This is a True Story. The first episode of Fargo, like its Coen Brothers’ film predecessor, begins with a title card asserting that the story is based on true events. This has always been a brilliant lie by the Coen Brothers, who wanted to make a film in the True Story genre, without actually depicting a true story. The show’s title card even lingers on the word “True” as a nod to this.

The first episode is arresting from shot one, entirely sinister while at the same time oddly comedic, a hitman drives along at night listening to an audiobook while his victim bangs on the inside of his coffin. It sets the tone for the entire show in record time and the episode just goes on from there, expertly introducing characters and intrigue in engaging and unique brilliance.

1 Chernobyl – 9.5

While the show may only be getting this single mini-series, there’s no denying it was one of the most talked-about TV shows of 2019 from the moment the first episode was available. Hats off to series creator Craig Mazin, the first episode of Chernobyl is astounding. 

Dealing with the initial failure that caused the catastrophic failure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the episode is nothing short of gripping, masterfully executed storytelling. With a run time of 60 minutes, it’s amazing the contained story that the episode manages to convey with so many characters, all while setting the tone, and standard, of the series to come.

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